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 […]
4K UHD Review: Spaceballs
Spaceballs is another one of Brooks’ superb parodies, but one can’t help but think the timing was a bit off. Released in 1987, the Star Wars craze had largely run its course; the film might have done better at the box office if it were released in 1983. Star Wars is the main target, but […]
Blu-ray Review: The Great Buster – A Celebration
Director Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon) has long been known as leading Hollywood historian, having written books on such luminaries as Orson Welles, Howard Hawks, and John Ford among others. For his latest project, Bogdanovich directs and narrates, The Great Buster: A Celebration, a star-studded salute to Buster Keaton, one of the […]
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic (Blu-ray)
Few will deny Richard Pryor’s place as one of stand up comedy’s true geniuses. As with many comedians who emerged both before and after him, Pryor was plagued by demons; demons that provided the source of some of his best comedy. One of the reasons Richard Pryor was so special was that nothing was off […]
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 […]
DVD Review: Mel Brooks – Make A Noise (American Masters)
I can’t remember the precise moment I became a Mel Brooks fan, but I believe I was around ten when I first heard the comedy album 2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, thanks to my local library. I listened to that album so much, that at one time, I could almost repeat it […]
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 […]
5-DVD/1-CD Box Set The Incredible Mel Brooks Coming from Shout! November 13
Los Angeles, CA – On November 13, 2012, Shout! Factory will release The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy, a 5-DVD/1-CD set that is a veritable treasure trove of all things Brooksian, a laugh-filled celebration of his illustrious career. This box set takes viewers on a journey through time with performances, extensive […]
Blu-ray Review: The Mel Brooks Collection
Blazing Saddles / High Anxiety / History of the World Part 1 / Robin Hood: Men with Tights / Silent Movie / Spaceballs / To Be or Not to Be / Twelve Chairs / Young Frankenstein 20th Century Fox | 969 mins. | Not rated When I was around eleven or so, I bought a […]