FYI - I apologize for missing anything during this! The Bluetooth for my headphones kept cutting in and out during the movie! Otherwise, the movie was HILARIOUS, raunchy, unexpected, and I loved every second!
I have seen this movie what seems like hundreds of times. It's always amazing to watch someone see it for the first time ! And yes, that was legitimate laughter... Gene Wilder's response of "Morons" was a total ad-lib !!
They brought black comedian Richard Pryor in to help write and make sure the jokes were not too over the top or offensive. He not only signed off on all of them but came up with some of the cringe ones on his own.
28:45.."Methodists?" Mel and Richard didn't spare anybody!! Never saw you crack up so..best reaction to Blazing Saddles I've seen yet! My favs--When the Waco KId and Bart tease the KKK guys.."Hey where the white women at?!" Oh yeah, and the thugs getting stopped by the toll booth. I'm not sure they could get away with doing this film today, the PC police would go nuts!! But at least Heddy ( I mean, Hedley) Lamarr WAS an equal opportunity employer...
People often forget how much controversy surrounded it at the time. I think most people generally mean it couldn’t be made by a large studio today. Especially WB.
I think Mel had the right idea. The way to eliminate "bad words" is not to prohibit them, but to ridicule them and abuse the terms until they are meaningless.
Not sure I would put it like that. We don't want them meaningless. I think what they are doing is satire and mocking to where something in even the most irrational hate filled brain gets a sense that they might be the bad person.
"Meaningless" is not what he was going for here, the very fact that he intentionally used language like that in the script says that he thinks they are meaningful. It's more about representing the way that the words are applied. Everyone in the film using derogatory terms was portrayed as being an absolute idiot, usually as a result of ignorance and separation. If you notice, none of the townspeople used derogatory language against the Sheriff once he became a part of their community and they knew him as a person. Mel (and Richard Pryor) wanted to associate that kind of language with people who have zero understanding of the world around them and how to navigate it.
@@jlog1c I agree. Censor or forbid certain terms or language is never a good idea. It makes using those words even more appealing for a certain groups, no matter what. It is the same with 'explicit language warnings' in music. it's been seen almost as a badge of honor. It is always about context. And using terms like Mel Brooks did in this movie is genius. Also he doesn't beliterate the audience, he includes it into the movie in a way you have to laugh at the bad guys without you realizing that you start to see the stupidity of using derogatory terms. And it is entertaining as hell too. I hate to use the term perfection when it comes to Art, but this is damned close to it 🙂 Edit: hope I expressed what I mean in the right way, english isn't my native language
I don’t think it gets mentioned often enough, but it’s very important to keep in mind that Richard Pryor helped write this movie. The satire is super heavy and the racists are truly the ones being mocked.
This movie didn't just break the fourth wall. It tore it down, stepped through it, and proceeded to destroy the studio. And the backlot, and the theater.
99.9% of college people today would cringe, cry and run screaming for their fuzzy kittens safe spaces. THAT is why 99% of all comics BOYCOTT performing in ANY college or University. The radical leftist Marxist professors have brainwashed two generations of children now. DO NOT send your child to college, university or even Military College. All are INFESTED with DEI and wokeness. I think the US Merchant Marine Academy is still OK. Your child will work in an incredible union with incredible benefits for a mere six months per years and become a millionaire eventually. Top tier officers in the right union on the right ship can make BANK! $200K for ONLY six months work per year. Masters Mates and Pilots. Become a PILOT and the kid is set for LIFE! We are talking multi millionaire. NO WOKE ADGENDAS!
It's genius because the Mick is taken out of the stereotypes that use the crappy behaviours and it's actually an empowering film for the lead character
I was at a flea market, found one of those wooden paddles with the ball attached to it. I picked it up and started missing with it. I said "I got a warped one. Why do i always get a warped one?" A couple people walking by broke out laughing. One said greatest movie ever! True.
Working my job one day at a warehouse and no kidding I saw one of those too AND swung it around, except I said "This thing's defective." Nobody around me really got the reference though and it just made me feel old.
Every clueles lawyer I have to deal with, just trying to rack up billable hours on their clients' dimes, I think, "We must protect our phoney baloney jobs!"
I got a similar reaction to a line from Monty Python Holy Grail when I quoted it at the top of Glen Pass in the Sierra. A guy said something and I responded with that line (can't remember what it was) and he shot back with another line. He was backpacking with his family, and I believe his wife literally said "oh, my God" with an eye roll.
Cleavon Little IMO doesn't get enough love for this. The chemistry between him and Wilder unmatched and is the precursor for every buddy movie ever made.
I feel one of the greatest tragedies in cinema was that he didn't continue in action. Mr. Little had a rare talent and his ability to play equal to Mr. Wilder was impressive. I imagine he is the only one who would have had a chance at being better in Richard Pryors roles in Hear No Evil See No Evil, maybe Anthony Hopkins but it would have been a doffernt style comedy at that point.
Yes, funny at face value and almost all reactors laugh at that point, when they stop cringing and realize it's ok to laugh and get where this movie is coming from too.
Back in high school band (early 80s), we had an away game in a town where a known klansman had recently made a bid for mayor. When we got to the school, one of the black guys in the band stepped off the bus and shouted that line. Everybody cracked up! Band, parents, band director, everyone!
My uncle was a character actor and was good friends with Mel Brookes. They would go out to eat and Mel loved to pretend that he was a German tourist and would order his food in Yiddish. My uncle would fake interpret what Mel was ordering and Mel would eat whatever my uncle interpreted as his order.
"Blazing Saddles" was written to be a parody of Frankie Lane's songs, and Brooks was looking for somebody who could sing in Frankie Lane's style. He was SHOCKED when Frankie Lane himself showed up and said, "I'd be happy to sing it"-which helped set the tone of the movie perfectly, and gave Lane a late-period hit song!
The GOAT Madeline Kahn! note that she breaks character right at the end of Lily's show, at the last moment as they carry her into the wings. Her laugh and smile are so very real to her person. Loved her.!
the scene where Bart is sad and Jim tries to cheer him up with the "Moron" line was totally improvised by Wilder. Cleavon Little completely broke character and laughed for real so we get his actual reaction. Favourite line the movie!
There were a few improvisions that Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder did to each other. Another was when Cleavon Little is reading the letter from Lily, He used the accent she was using and it caused Gene Wilder to spit out his drink because he was laughing....
I was wondering if the scene on the ridge where Bart whispered something to Jim that caused him to laugh hard was also an ad-lib, the laugh looked genuine on Gene Wilder's part
Best fact about this movie: Mel Brooks wanted Richard Pryor to play Bart, but the studio decided against it. Brooks still wanted him to be a part of the movie so he asked Pryor to write it with him. Pryor said he would do it if he wrote all the parts for the white characters, and Mel would write for all the people of color. Adds another dimension to the movie knowing that I think
Not what I was given to understand. My understanding is Pryor wrote all the scenes involving Mongo (there is considerably more Mongo in the TV edit) entirely, and polished other parts - since a good three quarters of the movie involves both black and white actors, it would be highly impractical for the script to be divided up as you say...Brooks would hsve been casting parts for a movie with a script toraling about 15 minutes of runtime with no plot whatsoever. Other trivia, Gene Wilder was not first chouce for Jim either - as partvof Wilder's agreement to take the part and bail Brooks out, Brooks had to help Wilder complete a script Wilder was already working on, and direct the movie - Wilder had planned to write, star, and direct, which he later did, but for t huh isvone, he settled for co-writer and gave ip the director's megaphone. That movie, if course, was Young Frankenstein . Jim and Bart are both left-handed. Slim Pickens camped at the shooting location during filming. The tent he comes out of during the campfire beans scene is where he was actually staying. Pickens also suggested Taggart get clinked with a shovel, as he figured Taggart had it coming.
I certainly respect your opinion, but i personally watched an interview with Mel where he said exactly what i wrote. Possible he simplified it for tv/interview or whatever, but it's straight from the horses mouth
@@MathMan271 It still doesn't make sense. There were *four* credited screenwriters, so its just not possible Brooks wtote for the black actors and Pryor wrote the white actor parts. Did the other two just write the farts and cow moos? And two *more* are credited with the actual story. This was also Pryor's first movie screenplay credit, and only his fifth writer credit overall, no way is he ready to take on that much alone. Brooks probably says that because otherwise it looks like Pryor really just wrote a couple of scenes because so much Mongo is cut from the theatrical version most everybody watches, and he doesn't want to undercut how much work Pryor did.
This is Brooks' masterpiece, and easily one of the top 10 greatest comedic films ever made. It's mastery of satire, mockery and innuendo is sublime, and the direction given to the actors really used their skills perfectly.
I never get tired of watching the reactions of younger people to this movie. Watching it go from "WTF??", to "ok... am I supposed to be laughing at this?", to "LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL" will never get old. Answering a question you asked during the video: After the scene out on the street with the old woman, when Gene was talking to Cleavon in his office, yes, that was genuine laughter. Gene ad-libbed that whole scene, and finally got Cleavon to break. Mel Brooks loved it and kept it the way it was.
There's nothing quite like Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor making a movie that pokes its finger in the eye of, literally, everyone. Blazing Saddles is one of my all-time favorite movies and for good reason, it is sooo over the top with taking on everything all at once; slapping the hell out of stereotypes; flat-out smashing racism right in its ugly face; and repeatedly breaking that fourth wall whenever it suits them. It is a complete and total MASTERPIECE, a comic masterclass on how to make a truly hilarious motion picture for the ages.
Uh - That's Cleavon Little in the movie. From Wikipedia: "Pryor was Brooks's original choice to play Sheriff Bart, but the studio, claiming his history of drug arrests made him uninsurable, refused to approve financing with Pryor as the star." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazing_Saddles#Casting That said, Sherriff Bart's role was obviously written with Pryor in mind.
@@davidseslar5798you misunderstood, he didn't say Richard Pryor was in the movie, he was pointing out that Pryor played a big part in writing the script
All the Indians are jewish, most of the white folks are dumb, unthinking racists, and get outsmarted by the Sheriff with trick stolen from Bugs Bunny cartoons - one of my favourite US comedy movies
@@timetraveler1973sadly younger generations have invented a slang word called cringe. They will be offended at the r e tard scene and RDJ being in black face but not realize it is actually Kurt Lazarus making fun of actors
While it didn't win any, it did get three nominations, one of them being for Madeline Kahn for Best Supporting Actress. Also, I guess Harvey Korman knew he was risking a Best Supporting Actor nod, as his character mentions just before attempting to destroy Rock Ridge.
The opening was sung by Frankie Lane, who was not told it was for a comedy. That is why it is so well executed. Mel said, "we need a Frankie Lane type," and someone said "why not get Frankie Lane?"
@@artembentsionovif I remember correctly Frankie Lane went to the premier and told Mel Brooks that he was embarrassed because he teared up singing it and didn't realize it was for a comedy but loved the film.
@@RayNDeereyup ... they were afraid he wouldn't do it for a western spoof......so they just never told him .... then he went to premier and said he liked it and "hadn't laughed so much at a movie in years" .
