I was in my early 20's when "Blazing Saddles" came out and even then I thought it was very male juvenile, very funny though. Ever notice that many women love "Young Frankenstein" but view "Blazing Saddles" like they view The Three Stooges. Boy stuff. (the previous rather sexist appearing view is from personal experience and observation) "Young Frankenstein" by a country mile. More than either it's the original 1967 "The Producers" in first place for me.
Oh, easy for me. Young Frankenstein is just the best. I was a fan of the Universal horrors already at the time, so it really resonated with me. Honestly, I just don't like westerns.....
Well, I see a lot of folks saying Blazing Saddles is funnier but Young Frankenstein is a better film, and then voting for Frankenstein. Each film is an intended comedy, correct? Are we choosing one comedy over another comedy because of the way it's made, even if it's not as funny? I know Brooks said that Frankenstein was the best film he made but Saddles was funnier. He's the one that sort of started this mindset, I guess. However, the OP says you can only keep one, so for those who are on the fence, why would you choose the less humorous movie if the idea is comedy?
Interesting. Vote was almost tied when I voted at 12:22 PM, but 7.5 hours later, "YF" has extended a big lead!
Because the poll question is not "which movie is funnier." It's, "which movie would you keep, i.e. which do you enjoy more." The idea is not just "comedy." It's not just "the way it's made" (not sure what that meant), it's about the way it is. The pacing, the setups, the situations, the characters, the performances, the music, everything. I think by "funnier", the people who say Blazing Saddles is funnier but Young Frankenstein is better are possibly meaning something like "I like a great movie more than I like a long string of hilarious jokes." The 1980 spoof film Airplane! has more funny jokes per minute than most comedies, so perhaps it is "funnier", but do I prefer Airplane! to comedies like Groundhog Day, Dr. Strangelove, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, etc.? Definitely not. No one has to agree here on which they like best, but if the question is "why are people voting for the one they say is less funny", it's because it's about more than big laughs. Blazing Saddles has more jokes than Young Frankenstein, more giant set pieces, more broad jokes, more anarchic absurdity; it's brilliantly over-the-top. But it doesn't mean anyone has to prefer it as a film. We would never say "I like this gangster drama film better than that other one, because this one has more 'gangster drama' in it." I already quoted Mel Brooks saying this above, but it seems like Brooks is in agreement. I don't mean we all have to agree opinion-wise on which film is better, but Brooks is in agreement that any comedy can be funnier than another but still not be as great as another comedy. That's what he's saying here. So it's not just mysterious behavior here on this thread.
Dr. Strangelove is often considered the greatest comedy of all-time, and it is FAR from the funniest. Similarly, my favorite Pink Panther film is Shot in the Dark and Strikes Again, but the funniest is Return.
Ultimately, this is where I think people try to get far too deep when it comes to comedy. Your gagster comparison isn't too relevant IMO, because Comedy is a broad genre, a gangster movie is a subgenre of either the broader genres of Action or Drama. By your explanation we could technically call Blazing Saddles part of the Western genre. I can't speak for the OP, and he is certainly able to correct me if I'm wrong, but I would assume that keeping only one of them, when referring to two classic comedies, means keeping the funniest.
Ultimately, this is where I think some people are the 'reverse' of "getting too far deep", so, cheers, we'll agree to disagree.
I was a bit vague. This has now led to multiple interpretations. I can see where only keeping one could mean most enjoyable as a production, as well which one is the most humorous. Personally, I did mean which one is the funnier movie, but not just that simple either. I was considering that both are spoofing a genre of American movies.
I'm not sure why, but I've never been able to get much out of Young Frankenstein. Tried a few times. Blazing Saddles and Spaceballs are very funny to me, though.
You say they're both badly dated, but you choose the one that is spoofing the more dated genre, that younger generations are less familiar with. And okay, yeah, Mel Brooks can't direct comedies well
Blazing Saddles is fairly terrible. Young Frankenstein is an excellent film, as well as being very funny, it is a pretty straight telling of the story and works on that level too.
Young Frank Blazing Saddles, despite the presence of Slim Pickens, hasn't held up for me, though When I was eleven...
"a roll in ze hay" with Teri Garr. Even though Ms. Kahn stole the film in "Blazing Saddles" I think YF is the better film of the two. Better written, better acting, and the ending was way funnier. The campfire scene in "Blazing" had my date in hysterics at the time. YF had Gene Hackman, Marty Feldman, and Cloris Leachman in great comedy turnouts. Kenneth Mars as the Inspector cheating at darts cracks me up every time I see it. "Perhaps some...Ovaltine?"
I don't know if this is an attempt at a counter-argument, but Mel Brooks is not a good director. He's created some funny films, but his body of work looks and feels dated. Mel Brooks would probably be the first to admit that his gift is comedy, not directing.
Maybe they feel dated because they are. Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi feel dated compared to the prequels. Superman and Superman II are classics but people today make fun of them. Most of Mel's movies are early 70s to early 80s, and many of them deal with previous periods on top of that. One of my favorite films, that is considered a classic is 12 Angry Men, however if feels like 1957. It felt dated by the late 60s. Two of my other favorites are The Graduate and Midnight Cowboy, both won an Oscar for Best Director, but they both feel like the late 60s. Even by the late 70s they felt dated. Now some films don't feel dated, I agree. Jaws comes to mind, but usually it's not the case.