Mel Brooks (Directed) Film By Film Thread

Thank you!

 

12 Chairs, not hilarious, but certainly enjoyable.

 

I always thought it was a hoot that the whole thing was over a dining room set.

 

"Yes, Prince Mishkin, what can we do for you?"

 

Here is one more clip from The Twelve Chairs:

 

Roger Ebert's original 1970 review - 4/4 stars, which is certainly more generous than I'd be

The Twelve Chairs movie review (1970) | Roger Ebert

 

Here is Roger Ebert's original 1968 review of The Producers:

The Producers movie review & film summary (1968) | Roger Ebert

 

I can't understand (with such a good review by the esteemed critic) how the film fared so badly initially.

Maybe by the early 1970's people's opinions/thoughts on what was funny changed dramatically from '68 ......... concerning this/Mel's type of humour?

 

Today marked my 4th or 5th crack at "The Twelve Chairs". I always expect it to be better than it turns out to be. The best thing in the film, and to me it's not close, is Mel Brooks! Nearly everything he does or says is funny ... but about 2 reels in he's gone forever. The worst thing in the film, IMO, is Ron Moody. He seems miscast to me, and I rarely laugh at anything he does. Since Langella is more or less the straight man, it's on Moody to be the funny and he does not pull it off. I feel like Woody Allen mined somewhat similar material to much greater effect in "Love and Death".

 

It appears that the film suffered from very poor distribution because of its controversial content. It did great business in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, but didn't play well (or at all) in "the sticks".

 

"There is such rapacity in its heroes, such gleeful fraud, such greed, such lust, such a willingness to compromise every principle, that we cave in and go along".

 

Mel wins the Oscar for "The Producers"

 

How is it that Don Rickles can still crack me up?

 

The Producers beat 2001(A Space Odyssey). Seems strange in hindsight. Donit?

 

Nah, I didn’t laugh a single time during “2001”.

 

Sorry and I say this with all reverence, in my humble opinion 2001 was, the most overrated movie in the history of cinema.

 

I hear you .
I appreciate ' 2001..' more than I like it. It 's not a casual watch and certainly not for everyone.
But I understand why it's admired as much as it is.
A friend of mine says his dad took him and his brother to see it when it was released. The father was expecting a sci-fi flick of the usual order. All three of them were bored out of their minds.

 

Another terrific short subject before we dive into our next feature on Monday.

"Let 'em all go to Hell, except Cave 76!"

 

Around this time Mel and Carl brought back the old guy with the album Two Thousand Thirteen a long awaited sequel to their two 60s albums.

 

The Oscar was for Best Screenplay. One could easily argue that The Producers screenplay was far more cogent than 2001, notwithstanding the latter's fitful brilliance.

BTW, Mel Brooks is one of the few EGOT winners (having won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.)

 

How much better would this be without the constant laugh track?

 

Ah. The dialog is taken from a live comedy album. Without that classic album you wouldn't have the cartoon.

 

So this was actual people laughing, and not the added laugh track?