The character Mongo was played by a real life tough guy, Alex Karras. Karras was a first round pick of the Detroit Lions in the 1958 NFL draft. He was a 6'2" 250 defensive tackle who played from 1958-1970. He played 161 games, with several pro bowl, all pro, all American, and many other selections and honors during his career.
Interestingly enough. Alex Karras' first movie role was playing himself in the movie Paper Lion (starring Alan Alda as George Plimpton who was a writer that played one game for the Detroit Lions in a pre-season game for a Sports Illustrated article he was writing...and which was also expanded into a book before being made into a movie). Karras also played the Dad in the TV Series Webster in the 1980s.
The funny thing is that they won't let anyone say Shtüpp (yiddish/low german for fuck) but they show the name 'Lili Von Shtüpp' on a large poster next to the door to the saloon.
My favorite one liner is during the Harrumphing scene "Think of your secretary" when he's trying to hit the inkwell with the pen. Lili von Shtupp is absolute perfection, Madeline Kahn as taken far too soon.
As a music fan I think you'll appreciate knowing that Mel Brooks writes a lot of his own songs. He's a ridiculously talented guy. Also, Young Frankenstein gets my vote for the next one. It also stars Gene Wilder, btw.
@@TheMirandalorianReacts Mel is one of 18 people to have completed the EGOT; he has 4 Emmys, 3 Grammys, an Oscar and 3 Tony awards to his name. The really fun thing is that he won the Oscar for Best Screenplay for The Producers (if you haven't seen that, it's another with Gene Wilder), and 2 of his Grammys and all 3 of his Tonys are associated with the 2001 Broadway adaptation of the movie.
Madeline Khan was so amazing in this movie, she got the Academy Award nomination for it. Her role was based off the lead character in a Western movie from 1939 called Destry Rides Again. Weird fact, the bean scene was the first time flatulence was used in a film.
Also, the song, itself, is a parody (both lyrics and vocals) of the great Marlene Dietrich singing "Laziest Girl In Town". Easily google-able for the curious.
The "clean" version used for TV later actually cut out the sound, so it just looks like a bunch of guys randomly hopping up and down by the campfire. More hilarious than the actual flatulence scene! LOL
Another classic movie that both Madeline Kahn & Barbara Streisand delivered acting gold in was,, "What's Up,, Doc?" (1972) With Barbara also being incredibly attrative,, Causing young boys to old men to have instant crushes on her. 👧 ❤ 👦
Mel Brooks says that the flatulence sounds were recorded by him and anyone he could grab and drag into the foley studio. They're so loud because they discovered during previews that they had to be that loud because the audience's laughter quickly would drown them out.
Madeline was also a trained singer BEFORE she got into comedy and acting. Imagine her having to act out a role that is not only a terrible singer, but also a terrible actress simultaneously. They don't make many like that anymore.
"Throw out your hands, stick out your tush! Hands on your hips, give 'em a push! You'll be surprised you're doing the French Mistake!" I don't remember breathing through that whole skit. My face hurt.
Miranda, this is the first time I've watched you. Blazing Saddles is my favorite movie. It's satire at its finest. Instead of hiding from racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Mel Brooks went at it head on and offended everybody. He's the only man that could get away with it. It was groundbreaking in 1974 when I first saw it and would never play today. The underdog wins and the triumph over stereotypes is just plain funny as hell. You simply MUST watch Young Frankenstein especially if you like Gene Wilder. Your reactions were priceless and I laughed while you laughed. Thanks for watching my favorite movie of all time!
Watch Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder and the whole cast will leave you in stitches. I'm 65 and went to see Blazzing Saddles at the Drive in when I was 16. LOL 😂
Back then, tractor-trailers had "YES" and "NO" on the back to indicate which side it was safe to pass on. The implication is that Mongo was as big as a truck.
@@Svensk7119 No reason you should have known. I was 21 when _Blazing Saddles_ came out in 1974, and I don't remember it; I found it online. I suspect it was actually from the fifties or forties, not the seventies - slightly before my time.
If you didn't notice, the Indian chief was also played by Mel Brooks. And the language he was speaking...Yiddish, the dialect of German mainly spoken by Jewish people.
Fun fact Richard Pryor helped Mell Brooks write this. Another fun fact is the studio told him to cut out most of the crude humor, so he told them he did and sent the original to the theatres.
One joke you left out was when Hedley is interviewing the bad guys to ride on Rock Ridge. He hands a Mexican guy a badge, and the guy responded, "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" This was a line lifted verbatim from the 1948 movie "Treasure of the Sierra Madre".
Which was then satirized by Weird Al in UHF when Raul was accepting new animals for his "Wild Kingdom" show, he got some badgers. He says, "Badgers?! Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers!" I laughed so hard at that!
And used in the movie Bubble Boy with Danny Trejo fixing a flat on his motorcycle. The main character (Jake Gyllenhaal) says, "I have patches." and Trejo responses, "PATCHES! ...I could uses some patches!"
The Yes/No on Mongo's "steed" is a reference to truck drivers who would write this on the back of their trailers to remind cars not to pass on the right side. Great reaction! I hope you'll watch Young Frankenstein next. One of my all time favorites and perfect for Halloween! 🎃
Oh, cool. That’s good to know about the yes/no. I had always assumed that when Mongo needed to make a decision, the big oaf would just flip the bull and see if it came up yes or no.
it goes over most reactors heads, but longtime movie fans get it. And almost no one catches the "What in The Wide Wide World of Sports is going on here?" That was a popular ABC network sports show in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. (i think it went longer but that was its heyday).
This seems to have been your first movie with Madeline Kahn (Lily Von Schtupp). Definitely seek out more of her work. She was a legend, and we lost her way too soon.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Edit for clarification: I meant that the work that goes into doing it fluently and with no ham-fisted attempts is what makes it great. She put in a lot of work to be a 'bad singer/actress' on command and make it look genuine. That's the sign of talent. Pre-Edit: The age-old adage about telling 'good' from 'great'. Great is being able to convincingly be bad on command without forcing it.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 I got a notif that you'd replied to a post, but it didn't direct me to the reply. I'm hoping it was my post in THIS comment? I clarified, because I was unsure if you misunderstood the statement or were disagreeing. I have edited accordingly and appreciate drawing attention to the lack of clarity. For the sake of making my notification make sense: I meant that she put in a lot of work to make 'appearing to be a bad actress/singer' in a way that wasn't forced implies a certain amount of desire to showcase talent. It's very hard to be convincingly bad at singing and acting without it being forced. To do both simultaneously is... Way harder. That's the genius of Madeline Kahn. Gone too soon.
The most notable cut joke from the movie is in the scene with Lily and Black Bart. After she says, "It's twoo! It's twoo!!", he originally said, "‘I hate to disillusion you, ma’am, but you’re sucking on my arm.'”
The joke about the Irish was because Mel had asked if there was anyone who hadn’t been offended by that point and one of the lighting guys was Irish and said he hadn’t so Mel put that joke in specifically for him. Wonderful reaction! I enjoyed seeing how much you liked this one. You definitely got my subscription. Can’t wait to see where you go on your amazing cinematic adventure. Definitely have to recommend another Mel Brooks great and one of my personal favorites Robinhood Men in Tights.
That's one of the best lines of the movie, from The Big Lebowski and Santa Clause himself. "OK, we'll give some land to the n...... and the c......., but we won't take the Irish!"
@@dubbleplusgood Not as much as blacks and Chinese. I mean blacks were slaves up till 1865. The Chinese could not own land or needed special licenses to run a business, and immigration was restricted by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Gene was actually busy writing Young Frankenstein and wasn't originally supposed to be in this picture but the original actor for his part wasn't working out. Another fun fact is John Wayne was asked to be in it but after reading the script and realizing how outrageous it was said he wanted to see it when it was done but couldn't bring himself to be in it.
Don't know if you know this, but the guy singing at the start of the movie DIDN'T know the movie was a comedy. He was singing his heart out because he thought it was for a geuine western and wanted to give it is best effort, and they were laughing at how genuine and heartfelt it was with the singer not knowing and Mel has to get them settled down because he loved it so much. Anyways, glad you enjoyed it becayse I know somr people cannot handle it. It's an absolute classic and glad to had a good time. Have a great day! ❤
@@TheMirandalorianReacts, the singer's name is Frankie Laine. He actually sang music for Western genre films during the height of their popularity in the 1940s/'50s. My dad was a big fan of those movies, if my childhood memory serves - he had a couple of the man's records in the house. First time I saw the film (I was 12yrs old in 1974, but sneaked in to the theater to see it) and heard that voice, I wondered what on earth Mel had done to pull off that trick!
As "how the hell did they get away with that" as this movie is, there was one moment that got cut that is hysterical! Remember when Lily cut the lights and checked to see how "gifted" Bart is? After the stream of "it's twue" over and over, Bart told her "that's my arm!". Apparently, Warner Brothers censors thought that remark was too dirty, but I busted up!
In case you were wondering about one of the more obscure references in this movie: when the man cries out “Mongo! Santa Maria!”, he’s referencing an actual person. Mongo Santamaría was a legendary Cuban congo drummer and bandleader who had a prolific career in the 1960s’ pachanga and boogaloo dance scenes.
Every scene made reference to things that were popular and well known back then. I would howl in laughter while watching this , but would have to explain everything to my grand kids when we watched it so the would get the humor. Unless you were there when the movie came out initially or have a good knowledge of history from that time, it's not the same.
@@heru-deshet359 Sylvester cartoon as he approaches a bridge in a Venetian gondola: "Ducka you head, Lowla Bridgeada" is not only about Italian accents and a low bridge, it's also about Gina Lollobrigida.
9:48 This was a joke referencing the Howard Johnson chain of restaurants which were famous for their ice cream. No one under 40 would probably get the reference now as the last Howard Johnson closed years ago.
Yes! Good call on the legit laughing of Clevon in the the "You know...morons" scene. Gene Wilder improvised a lot in this. They left that one in because it was so natural.
Fun fact about Gene Wilder in this movie: He wasn't actually supposed to be in this one, but the original actor got sick during the upside-down scene, so Mel Brooks asks Gene to jump in on short notice, and if that isn't the luckiest coincidence, every because he and Clifton Little have such good chemistry! Also, since you like Gene Wilder and musicals, you are probably going to love the original 1968 The Producers movie.
Actually the original actor showed up on set for the first day of shooting completely plastered. Brooks needed a replacement, _fast,_ so he contacted Gene. BTW, during the big fight, we had a short scene of Lily leading some German soldiers in a sing along. The song came from the original The Producers.
Mel's wife Anne Bancroft always pressured Mel to have Gene play the part of 'The Waco Kid' but Mel wanted an older actor who could play the role of an old worn out alcoholic better so went with I believe Gig Young (who unknown to all, actually was an alcoholic). That first scene with him hanging upside down did it. He started vomiting up some kind of green slime and was immediately hospitalized. Mel then listened to his wife and call Gene in New York to fly out and take to roll. Moral: listen to your wife! Also Anne and Gene were good friends and had worked together on Broadway in New York. That is actually how Mel met Gene before he and Anne were married and only dating. Mel was waiting for Anne after a show she was in with Gene and Gene came out first and he and Mel hit it off from there.
