4K UHD Review: Blazing Saddles (50th Anniversary)
It runs neck-and-neck with Young Frankenstein, but for me, Blazing Saddles is Mel Brooks’ greatest film. If there’s anyone out there who hasn’t seen this brilliant satire, here’s a bit of a synopsis: It’s 1874, and an expanding railroad operation has run into quicksand. State Procurer Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) quickly hatches a plan to […]
Blu-ray Review: Remembering Gene Wilder
In a career spanning nearly five decades, Gene Wilder helped redefine comedy. During the late 1960s and ’70s, he had a string of notable films, be it the title role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, his partnership with Mel Brooks in The Producers and Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein or his unlikely collaborations […]
Blu-ray Review: The Producers (1968)
Widely regarded as one of the funniest movies ever made, The Producers (1968) has had its detractors from the start, seen as offensive by many moviegoers and critics alike when it was first released. “Dismally unfunny satire,” wrote Leslie Halliwell. Even today, many people just don’t appreciate the film. The Producers is full of biting […]
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (Blu-ray)
While helping Mel Brooks put the finishing touches on the classic Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder was offered the opportunity to write and direct his first feature film. The result was the bizarre, yet funny The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother. A madcap farce likely influenced by his work with Mel Brooks, the plot doesn’t […]
Haunted Honeymoon (Blu-ray)
Since his death this past August at age 83, I’ve found myself revisiting the filmography of actor/writer/director Gene Wilder. I grew up adoring him for his signature role, that of of Willy Wonka in the first film adaption of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). Wilder was […]
Blazing Saddles: 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced the 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release of Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, which stars Cleavon Little, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Gene Wilder and Brooks himself. The new Blu-ray release of the classic comedy arrives with new, exclusive special features on May 6th. One of Brooks’ most successful comedies, Blazing Saddles […]
Blu-ray Review: The Producers (1968) (Collector’s Edition)
Widely regarded as one of the funniest movies ever made, The Producers (1968) has had its detractors from the start, seen as offensive by many moviegoers and critics alike when it was first released. “Dismally unfunny satire,” wrote Leslie Halliwell. Even today, many people just don’t appreciate the film. The Producers is full of biting […]
Shout! Bringing The Producers (1968) Collectors Edition to Blu-ray July 2
Los Angeles, CA – Mel Brooks’ legendary 1968 Oscar®-winning film The Producers gets its first Blu-ray release on July 2 from Shout! Factory. The Producers: Collector’s Edition is a Blu-ray/DVD combo set that features a new HD transfer and includes a reversible wrap featuring original theatrical art, the documentary “The Making Of The Producers,” a […]
Blu-ray Review: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
Hot on the heels of Citizen Kane and Ben-Hur, on October 18th Warner Brothers will release Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: 40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s book originally titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), has become a beloved classic since its 1971 […]
Warner Bros. to Release 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of Willy Wonka
Warner Bros. has announced they will re-release Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as an trinket filled special edition to be released October 4th for the film’s 40th anniversary. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory: 40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition will contain more than an hour of extras, including Mel Stuart’s Wonkavision, a new interview […]