I'm so glad the younger generation are discovering this movie and seeing it's not as much of a bogey man, as it is a mockery of one. Racism isn't an institution or an organisation with some shadowy, evil aims and means, and codewords that shall never be uttered lest you be racist yourself. It's just idiots, small-minded, and simple people being themselves. And they should be treated as a laughing stock. An intelligent person knows the difference between racism and satire, and I see a lot of young people loving this movie. This and Tropic Thunder. There's still hope in this newest generation.
Fun fact: The theme song was performed by Frankie Laine. With lyrics written by Mel Brooks. Frankie did not know the song was for a screwball comedy, so he sang it seriously & he put his heart into it. Frankie did such a good job that Mel didn't have the heart to tell him. They kept the recording as is & used it to contrast the rest of the movie.
Mel had originally advertised calling for a performer to sing the song in the style of Frankie Laine, because he didn't think he could get Laine. Laine got in touch, asked what it was for, and the reply was it was a Western about racism. Laine came back with his performance, and the rest is history.
Another fun fact. When they were looking for someone to sing the theme, they advertised a "Frankie Laine type". They got THE Frankie Laine. They did NOT tell him this was a satire and a spoof. So he went all out in the song. Brilliant.
The only sad part is that a lot of times they don’t really understand the jokes. For example, the Howard Johnson’s bit is really a reference to the old hotel chain, and a Laurel and Hardy handshake is actually a reference to Laurel and Hardy who were comedians back in the 1930s.
I tried to explain this movie to a 20 something female co-worker in the office a couple of years back. it came off of me using the phrase "Candygram for Mr Mongo" due to something that was about to happen, and being asked by her what I meant as the older guys around me had all started laughing. It's impossible in the modern office to do so without getting called into HR. I just gave up and told her to watch it. Reminding her that it's actually one of the greatest anti-racist movies of all time.
The effect of this movie gets more profound every year. I loved it as a teenager in the mid-eighties. I showed it to a class of college freshmen in 2003 and realized that I hadn't accounted for how much culture had changed. Those young adults were scandalized and amused. Twenty years later your reaction is even more shocked than theirs was. The central ideas are more significant than ever. The mere mention of unpleasant ideas scares people away from serious conversation (and always have), but if smart people can confront ugliness with wit and intelligence we can maybe figure out how to change things.
Great reaction video. ... I was 14 when Blazing Saddles came out in 1974 and remember going to see it in the local theater with my buddy. It instantly became part of our lives. Great to see you as a younger person reacting exactly as Mel Brooks intended. I loved seeing your genuine reactions and laughter at the brilliant humor of Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder and the entire cast. ... I'm guessing that the reason you got a little emotional at the end of the movie was not only because of the music but that you had also just witnessed a brilliant, classic artwork that made you feel something. Mainly joy.
The executioner is a running gag in Mel's films. He was also in Robin Hood Men in Tights. He said "no noose is good noose!" in response to being told to let the condemned man go free. Mel loves a good pun.
This movie is one of a kind and you will never see another one like this. Ever! Any move where Dom Deluise appears in as well is just a 10 out of 10 haha.
Another great reaction, the main theme is the idiocy of racism, Mel's speech when he first meets Clevon even though he portrays an idiotic governor he doesn't follow the racist trend and actually says "Cant you see this man is a nit!". Clevon's reaction to Gene's speech was real, Gene didnt tell Clevon what he was going to say so the laugh is genuine. Jophn Wayne was offered the role of the Waco Kid but turned it down considering the role to "blue#2 for his family image however he said he would be first in line to watch it. Blazing Saddles was actually written with it being a musical in mind
I'm not quite sure that your description of the line "can't you see that that man is a ni..." He was going to say the ugly word that we all know and love but as soon as he looked up as he began saying that he saw that he was talkin to Cleavon/Bart! The joke is when he tells the same line to Harvey Korman he still says "ni"! At least that is my interpretation of it and I've been watching this movie since it was released in '74!
Hedley Lamarr was actually a tribute to famous actress Hedy Lamarr. Brooks LOVED her and wanted to use her name. She refused and said she'd sue him and Warner Bros if they did. Brooks loved her so much, he convinced the studio to pay her even though he eventually changed the name.
Hedley Lamarr was more than just an actress. She designed a guided missile. Her designs helped people create the mobile phone. She never got the credit she deserved.
LOVED your reaction. I grew up in the 60's and 70's and remember when this movie came out. Studio heads DID NOT want to make this movie fearing racial conflicts at the theaters and having the movie bomb. There was so much loud laughter that people watched it multiple times to catch what they missed the first time. CLEARLY people were not as easily offended then as they are now. You need to watch tv shows from back then like All In the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Sanford and Son. What Mel Brooks was to the big screen, Norman Lear was to TV.
Many people are actually looking to be offended today. It allows them to virtue signal about what offended them. It's ridiculous and horrible for society. This movie was about calling out racists through humor. It makes them the butt of the joke and it's never been done better.
@@jomidiam we're in the comment section of a young woman reacting to Blazing Saddles. Tell me where you see her or anyone acting offended at this movie. People get context. People still love Blazing Saddles today, including young people. Why do people act like this movie is some dividing line when I've never met or seen a single person try to say it's anything but great.
@@combogalis I replied to a comment that said: "CLEARLY people were not as easily offended then as they are now." I hope my reply makes more sense to you now.
The title song was written for this movie. When they had the singer record the song, they told him it was for a legit western movie, not a spoof, so that he would sing it straight.
Mr. Brooks took the time to slowly break the 4th wall in increments. It started with the elderly lady being punched in the stomach and she says to the camera "Have you ever seen such cruelty?" to the watching the end of the movie in the theater. With each instance the breaking of the 4th wall was a larger scene.
It's sad how some of the references in the movie get lost on the younger generations who just haven't been exposed to them. The genius comedy duo of Laurel and Hardy from the 30s and 40s gets referenced when Bart first shows up at Rock Ridge ("we present to you a laurel, and hearty handshake"), and it mostly sails right over the heads of the last couple generations.
As a black man I’ve really never been offended by this movie. It pushes the racial joke line to the limit. Love your reaction as usual. I went right into Dracula Dead and loving it. Another Mel Brooks joint. It’s Halloween, you should check it out. 😊👏🥰
This is my absolute favorite Mel Brooks movie! He's an "equal opportunity offender," LOL, and teaches us not to take life so seriously. It's great to just sit back and laugh your head off sometimes. ❤️
i dont even see that much that's offensive about this. the only characters who are used as jokes are the white ones. the black characters make jokes, but the white characters are jokes. like, look at how everybody is protrayed in this movie, and the ones who come out looking the most idiotic and savage are the white characters by orders of magnitude, and this came out in the god damn 70s!
What a great reaction. I was 11 or 12 when this movie came out and it was rated R, so I talked my mom into taking me to see it. One of my most wonderful life-long memories is of how much we both laughed together during this film. It became a tradition for us to go see all the Mel Brooks movies in the 1970s. Regarding the language and the casual racism, the thing to remember is that everyone who is racist is either an idiot (all the villains) or just ignorant (the townsfolk, who learn better and come to love Bart). So Mel Brooks (who is Jewish and grew up during WWII) not only made a parody of Westerns, but also made an effective parody of racism.
The "YES" and "NO" was a reference to signs on the back of large trucks meant to remind other drivers not to try to pass on the right side of the truck as they move left in the lane before making right turns.
I remember Mel Brooks interview... Interviewer :" They say you couldn't make a film like Blazing Saddles today" Brooks: " They told us we couldn't make it back in '74, but we did!"
Excellent review. One of the interesting ways to watch reactions is to see how different people view movies from the past. This is a spoof of 60 years of Hollywood Westerns and a biting satire on racism. One of the writers was the legendary comic, Richard Pryor. Younger people often cringe at the language, but older viewers understand it is comedy and find the challenge to social norms to be hysterical. BTW, the old prospector you could not understand was a spoof of the Western sidekick, Gabby Hayes. Gabby was in more than a hundred Westerns and most famous being with Roy Rogers. Thank you for challenging yourself to react to this comedy classic.
A little trivia for y'all. The theme song was song by a man who thought it was a serious western movie, so he put his heart and soul into it and Mel Brooks just didn't have the heart to tell him that it was a comedy, because he loved the song so much. Also, Hedy Lamarr DID sue them over the Hedley bit and won 1000$, which in 1971 was a lot of money.
I was 10 years old when this movie came out and I saw it in the theatre with my parents and we all laughed our asses off. My mum loved the baked bean scene and some of the lines have entered our lexicon... Mathew, Mark, Luke, and Duck Mungo just a pawn in game of life We don't need no stinkin' badges and so many more...
I was in high school when 'Blazing Saddles' was first released in the theaters in 1974, and of course I did see it a few times back then because it was a hilarious (and still is to this very day). Glad you really enjoyed watching it, and it was enjoyable watching your reaction on 'Blazing Saddles'. Please do a reaction to the 1975 comedy film of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. Monty Python were a British comedy troupe that were on the BBC television that did comical skits from 1969 - 1974 or 1975. They were very popular here in the US as well. Their show was titled 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'. Terry Gilliam was the only American of the troupe and also did all the animation on their comedy show as well on 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. And also please do a reaction to the 1948 film 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'. That is my all time favorite Abbott and Costello film.
The Mirandalorian isn't ready for the Pythons. #MelBrooks is "One Comedic Genius" ... #EricIdle, #GrahamChapman, #JohnCleese (and the rest of the gang) would destroy her funny bone!!
@@Gefionius For one, It is British about medieval times in England with British humor, and many of today's Americans are not too familiar of the history of that time period. I myself was very interested about the medieval times around 1962/1963 when I was 6 and 7 years old when watching old movies about it on TV. And throughout the years I learned a lot more as I became older. Monty Python did have that dry British humor which I did understand it. Even before them when I saw The Beatles in their first feature film "A Hard Day's Night" and the British TV spy series 'The Avengers' had quite a bit of British dry humor. I did understand it. It is very different than American humor.
Can't see anyone mentioning that Hedy Lamarr was a real actress in the 30s and 40s who's an incredibly interesting person, and among other things is responsible for inventing some of the baseline technology required by cell phones and wifi
Fun Fact: The end of the "Lily von Shtupp seduction" scene was actually gonna have a different last line. With the dark screen, you do get to where Lily goes "It's twue, it's twue!"; but then after a second or two, you then would hear Bart say "I hate to disappoint you, ma'am, but you're actually sucking on my arm."
In the 70’s, everyone was in on the joke!!!! Sitcoms of the era appealed to everyone even if the show was nothing but black casts or all white casts. To this day if I see Sanford and son, the Jefferson’s, good times, what’s happening, all in the family…… I stop flipping the channels, grab popcorn and enjoy every second.
Rightwingers don't get that for example Archie Bunker was being satirized, they LOVE him. Norman Lear, Carroll O'Connor,, and Rob Reiner are and were all good liberals. RIP Carroll #The70s
@@treetopjones737that’s not true. I’m what you would call a “right winger” and we knew exactly what Archie Bunker was. We were not laughing with him we were laughing at him because his opinions on race and religion were so ridiculous. I’m Italian and catholic and the jokes I laughed the hardest at were the ones about Italians and Catholics.
Conservative viewers understood that Archie was a bigot, and they appreciated that the show made it clear that his views were outdated and wrong. At the same time, the show also poked fun at liberal views and showed that they had their own problems and flaws. In doing so, the show presented a nuanced and balanced view of both political viewpoints, and encouraged viewers to consider both sides.@@treetopjones737
I'm not surprised how shocked you were at some parts of this movie. It was made in a different time. It's still funnier than 90% of the stuff coming out today. It didn't just break the fourth wall -- it broke the 1st, 2nd and 3rd! Love your reactions!
Most films figuratively break the fourth wall. Blazing Saddles breaks the fourth wall in the most literal sense possible when the brawl comes crashing through it into the next studio.
The Indian chief was played by Mel Brooks, and the language he spoke was Yiddish! Mel also had another role, as one of the movie producers (wearing the scarf) in the line up of villains that were applying for jobs from Heddy Lamar's ("that's HEDLEY!") job!
This movie breaks the fifth wall Also, I love to quote the obscure “well let’s play chess” whenever I’m talking with someone and they say something a little too personal and cringy. No one usually gets the reference, but it amuses me.
“You don’t know what’s coming… and it’s going to be everywhere….” THATS WHAT SHE SAID!!! For real, I genuinely love this movie and am glad you to as well. Fun fact: the main title song was sung by Frankie Lane who was famous for doing ballads . When he recorded it, he had zero context and thought he was singing for a serious western. He was initially upset when he found out it was a Mel Brooks spoof film, but after watching it agreed his serious take on the song worked beautifully.
Believe it or not, this was recently remade as an animated movie called "Paws of Fury". It substitutes a dog for the black sheriff and the townspeople are cats. The writers of "Blazing Saddles" get a credit in the movie.
Funniest movie ever. Period. It's not "cringe" at all. It's from when people weren't offended because someone else had a different favorite color and could laugh at themselves, and besides it's mocking the racists.
Other good facts. Madeline Kahn who played Lily von Shtup was a very good singer so for her to sing so badly was very difficult for her. Also Slim Pickens, the guy who got whacked with the shovel at the beginning, agreed to that because he thought his character should receive some consequence for his actions and language.
If I recall correctly, Slim actually went to Clevon and told him he was uncomfortable with calling him all the names in the script. And Clevon telling him that it's ok, it's just the character he is playing.
You enjoyed the theme song, obviously. It was sung by Frankie Lane, who was popular in the '40's, '50's and '60's and know for writing and singing theme songs for westerns like "High Noon" and "Rawhide". When Mel Brooks asked him to record the theme for "Blazing Saddles", he told Lane that he was making a serious western, and not a totally irreverent comedy.
I’ve wondered for years about the uncomfortable stuff early in the film. It occurred to me recently that showing the cringy stuff at the beginning gives extra weight to Bart’s victory at the end. It makes it mean something.
Personally I love that moment when they sing, but instead of a work song it's a wonderfully performed cover of a very classy sounding song. It's the black workers refusing to be stereotypes and upsetting the white overseers.
@@joemedley195 I mean, admittedly it also mentions cocaine, and how neither of them are hard enough drugs to affect them, but the central line is "I get a kick out of you" so it's not actually about drugs
The Hedley Lamar characters name is a reference to a beautiful 30-40’s actress Hedy Lamar. Hedy is kind of an unsung modern day hero, without her invention of something called “frequency hopping” most of our modern day communications would not exist. No cellphones! She invented it during WWII, but would take years to be fully developed. She was upset about this movie and was suing, when Mel heard she was, he said “It’s Hedy Lamar, pay her!”
Internet myth blindly repeated over and over without researching. She was a bright woman but she did not invent frequency hopping, it already existed when she and Antheil came up with one method of doing it which was never put into use. The work of Nikola Tesla and others led to modern wireless technology we use today. The story of her suing about name similarity in the film is true ( Mel said don't fight that, let's settle out of court ).
@@JeffreyTappan-bb8rr For Brigitte Bardot's character in "Contempt," Fritz Lang is the director of "Rancho Notorious" (with Dietrich) rather than "M" (with Peter Lorre).
My Introduction to Mel Brooks was through his History of the World. It's mentioned too seldom among his other great work. With Mel in one of the major Roles, Gregory Hines, Madeline Khan again (Lili Von Schtüpp) and Dom DeLuise (the director from the musical number towards the end and another reoccurring actor in his films) and Bea Arthur.
FYI - I apologize for missing anything during this! The Bluetooth for my headphones kept cutting in and out during the movie!
Otherwise, the movie was HILARIOUS, raunchy, unexpected, and I loved every second!
I have seen this movie what seems like hundreds of times. It's always amazing to watch someone see it for the first time ! And yes, that was legitimate laughter... Gene Wilder's response of "Morons" was a total ad-lib !!
Here's a brilliant interview with Mel Brooks about the movie... th-cam.com/video/uv7L6Hrlj58/w-d-xo.htmlsi=HEivY5GTVu_hG6ZU
They brought black comedian Richard Pryor in to help write and make sure the jokes were not too over the top or offensive. He not only signed off on all of them but came up with some of the cringe ones on his own.
28:45.."Methodists?" Mel and Richard didn't spare anybody!! Never saw you crack up so..best reaction to Blazing Saddles I've seen yet! My favs--When the Waco KId and Bart tease the KKK guys.."Hey where the white women at?!" Oh yeah, and the thugs getting stopped by the toll booth. I'm not sure they could get away with doing this film today, the PC police would go nuts!! But at least Heddy ( I mean, Hedley) Lamarr WAS an equal opportunity employer...
That was the great thing about movies from back then. They weren't afraid to make fun of things that were politically incorrect.
In response to those who say they could never make this movie today…Mel Brooks said “Today?!? I couldn’t make it back then!” 😂
😂
Fact
I like to think that Seth Macfarlane's A Million Ways To Die In The West, is the spiritual successor to Blazing Saddles.
People often forget how much controversy surrounded it at the time. I think most people generally mean it couldn’t be made by a large studio today. Especially WB.
He actually did remake it... "Paws of Fury, The Legend of Hank"
I think Mel had the right idea. The way to eliminate "bad words" is not to prohibit them, but to ridicule them and abuse the terms until they are meaningless.
Not sure I would put it like that. We don't want them meaningless. I think what they are doing is satire and mocking to where something in even the most irrational hate filled brain gets a sense that they might be the bad person.
"Meaningless" is not what he was going for here, the very fact that he intentionally used language like that in the script says that he thinks they are meaningful. It's more about representing the way that the words are applied. Everyone in the film using derogatory terms was portrayed as being an absolute idiot, usually as a result of ignorance and separation. If you notice, none of the townspeople used derogatory language against the Sheriff once he became a part of their community and they knew him as a person. Mel (and Richard Pryor) wanted to associate that kind of language with people who have zero understanding of the world around them and how to navigate it.
@@jlog1c EXACTLY.
@@jlog1c I agree. Censor or forbid certain terms or language is never a good idea. It makes using those words even more appealing for a certain groups, no matter what. It is the same with 'explicit language warnings' in music. it's been seen almost as a badge of honor. It is always about context. And using terms like Mel Brooks did in this movie is genius. Also he doesn't beliterate the audience, he includes it into the movie in a way you have to laugh at the bad guys without you realizing that you start to see the stupidity of using derogatory terms. And it is entertaining as hell too. I hate to use the term perfection when it comes to Art, but this is damned close to it 🙂
Edit: hope I expressed what I mean in the right way, english isn't my native language
@@shanwyn
Look, white people have no place to say that word, period.
Having said that yes of course racism is stupid. 🙂
I don’t think it gets mentioned often enough, but it’s very important to keep in mind that Richard Pryor helped write this movie. The satire is super heavy and the racists are truly the ones being mocked.
Mel Brooks had Gene write the lines for the black sheriff and Richard wrote the lines for the gun fighter.
I think sometimes people see a clip from it and think it's a racist comedy, but it's really a comedy *about* racists.
If you like Mel Brooks and musicals you should check out the producers either one is good but i prefer the nathan lane version
Richard Pryor mostly wrote Mongos lines, only pawn in game of life thsts Richard Pryor
Brooks originally wanted Pryor to play Bart. But he declined.
This movie didn't just break the fourth wall. It tore it down, stepped through it, and proceeded to destroy the studio. And the backlot, and the theater.
and then hail a cab. perfection.
and continue at Grauman's lol
The laughter after Gene said "Morons" was legit. He improvised that line, and Cleavon had NO idea that he was going to say it.
I love that aspect. Can you imagine having Gene Wilder trying to crack you up?
@@therealnitrouso2world's most difficult try not to laugh challenge 😂
@@SliderFury1 i wouldn't even TRY to not laugh haha
Nothing cringe about this movie at all. A pure comedic masterpiece.
99.9% of college people today would cringe, cry and run screaming for their fuzzy kittens safe spaces. THAT is why 99% of all comics BOYCOTT performing in ANY college or University. The radical leftist Marxist professors have brainwashed two generations of children now.
DO NOT send your child to college, university or even Military College. All are INFESTED with DEI and wokeness.
I think the US Merchant Marine Academy is still OK. Your child will work in an incredible union with incredible benefits for a mere six months per years and become a millionaire eventually.
Top tier officers in the right union on the right ship can make BANK! $200K for ONLY six months work per year. Masters Mates and Pilots. Become a PILOT and the kid is set for LIFE!
We are talking multi millionaire. NO WOKE ADGENDAS!
The cringe is the most hilarious part of the film. you KNOW it's wrong, and it keeps. going. on.
It's genius because the Mick is taken out of the stereotypes that use the crappy behaviours and it's actually an empowering film for the lead character
I was at a flea market, found one of those wooden paddles with the ball attached to it. I picked it up and started missing with it. I said "I got a warped one. Why do i always get a warped one?" A couple people walking by broke out laughing. One said greatest movie ever! True.
The one with the pen, when the guy says "think of your secretary" OMG
Working my job one day at a warehouse and no kidding I saw one of those too AND swung it around, except I said "This thing's defective." Nobody around me really got the reference though and it just made me feel old.
Every clueles lawyer I have to deal with, just trying to rack up billable hours on their clients' dimes, I think, "We must protect our phoney baloney jobs!"
I got a similar reaction to a line from Monty Python Holy Grail when I quoted it at the top of Glen Pass in the Sierra. A guy said something and I responded with that line (can't remember what it was) and he shot back with another line. He was backpacking with his family, and I believe his wife literally said "oh, my God" with an eye roll.
Cleavon Little IMO doesn't get enough love for this. The chemistry between him and Wilder unmatched and is the precursor for every buddy movie ever made.
I feel one of the greatest tragedies in cinema was that he didn't continue in action. Mr. Little had a rare talent and his ability to play equal to Mr. Wilder was impressive.
I imagine he is the only one who would have had a chance at being better in Richard Pryors roles in Hear No Evil See No Evil, maybe Anthony Hopkins but it would have been a doffernt style comedy at that point.
To this day, the funniest line I've heard in any movie, ever, is Cleavon Little's "Hey, where the white women at"
Yep, I still use that line.
Yes, funny at face value and almost all reactors laugh at that point, when they stop cringing and realize it's ok to laugh and get where this movie is coming from too.
I said the same thing. Easily the most quoted line of BS. And the fact that its a black Sheriff saying it to the KKK is priceless.
Oh yeah. "Where da white women at?" So many layers to that joke. Absolutely fantastic.
Back in high school band (early 80s), we had an away game in a town where a known klansman had recently made a bid for mayor. When we got to the school, one of the black guys in the band stepped off the bus and shouted that line. Everybody cracked up! Band, parents, band director, everyone!
My uncle was a character actor and was good friends with Mel Brookes. They would go out to eat and Mel loved to pretend that he was a German tourist and would order his food in Yiddish. My uncle would fake interpret what Mel was ordering and Mel would eat whatever my uncle interpreted as his order.
Such a good memory, Raymond. Mel Brooks was a hoot.
So Brilliant!
Now there's a story - what fun!
Was your uncle Fyvush Finkel?
@@maxhubmann1696 nah, my uncle's name was Lee Richardson. He knew a lot of famous people but his stories about Mel Brookes always made me chuckle.
"Blazing Saddles" was written to be a parody of Frankie Lane's songs, and Brooks was looking for somebody who could sing in Frankie Lane's style. He was SHOCKED when Frankie Lane himself showed up and said, "I'd be happy to sing it"-which helped set the tone of the movie perfectly, and gave Lane a late-period hit song!
Brooks didn't even tell Lane it was for a comedy. That's why it sounds so soulful and real.
Reminds me of when Dalton took his role as Skinner in Hot Fuzz. They based thr character around him, and he was like "Yo I wanna do that"
The GOAT Madeline Kahn! note that she breaks character right at the end of Lily's show, at the last moment as they carry her into the wings. Her laugh and smile are so very real to her person. Loved her.!
the scene where Bart is sad and Jim tries to cheer him up with the "Moron" line was totally improvised by Wilder. Cleavon Little completely broke character and laughed for real so we get his actual reaction. Favourite line the movie!
There were a few improvisions that Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder did to each other. Another was when Cleavon Little is reading the letter from Lily, He used the accent she was using and it caused Gene Wilder to spit out his drink because he was laughing....
When Bart laughs at Jim referring to the people as morons, it was real. Cleavon Little broke character and they left it in. 😂
they knew gold when they saw it.
He broke character because the line was ad libbed
@@fullmetalcrusader it's such a cute moment and really sells their friendship.
I was wondering if the scene on the ridge where Bart whispered something to Jim that caused him to laugh hard was also an ad-lib, the laugh looked genuine on Gene Wilder's part
@@TuxKamenoh that would be funny
Best fact about this movie: Mel Brooks wanted Richard Pryor to play Bart, but the studio decided against it. Brooks still wanted him to be a part of the movie so he asked Pryor to write it with him. Pryor said he would do it if he wrote all the parts for the white characters, and Mel would write for all the people of color. Adds another dimension to the movie knowing that I think
Not what I was given to understand. My understanding is Pryor wrote all the scenes involving Mongo (there is considerably more Mongo in the TV edit) entirely, and polished other parts - since a good three quarters of the movie involves both black and white actors, it would be highly impractical for the script to be divided up as you say...Brooks would hsve been casting parts for a movie with a script toraling about 15 minutes of runtime with no plot whatsoever.
Other trivia, Gene Wilder was not first chouce for Jim either - as partvof Wilder's agreement to take the part and bail Brooks out, Brooks had to help Wilder complete a script Wilder was already working on, and direct the movie - Wilder had planned to write, star, and direct, which he later did, but for t huh isvone, he settled for co-writer and gave ip the director's megaphone. That movie, if course, was Young Frankenstein .
Jim and Bart are both left-handed.
Slim Pickens camped at the shooting location during filming. The tent he comes out of during the campfire beans scene is where he was actually staying. Pickens also suggested Taggart get clinked with a shovel, as he figured Taggart had it coming.
I certainly respect your opinion, but i personally watched an interview with Mel where he said exactly what i wrote. Possible he simplified it for tv/interview or whatever, but it's straight from the horses mouth
@@MathMan271 It still doesn't make sense. There were *four* credited screenwriters, so its just not possible Brooks wtote for the black actors and Pryor wrote the white actor parts. Did the other two just write the farts and cow moos? And two *more* are credited with the actual story. This was also Pryor's first movie screenplay credit, and only his fifth writer credit overall, no way is he ready to take on that much alone.
Brooks probably says that because otherwise it looks like Pryor really just wrote a couple of scenes because so much Mongo is cut from the theatrical version most everybody watches, and he doesn't want to undercut how much work Pryor did.
Pryor was a bit of a loose cannon that the executives didn't want him, that was back when Richard got burnt, high AF.
This is Brooks' masterpiece, and easily one of the top 10 greatest comedic films ever made. It's mastery of satire, mockery and innuendo is sublime, and the direction given to the actors really used their skills perfectly.
I never get tired of watching the reactions of younger people to this movie. Watching it go from "WTF??", to "ok... am I supposed to be laughing at this?", to "LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL" will never get old.
Answering a question you asked during the video:
After the scene out on the street with the old woman, when Gene was talking to Cleavon in his office, yes, that was genuine laughter. Gene ad-libbed that whole scene, and finally got Cleavon to break. Mel Brooks loved it and kept it the way it was.
There's nothing quite like Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor making a movie that pokes its finger in the eye of, literally, everyone. Blazing Saddles is one of my all-time favorite movies and for good reason, it is sooo over the top with taking on everything all at once; slapping the hell out of stereotypes; flat-out smashing racism right in its ugly face; and repeatedly breaking that fourth wall whenever it suits them. It is a complete and total MASTERPIECE, a comic masterclass on how to make a truly hilarious motion picture for the ages.
Yep. It will stand the test of time, and be hilarious in 200 years.
Uh - That's Cleavon Little in the movie. From Wikipedia: "Pryor was Brooks's original choice to play Sheriff Bart, but the studio, claiming his history of drug arrests made him uninsurable, refused to approve financing with Pryor as the star." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazing_Saddles#Casting That said, Sherriff Bart's role was obviously written with Pryor in mind.
@@davidseslar5798you misunderstood, he didn't say Richard Pryor was in the movie, he was pointing out that Pryor played a big part in writing the script
This movie is an actual masterpiece of comedy in so many ways, many of them related to how relentlessly and mercilessly it mocks racism.
Amen
All the Indians are jewish, most of the white folks are dumb, unthinking racists, and get outsmarted by the Sheriff with trick stolen from Bugs Bunny cartoons - one of my favourite US comedy movies
there is a sequel. its called "Tropic Thunder" and takes place in vietnam decades after the war. and it is a war movie about vietnam :*]
@@timetraveler1973sadly younger generations have invented a slang word called cringe. They will be offended at the r e tard scene and RDJ being in black face but not realize it is actually Kurt Lazarus making fun of actors
I cringe myself at how many times they "cringe" - Gen Z are SO EASILY TRIGGERED....
I believe when the film was finished, but before it premiered, Mel Brooks said "either we'll get an Oscar or we're all going to prison!". 🤣
While it didn't win any, it did get three nominations, one of them being for Madeline Kahn for Best Supporting Actress. Also, I guess Harvey Korman knew he was risking a Best Supporting Actor nod, as his character mentions just before attempting to destroy Rock Ridge.
The "you know, morons" was absolutely unscripted from my understanding, he totally made him laugh.
Yes, that was an improvisation by Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little's reaction was 100% natural.
I believe it was originally scripted as "Mormons" but Gene had other ideas.
Some of the greatest movie lines of all time were improv
@fredkeeler1234 true words man, true words
Facts
The opening was sung by Frankie Lane, who was not told it was for a comedy. That is why it is so well executed. Mel said, "we need a Frankie Lane type," and someone said "why not get Frankie Lane?"
They didn't tell Frankie it was a spoof on westerns.
Afterwards, they didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth
@@artembentsionovif I remember correctly Frankie Lane went to the premier and told Mel Brooks that he was embarrassed because he teared up singing it and didn't realize it was for a comedy but loved the film.
based
@@RayNDeereyup ... they were afraid he wouldn't do it for a western spoof......so they just never told him .... then he went to premier and said he liked it and "hadn't laughed so much at a movie in years" .
The character Mongo was played by a real life tough guy, Alex Karras. Karras was a first round pick of the Detroit Lions in the 1958 NFL draft. He was a 6'2" 250 defensive tackle who played from 1958-1970. He played 161 games, with several pro bowl, all pro, all American, and many other selections and honors during his career.
Interestingly enough. Alex Karras' first movie role was playing himself in the movie Paper Lion (starring Alan Alda as George Plimpton who was a writer that played one game for the Detroit Lions in a pre-season game for a Sports Illustrated article he was writing...and which was also expanded into a book before being made into a movie). Karras also played the Dad in the TV Series Webster in the 1980s.
@@otherstar1 he also played the crooked sheriff in Porkys.
@@jasonlmeadows Karras also had a mixed-race son, born out of wedlock. The boys name was "Webster."
@barrycohen311 Webster was his god-child. His best friend had died and he and Ma'am adopted Webster.
And voted into the pro football hall of fame
Blazing Saddles has been edited for TV and will air from 8PM EST until 8:05.
The funny thing is that they won't let anyone say Shtüpp (yiddish/low german for fuck) but they show the name 'Lili Von Shtüpp' on a large poster next to the door to the saloon.
My favorite one liner is during the Harrumphing scene "Think of your secretary" when he's trying to hit the inkwell with the pen.
Lili von Shtupp is absolute perfection, Madeline Kahn as taken far too soon.
As a music fan I think you'll appreciate knowing that Mel Brooks writes a lot of his own songs. He's a ridiculously talented guy. Also, Young Frankenstein gets my vote for the next one. It also stars Gene Wilder, btw.
That's Fronkensteen.
@@mideon84 LOL...I stand corrected.
DOES HE REALLY?!?! can he share some of that talent please?????
@@TheMirandalorianReacts Evidently not. I've been wishing he'd share with me for 50 freaking years and he still won't!
@@TheMirandalorianReacts Mel is one of 18 people to have completed the EGOT; he has 4 Emmys, 3 Grammys, an Oscar and 3 Tony awards to his name. The really fun thing is that he won the Oscar for Best Screenplay for The Producers (if you haven't seen that, it's another with Gene Wilder), and 2 of his Grammys and all 3 of his Tonys are associated with the 2001 Broadway adaptation of the movie.
Madeline Khan was so amazing in this movie, she got the Academy Award nomination for it. Her role was based off the lead character in a Western movie from 1939 called Destry Rides Again.
Weird fact, the bean scene was the first time flatulence was used in a film.
Also, the song, itself, is a parody (both lyrics and vocals) of the great Marlene Dietrich singing "Laziest Girl In Town". Easily google-able for the curious.
The "clean" version used for TV later actually cut out the sound, so it just looks like a bunch of guys randomly hopping up and down by the campfire. More hilarious than the actual flatulence scene! LOL
Another classic movie that both Madeline Kahn & Barbara Streisand delivered acting gold in was,, "What's Up,, Doc?" (1972) With Barbara also being incredibly attrative,, Causing young boys to old men to have instant crushes on her. 👧 ❤ 👦
Mel Brooks says that the flatulence sounds were recorded by him and anyone he could grab and drag into the foley studio. They're so loud because they discovered during previews that they had to be that loud because the audience's laughter quickly would drown them out.
Madeline was also a trained singer BEFORE she got into comedy and acting. Imagine her having to act out a role that is not only a terrible singer, but also a terrible actress simultaneously. They don't make many like that anymore.
"Throw out your hands, stick out your tush! Hands on your hips, give 'em a push! You'll be surprised you're doing the French Mistake!" I don't remember breathing through that whole skit. My face hurt.
Miranda, this is the first time I've watched you. Blazing Saddles is my favorite movie. It's satire at its finest. Instead of hiding from racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Mel Brooks went at it head on and offended everybody. He's the only man that could get away with it. It was groundbreaking in 1974 when I first saw it and would never play today. The underdog wins and the triumph over stereotypes is just plain funny as hell. You simply MUST watch Young Frankenstein especially if you like Gene Wilder. Your reactions were priceless and I laughed while you laughed. Thanks for watching my favorite movie of all time!
Same here,,
I agree Young Frankenstein is incredible for Gene Wilder too
Watch Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder and the whole cast will leave you in stitches. I'm 65 and went to see Blazzing Saddles at the Drive in when I was 16. LOL 😂
Blazing Saddles is absolutely hilarious in many ways, but I actually think Young Frankenstein is Brooks' best, funniest movie.
"That's Fronk-un-steen"! ... 😉🤣😎 ^v^
Back then, tractor-trailers had "YES" and "NO" on the back to indicate which side it was safe to pass on. The implication is that Mongo was as big as a truck.
being in and around cattle industry...the bull tail is choosining yes or no....majic eightball of the farm
@@darrenbickerstaff5858 I like your interpretation, but I stand by my previous answer. Mongo is being compared to a truck.
I did not know that, about the semis! Thanks!
@@Svensk7119 No reason you should have known. I was 21 when _Blazing Saddles_ came out in 1974, and I don't remember it; I found it online. I suspect it was actually from the fifties or forties, not the seventies - slightly before my time.
Thanks, never knew that and I saw the movie in a theater it's second run (the cheap theaters)
If you didn't notice, the Indian chief was also played by Mel Brooks. And the language he was speaking...Yiddish, the dialect of German mainly spoken by Jewish people.
A reference to the myth that native Americans are the lost tribe of Israel. It’s a running gag in Cat Balou
On the theatrical poster for the original release of the film, the beadwork on Mel Brooks' headdress says "Kosher for Passover" in Hebrew.
Mel Brooks was also in line with the bad guys as a producer.
He's also in the send off at the end. IMDB missed that.
Fun fact Richard Pryor helped Mell Brooks write this. Another fun fact is the studio told him to cut out most of the crude humor, so he told them he did and sent the original to the theatres.
NICE ONE Richard!!!👍👍👍👍👍😃😃😃
They actually did a test run of this with the secretaries and were pleasantly surprised when they all started laughing.
One joke you left out was when Hedley is interviewing the bad guys to ride on Rock Ridge. He hands a Mexican guy a badge, and the guy responded, "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" This was a line lifted verbatim from the 1948 movie "Treasure of the Sierra Madre".
Which was then satirized by Weird Al in UHF when Raul was accepting new animals for his "Wild Kingdom" show, he got some badgers. He says, "Badgers?! Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers!" I laughed so hard at that!
And used in the movie Bubble Boy with Danny Trejo fixing a flat on his motorcycle. The main character (Jake Gyllenhaal) says, "I have patches." and Trejo responses, "PATCHES! ...I could uses some patches!"
The Yes/No on Mongo's "steed" is a reference to truck drivers who would write this on the back of their trailers to remind cars not to pass on the right side.
Great reaction! I hope you'll watch Young Frankenstein next. One of my all time favorites and perfect for Halloween! 🎃
Fronkenstien, right?
@@TarossBlackburn You know it, Frodrick
Oh, cool. That’s good to know about the yes/no. I had always assumed that when Mongo needed to make a decision, the big oaf would just flip the bull and see if it came up yes or no.
I've never seen that, but ok. I always thought it was a funny idea to turn the bull's tail into a sort of fortune decider...
Driver's training one of the basic things you learn is to ALWAYS pass on the left.
'We offer you this laurel, and hardy handshake.'
One of my favourite lines 😅
it goes over most reactors heads, but longtime movie fans get it. And almost no one catches the "What in The Wide Wide World of Sports is going on here?" That was a popular ABC network sports show in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. (i think it went longer but that was its heyday).
Movies like this make me SO VERY HAPPY to be old---we Old Folks get all the jokes!
Actually, it's "...this laurel and hearty handshake."
Wow I have seen this movie a thousand times and I never got it until now laurel and hardy. I used to watch them on tv.
@@dubbleplusgoodThat's one of my favorite lines, and I didn't know the context until now. Thanks!
How could you miss the great joke when he returned to the railroad camp!!
-MAN THEY SAID YOU WHERE HUNG
-AND THEY WHERE RIGHT🤣🤣🤣
This seems to have been your first movie with Madeline Kahn (Lily Von Schtupp). Definitely seek out more of her work. She was a legend, and we lost her way too soon.
She was also a talented singer. She said she had practice singing "bad" for the movie just as much as she had to practice singing for Broadway.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Edit for clarification: I meant that the work that goes into doing it fluently and with no ham-fisted attempts is what makes it great. She put in a lot of work to be a 'bad singer/actress' on command and make it look genuine. That's the sign of talent.
Pre-Edit: The age-old adage about telling 'good' from 'great'. Great is being able to convincingly be bad on command without forcing it.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 I got a notif that you'd replied to a post, but it didn't direct me to the reply. I'm hoping it was my post in THIS comment? I clarified, because I was unsure if you misunderstood the statement or were disagreeing. I have edited accordingly and appreciate drawing attention to the lack of clarity.
For the sake of making my notification make sense: I meant that she put in a lot of work to make 'appearing to be a bad actress/singer' in a way that wasn't forced implies a certain amount of desire to showcase talent. It's very hard to be convincingly bad at singing and acting without it being forced. To do both simultaneously is... Way harder. That's the genius of Madeline Kahn. Gone too soon.
@@AdeptusCaeiusIII I had misinterpreted your comment and I posted a response, then I reread what you wrote, so I deleted my reply.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Oh! Sorry about the misunderstanding.
The most notable cut joke from the movie is in the scene with Lily and Black Bart. After she says, "It's twoo! It's twoo!!", he originally said, "‘I hate to disillusion you, ma’am, but you’re sucking on my arm.'”
Mel Brooks took that line out (he had full editing control of the film) because he thought it was just a bit too much.
@RayNDeere actually, it's was the one joke that the studio said no to.
I've always found that so weird. Without that line, the whole bit becomes a lot more "spicy" because of the suggestiveness. That line diffuses it.
"Excuse me while I whip this out..."
I loved it when you asked if there would be a lot of breaking the fourth wall!!😂
So envious, i wish i could go back and watch this movie for the first time again. Ive seen it more times than i can count over the past 30 years.
The joke about the Irish was because Mel had asked if there was anyone who hadn’t been offended by that point and one of the lighting guys was Irish and said he hadn’t so Mel put that joke in specifically for him. Wonderful reaction! I enjoyed seeing how much you liked this one. You definitely got my subscription. Can’t wait to see where you go on your amazing cinematic adventure. Definitely have to recommend another Mel Brooks great and one of my personal favorites Robinhood Men in Tights.
That's one of the best lines of the movie, from The Big Lebowski and Santa Clause himself. "OK, we'll give some land to the n...... and the c......., but we won't take the Irish!"
I'm sure the story is real but hatred and discrimination against Irish immigrants in America was absolutely a huge thing in the 19th century.
@@dubbleplusgood Not as much as blacks and Chinese. I mean blacks were slaves up till 1865. The Chinese could not own land or needed special licenses to run a business, and immigration was restricted by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
The actor who delivered the line was of Irish descent, so he was well aware of the true discrimination of the time. Irish need not apply.
It ended up being a historically accurate joke.
Gene was actually busy writing Young Frankenstein and wasn't originally supposed to be in this picture but the original actor for his part wasn't working out. Another fun fact is John Wayne was asked to be in it but after reading the script and realizing how outrageous it was
said he wanted to see it when it was done but couldn't bring himself to be in it.
Never get a drunk to play a drunk.
After that statement Mel should've asked John Wayne to be in the audience in the theater scene.
Don't know if you know this, but the guy singing at the start of the movie DIDN'T know the movie was a comedy. He was singing his heart out because he thought it was for a geuine western and wanted to give it is best effort, and they were laughing at how genuine and heartfelt it was with the singer not knowing and Mel has to get them settled down because he loved it so much. Anyways, glad you enjoyed it becayse I know somr people cannot handle it. It's an absolute classic and glad to had a good time. Have a great day! ❤
That's amazing!!!
@@TheMirandalorianReacts, the singer's name is Frankie Laine. He actually sang music for Western genre films during the height of their popularity in the 1940s/'50s. My dad was a big fan of those movies, if my childhood memory serves - he had a couple of the man's records in the house. First time I saw the film (I was 12yrs old in 1974, but sneaked in to the theater to see it) and heard that voice, I wondered what on earth Mel had done to pull off that trick!
@panamafloyd1469 I forgot the guy's name, good reminder!
Yes and Mel Brooks wanted a singer who "sounded like" Frankie Laine. But ended up actually getting him
@@rickwoodham4570IIRC the ad called for a "Frankie Lane type." They never expected Lane himself to apply.
As "how the hell did they get away with that" as this movie is, there was one moment that got cut that is hysterical! Remember when Lily cut the lights and checked to see how "gifted" Bart is? After the stream of "it's twue" over and over, Bart told her "that's my arm!". Apparently, Warner Brothers censors thought that remark was too dirty, but I busted up!
It was the only line that was cut.
In case you were wondering about one of the more obscure references in this movie: when the man cries out “Mongo! Santa Maria!”, he’s referencing an actual person. Mongo Santamaría was a legendary Cuban congo drummer and bandleader who had a prolific career in the 1960s’ pachanga and boogaloo dance scenes.
Every scene made reference to things that were popular and well known back then. I would howl in laughter while watching this , but would have to explain everything to my grand kids when we watched it so the would get the humor. Unless you were there when the movie came out initially or have a good knowledge of history from that time, it's not the same.
@@heru-deshet359 Sylvester cartoon as he approaches a bridge in a Venetian gondola: "Ducka you head, Lowla Bridgeada" is not only about Italian accents and a low bridge, it's also about Gina Lollobrigida.
9:48 This was a joke referencing the Howard Johnson chain of restaurants which were famous for their ice cream. No one under 40 would probably get the reference now as the last Howard Johnson closed years ago.
Yes! Good call on the legit laughing of Clevon in the the "You know...morons" scene. Gene Wilder improvised a lot in this. They left that one in because it was so natural.
I had a feeling! The sherif's laugh felt too genuine to be fake
Mel Brooks encouraged improve. Another reason he is a great director.
Fun fact about Gene Wilder in this movie: He wasn't actually supposed to be in this one, but the original actor got sick during the upside-down scene, so Mel Brooks asks Gene to jump in on short notice, and if that isn't the luckiest coincidence, every because he and Clifton Little have such good chemistry!
Also, since you like Gene Wilder and musicals, you are probably going to love the original 1968 The Producers movie.
Actually the original actor showed up on set for the first day of shooting completely plastered. Brooks needed a replacement, _fast,_ so he contacted Gene.
BTW, during the big fight, we had a short scene of Lily leading some German soldiers in a sing along. The song came from the original The Producers.
@@Caseytify That song is a German folk song that is believed to have originated in1820
Mel's wife Anne Bancroft always pressured Mel to have Gene play the part of 'The Waco Kid' but Mel wanted an older actor who could play the role of an old worn out alcoholic better so went with I believe Gig Young (who unknown to all, actually was an alcoholic). That first scene with him hanging upside down did it. He started vomiting up some kind of green slime and was immediately hospitalized. Mel then listened to his wife and call Gene in New York to fly out and take to roll. Moral: listen to your wife! Also Anne and Gene were good friends and had worked together on Broadway in New York. That is actually how Mel met Gene before he and Anne were married and only dating. Mel was waiting for Anne after a show she was in with Gene and Gene came out first and he and Mel hit it off from there.
The noose on the horses neck - “hung like a horse”
I think it's a reference to the saying, "I'll hang you and the horse you rode in on."
@@jeffdavis593 it’s actually referring to someone who is well endowed as being “hung like a horse”
Mel Brooks, a master of using satire to make fun of real life. Love it.
I'm so glad the younger generation are discovering this movie and seeing it's not as much of a bogey man, as it is a mockery of one. Racism isn't an institution or an organisation with some shadowy, evil aims and means, and codewords that shall never be uttered lest you be racist yourself. It's just idiots, small-minded, and simple people being themselves. And they should be treated as a laughing stock. An intelligent person knows the difference between racism and satire, and I see a lot of young people loving this movie. This and Tropic Thunder. There's still hope in this newest generation.
Fun fact: The theme song was performed by Frankie Laine. With lyrics written by Mel Brooks. Frankie did not know the song was for a screwball comedy, so he sang it seriously & he put his heart into it. Frankie did such a good job that Mel didn't have the heart to tell him. They kept the recording as is & used it to contrast the rest of the movie.
Mel had originally advertised calling for a performer to sing the song in the style of Frankie Laine, because he didn't think he could get Laine. Laine got in touch, asked what it was for, and the reply was it was a Western about racism.
Laine came back with his performance, and the rest is history.
He also sung the theme song for the TV western Rawhide
When she said she had heard this song before. I actually think she heard the Rawhide theme before.
Another fun fact. When they were looking for someone to sing the theme, they advertised a "Frankie Laine type". They got THE Frankie Laine. They did NOT tell him this was a satire and a spoof. So he went all out in the song. Brilliant.
Showed up in the studio and had the song in the can in about an hour.
Nobody was cringing in 1974. Everyone was laughing too much. EVERYONE.
I think "gen z discovering mel brooks" may be my new favorite genre 😂
Right there next to "Gen Z discovering Leslie Nielson" and "Gen Z discovering 80s fantasy movies" :D
But MAN are they so easily triggered....
The only sad part is that a lot of times they don’t really understand the jokes. For example, the Howard Johnson’s bit is really a reference to the old hotel chain, and a Laurel and Hardy handshake is actually a reference to Laurel and Hardy who were comedians back in the 1930s.
I tried to explain this movie to a 20 something female co-worker in the office a couple of years back. it came off of me using the phrase "Candygram for Mr Mongo" due to something that was about to happen, and being asked by her what I meant as the older guys around me had all started laughing. It's impossible in the modern office to do so without getting called into HR. I just gave up and told her to watch it. Reminding her that it's actually one of the greatest anti-racist movies of all time.
And how did she like it?
@@B0mber44 Unfortunately she left the company shortly after and I never found out.
The effect of this movie gets more profound every year. I loved it as a teenager in the mid-eighties. I showed it to a class of college freshmen in 2003 and realized that I hadn't accounted for how much culture had changed. Those young adults were scandalized and amused. Twenty years later your reaction is even more shocked than theirs was.
The central ideas are more significant than ever. The mere mention of unpleasant ideas scares people away from serious conversation (and always have), but if smart people can confront ugliness with wit and intelligence we can maybe figure out how to change things.
Great reaction video. ... I was 14 when Blazing Saddles came out in 1974 and remember going to see it in the local theater with my buddy. It instantly became part of our lives. Great to see you as a younger person reacting exactly as Mel Brooks intended. I loved seeing your genuine reactions and laughter at the brilliant humor of Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder and the entire cast. ... I'm guessing that the reason you got a little emotional at the end of the movie was not only because of the music but that you had also just witnessed a brilliant, classic artwork that made you feel something. Mainly joy.
The executioner is a running gag in Mel's films. He was also in Robin Hood Men in Tights. He said "no noose is good noose!" in response to being told to let the condemned man go free. Mel loves a good pun.
Loves. The great man is still with us!
@@shugaroony typo....fixed
Gallows humour
This movie is one of a kind and you will never see another one like this. Ever! Any move where Dom Deluise appears in as well is just a 10 out of 10 haha.
Another great reaction, the main theme is the idiocy of racism, Mel's speech when he first meets Clevon even though he portrays an idiotic governor he doesn't follow the racist trend and actually says "Cant you see this man is a nit!". Clevon's reaction to Gene's speech was real, Gene didnt tell Clevon what he was going to say so the laugh is genuine. Jophn Wayne was offered the role of the Waco Kid but turned it down considering the role to "blue#2 for his family image however he said he would be first in line to watch it. Blazing Saddles was actually written with it being a musical in mind
He nailed the theme!!!
I'm not quite sure that your description of the line "can't you see that that man is a ni..." He was going to say the ugly word that we all know and love but as soon as he looked up as he began saying that he saw that he was talkin to Cleavon/Bart! The joke is when he tells the same line to Harvey Korman he still says "ni"! At least that is my interpretation of it and I've been watching this movie since it was released in '74!
@@bernardsalvatore1929 I agree.
Slim Pickens played the perfect straight man. It was amazing he could keep a straight face with everything going on. Incredible actor.
Hedley Lamarr was actually a tribute to famous actress Hedy Lamarr. Brooks LOVED her and wanted to use her name. She refused and said she'd sue him and Warner Bros if they did. Brooks loved her so much, he convinced the studio to pay her even though he eventually changed the name.
Hedley Lamarr was more than just an actress. She designed a guided missile. Her designs helped people create the mobile phone. She never got the credit she deserved.
@@DarrenEden-ub4vjshe got awards for it late in life
@@DarrenEden-ub4vjthat's Hedy....lol
LOVED your reaction. I grew up in the 60's and 70's and remember when this movie came out. Studio heads DID NOT want to make this movie fearing racial conflicts at the theaters and having the movie bomb. There was so much loud laughter that people watched it multiple times to catch what they missed the first time. CLEARLY people were not as easily offended then as they are now.
You need to watch tv shows from back then like All In the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Sanford and Son. What Mel Brooks was to the big screen, Norman Lear was to TV.
Many people are actually looking to be offended today. It allows them to virtue signal about what offended them. It's ridiculous and horrible for society. This movie was about calling out racists through humor. It makes them the butt of the joke and it's never been done better.
George Jefferson was fearless.
I think people understood the concept of context better back then.
@@jomidiam we're in the comment section of a young woman reacting to Blazing Saddles. Tell me where you see her or anyone acting offended at this movie. People get context. People still love Blazing Saddles today, including young people. Why do people act like this movie is some dividing line when I've never met or seen a single person try to say it's anything but great.
@@combogalis I replied to a comment that said: "CLEARLY people were not as easily offended then as they are now." I hope my reply makes more sense to you now.
The title song was written for this movie. When they had the singer record the song, they told him it was for a legit western movie, not a spoof, so that he would sing it straight.
And it was reported that the guy got really pissed when he knew it was for a comedy.
That honestly makes it even better!!!
Mr. Brooks took the time to slowly break the 4th wall in increments.
It started with the elderly lady being punched in the stomach and she says to the camera "Have you ever seen such cruelty?" to the watching the end of the movie in the theater.
With each instance the breaking of the 4th wall was a larger scene.
20:16 fun fact: it was indeed real laughter from Cleavon Little (Sheriff Bart) as Gene had improvised the last sentence of “you know…. Morons”
I knew it!!
Just a little heads-up, Miranda, racism is a big theme in the movie. But it’s less “let’s all be racist,” and more “hey, isn’t racism stupid?!”
Exactly. Mel Brooks realized that the best way to combat racism is to show that racists are stupid fools. Nobody likes being mocked.
Not so much a heads-up as for this video to be here means she's already seen it... 😂😂😂
💯
It's sad how some of the references in the movie get lost on the younger generations who just haven't been exposed to them. The genius comedy duo of Laurel and Hardy from the 30s and 40s gets referenced when Bart first shows up at Rock Ridge ("we present to you a laurel, and hearty handshake"), and it mostly sails right over the heads of the last couple generations.
Sadly a lot of the jokes in this masterpiece go over the head of a majority of viewers.
but the genius of the movie is that even not getting all the period references, the younger generation is still loving the movie
"the orange roof of Howard Johnson's outhouse"
Knock it off with the smug arrogant assumptions about what others do or do not get.
Yes - that was a great reference weaved into a joke.
"Where the white woman at?" Is one of my favorite lines in cinema of all time. Perfect setup and delivery. 10/10
As a black man I’ve really never been offended by this movie. It pushes the racial joke line to the limit. Love your reaction as usual. I went right into Dracula Dead and loving it. Another Mel Brooks joint. It’s Halloween, you should check it out. 😊👏🥰
Because the jokes aren't racist, the jokes are about racist people.
you did not watch sanford and son in the 1970's where racial sterotypes were hysterical over the top
Crazily enough, I think this is one of the most anti racist films ever made, and it's truly amazing!
Much of this dialogue was written by Richard Pryor the great comedian
See Marlena Dietrich in the blue angel to see who she is parodying
This is my absolute favorite Mel Brooks movie! He's an "equal opportunity offender," LOL, and teaches us not to take life so seriously. It's great to just sit back and laugh your head off sometimes. ❤️
i dont even see that much that's offensive about this. the only characters who are used as jokes are the white ones. the black characters make jokes, but the white characters are jokes. like, look at how everybody is protrayed in this movie, and the ones who come out looking the most idiotic and savage are the white characters by orders of magnitude, and this came out in the god damn 70s!
No one was safe and it was GLORIOUS!!!
@@TheMirandalorianReacts The 'Not the Irish' was added because they thought they offended everyone and someone on staff said 'not me, I'm Irish.'
What a great reaction. I was 11 or 12 when this movie came out and it was rated R, so I talked my mom into taking me to see it. One of my most wonderful life-long memories is of how much we both laughed together during this film. It became a tradition for us to go see all the Mel Brooks movies in the 1970s. Regarding the language and the casual racism, the thing to remember is that everyone who is racist is either an idiot (all the villains) or just ignorant (the townsfolk, who learn better and come to love Bart). So Mel Brooks (who is Jewish and grew up during WWII) not only made a parody of Westerns, but also made an effective parody of racism.
The "YES" and "NO" was a reference to signs on the back of large trucks meant to remind other drivers not to try to pass on the right side of the truck as they move left in the lane before making right turns.
I remember Mel Brooks interview...
Interviewer :" They say you couldn't make a film like Blazing Saddles today"
Brooks: " They told us we couldn't make it back in '74, but we did!"
Excellent review. One of the interesting ways to watch reactions is to see how different people view movies from the past. This is a spoof of 60 years of Hollywood Westerns and a biting satire on racism. One of the writers was the legendary comic, Richard Pryor. Younger people often cringe at the language, but older viewers understand it is comedy and find the challenge to social norms to be hysterical. BTW, the old prospector you could not understand was a spoof of the Western sidekick, Gabby Hayes. Gabby was in more than a hundred Westerns and most famous being with Roy Rogers. Thank you for challenging yourself to react to this comedy classic.
Not what Mel was doing. Showing that bigots are morons was the comedy.
This movie can not be rebooted or remade. It is a classic and needs to stay pure and unadulterated
A little trivia for y'all.
The theme song was song by a man who thought it was a serious western movie, so he put his heart and soul into it and Mel Brooks just didn't have the heart to tell him that it was a comedy, because he loved the song so much.
Also, Hedy Lamarr DID sue them over the Hedley bit and won 1000$, which in 1971 was a lot of money.
I was 10 years old when this movie came out and I saw it in the theatre with my parents and we all laughed our asses off. My mum loved the baked bean scene and some of the lines have entered our lexicon...
Mathew, Mark, Luke, and Duck
Mungo just a pawn in game of life
We don't need no stinkin' badges
and so many more...
I was in high school when 'Blazing Saddles' was first released in the theaters in 1974, and of course I did see it a few times back then because it was a hilarious (and still is to this very day). Glad you really enjoyed watching it, and it was enjoyable watching your reaction on 'Blazing Saddles'. Please do a reaction to the 1975 comedy film of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. Monty Python were a British comedy troupe that were on the BBC television that did comical skits from 1969 - 1974 or 1975. They were very popular here in the US as well. Their show was titled 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'. Terry Gilliam was the only American of the troupe and also did all the animation on their comedy show as well on 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. And also please do a reaction to the 1948 film 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'. That is my all time favorite Abbott and Costello film.
The Mirandalorian isn't ready for the Pythons.
#MelBrooks is "One Comedic Genius" ... #EricIdle, #GrahamChapman, #JohnCleese (and the rest of the gang) would destroy her funny bone!!
While I agree, The Holy Grail is a much slower pace even though many of the scenes are of all time greats
@@Gefionius For one, It is British about medieval times in England with British humor, and many of today's Americans are not too familiar of the history of that time period. I myself was very interested about the medieval times around 1962/1963 when I was 6 and 7 years old when watching old movies about it on TV. And throughout the years I learned a lot more as I became older. Monty Python did have that dry British humor which I did understand it. Even before them when I saw The Beatles in their first feature film "A Hard Day's Night" and the British TV spy series 'The Avengers' had quite a bit of British dry humor. I did understand it. It is very different than American humor.
My favorite part was when the librarian scared everybody with her loud voice.
Can't see anyone mentioning that Hedy Lamarr was a real actress in the 30s and 40s who's an incredibly interesting person, and among other things is responsible for inventing some of the baseline technology required by cell phones and wifi
You have a lovely singing voice! And I thoroughly enjoyed your reaction. Very impressed that you knew the title song. 😊
Fun Fact: The end of the "Lily von Shtupp seduction" scene was actually gonna have a different last line. With the dark screen, you do get to where Lily goes "It's twue, it's twue!"; but then after a second or two, you then would hear Bart say "I hate to disappoint you, ma'am, but you're actually sucking on my arm."
according to the net shtrupp is a dirty word in i think yidish
Actually, "You're sucking on my elbow."
@@banzi403Schtupp is to stuff... 😏
@@johnsensebe3153 No it's "sucking on my arm." Look it up: Brooks cut one line for being too racy.
@@johnbrowne2170 The visual of her holding his fore-arm worked well anyway.
Zero cringe in this movie, just the cold hard reality of the late 1800s. God I miss the 1970s.
Thanks, I was wondering if the definition of cringe had changed recently.
In the 70’s, everyone was in on the joke!!!! Sitcoms of the era appealed to everyone even if the show was nothing but black casts or all white casts. To this day if I see Sanford and son, the Jefferson’s, good times, what’s happening, all in the family…… I stop flipping the channels, grab popcorn and enjoy every second.
Rightwingers don't get that for example Archie Bunker was being satirized, they LOVE him. Norman Lear, Carroll O'Connor,, and Rob Reiner are and were all good liberals. RIP Carroll #The70s
@@treetopjones737that’s not true. I’m what you would call a “right winger” and we knew exactly what Archie Bunker was. We were not laughing with him we were laughing at him because his opinions on race and religion were so ridiculous. I’m Italian and catholic and the jokes I laughed the hardest at were the ones about Italians and Catholics.
Conservative viewers understood that Archie was a bigot, and they appreciated that the show made it clear that his views were outdated and wrong. At the same time, the show also poked fun at liberal views and showed that they had their own problems and flaws. In doing so, the show presented a nuanced and balanced view of both political viewpoints, and encouraged viewers to consider both sides.@@treetopjones737
Never apologize for laughing at something that is truly funny!
I'm not surprised how shocked you were at some parts of this movie. It was made in a different time. It's still funnier than 90% of the stuff coming out today. It didn't just break the fourth wall -- it broke the 1st, 2nd and 3rd! Love your reactions!
I disagree-this movie is funnier than 99.9% of movies coming out today.
Most films figuratively break the fourth wall. Blazing Saddles breaks the fourth wall in the most literal sense possible when the brawl comes crashing through it into the next studio.
The Indian chief was played by Mel Brooks, and the language he spoke was Yiddish! Mel also had another role, as one of the movie producers (wearing the scarf) in the line up of villains that were applying for jobs from Heddy Lamar's ("that's HEDLEY!") job!
" and the language he spoke was Yiddish!" Yes, that's the joke.
Chief Sitting Shiva!
He also provided the voice for the head soldier in Lily von Shtupp's act
Your joy in watching Blazing Saddles brings me joy and is so refreshing.
This movie breaks the fifth wall
Also, I love to quote the obscure “well let’s play chess” whenever I’m talking with someone and they say something a little too personal and cringy.
No one usually gets the reference, but it amuses me.
"What in the wide wide world of sports is uh goin on here" the most memorable and repeatable line ever!!
That's Major Kong ;)
“You don’t know what’s coming… and it’s going to be everywhere….”
THATS WHAT SHE SAID!!!
For real, I genuinely love this movie and am glad you to as well.
Fun fact: the main title song was sung by Frankie Lane who was famous for doing ballads . When he recorded it, he had zero context and thought he was singing for a serious western. He was initially upset when he found out it was a Mel Brooks spoof film, but after watching it agreed his serious take on the song worked beautifully.
Believe it or not, this was recently remade as an animated movie called "Paws of Fury". It substitutes a dog for the black sheriff and the townspeople are cats. The writers of "Blazing Saddles" get a credit in the movie.
When 'Paws of Fury' was first announced and being worked on, it was called 'Blazing Samurai'.
Funniest movie ever. Period. It's not "cringe" at all. It's from when people weren't offended because someone else had a different favorite color and could laugh at themselves, and besides it's mocking the racists.
Other good facts. Madeline Kahn who played Lily von Shtup was a very good singer so for her to sing so badly was very difficult for her. Also Slim Pickens, the guy who got whacked with the shovel at the beginning, agreed to that because he thought his character should receive some consequence for his actions and language.
If I recall correctly, Slim actually went to Clevon and told him he was uncomfortable with calling him all the names in the script. And Clevon telling him that it's ok, it's just the character he is playing.
I JUST watched Young Frankenstein today as well, and she sand in that and I was like WTFFFFFFF?!?!?!?
Yup, I was going to say the same thing. Madeline Kahn was a classically trained opera singer.
@@TarossBlackburn , IIRC Burton Gilliam (Lyle) also said as much about the language.
Yay!!!! Young Frankenstein reaction is on the way! 🙆🏻♂️
You enjoyed the theme song, obviously. It was sung by Frankie Lane, who was popular in the '40's, '50's and '60's and know for writing and singing theme songs for westerns like "High Noon" and "Rawhide". When Mel Brooks asked him to record the theme for "Blazing Saddles", he told Lane that he was making a serious western, and not a totally irreverent comedy.
I’ve wondered for years about the uncomfortable stuff early in the film. It occurred to me recently that showing the cringy stuff at the beginning gives extra weight to Bart’s victory at the end. It makes it mean something.
Personally I love that moment when they sing, but instead of a work song it's a wonderfully performed cover of a very classy sounding song. It's the black workers refusing to be stereotypes and upsetting the white overseers.
@@combogalis I always loved that too. The song has a line about Champagne, lol.
@@joemedley195 I mean, admittedly it also mentions cocaine, and how neither of them are hard enough drugs to affect them, but the central line is "I get a kick out of you" so it's not actually about drugs
Americans once were strong enough to laugh at ourselves.
The Hedley Lamar characters name is a reference to a beautiful 30-40’s actress Hedy Lamar. Hedy is kind of an unsung modern day hero, without her invention of something called “frequency hopping” most of our modern day communications would not exist. No cellphones! She invented it during WWII, but would take years to be fully developed.
She was upset about this movie and was suing, when Mel heard she was, he said “It’s Hedy Lamar, pay her!”
The mother of WiFi.
Too many people forgot about Marlene Dietrich in Westerns.
Internet myth blindly repeated over and over without researching. She was a bright woman but she did not invent frequency hopping, it already existed when she and Antheil came up with one method of doing it which was never put into use. The work of Nikola Tesla and others led to modern wireless technology we use today.
The story of her suing about name similarity in the film is true ( Mel said don't fight that, let's settle out of court ).
@@JeffreyTappan-bb8rr For Brigitte Bardot's character in "Contempt," Fritz Lang is the director of "Rancho Notorious" (with Dietrich) rather than "M" (with Peter Lorre).
@@charlessperling7031 never heard of it l. Fritz Lang directed ' Metropolis", though.
My Introduction to Mel Brooks was through his History of the World. It's mentioned too seldom among his other great work. With Mel in one of the major Roles, Gregory Hines, Madeline Khan again (Lili Von Schtüpp) and Dom DeLuise (the director from the musical number towards the end and another reoccurring actor in his films) and Bea Arthur.
I loved Blazing Saddles, but History of the World was and is my all-time favorite Mel Brooks movie. Absolute masterpiece!
The ball and paddle was a common kids' toy back before electronics. Lots of us had the "serious talent" to volley it for hours.
I don’t know how I always got a defective one. 😅😅😅