Released onto movie screens on February 7, 1974, Blazing Saddles is a parody of the western genre, or to be more specific, satirizing the issues of racial accounts in western films. Taking place in 1847, the movies centers on Bart the railroad worker. He is, quite literarily, a brotha in trouble. After hitting one of the railroad managers on the head with a shovel after almost being left for dead, he about to be hanged for the act, when the attorney general of the area (Hedley Lamarr, who’s played by the late Harvey Korman) decides to use him in a scheme to redirect the railroad through the town of Rock Ridge (A town that has it’s own theme song, apparently. Click on “***” to see & listen to it). He selects Bart to be the new sheriff of Rock Ridge, since the last one was killed by a group of bandits that ran through the town earlier. By picking Bart, Hedley Lamarr hopes that the town will either lynch him, or leave because of his race. This whole schpeel is perhaps the funniest damn thing I’ve ever seen in cinema, and probably will never be seen again (more on that later).
This all leads into the movie’s first positive, and that positive is Mel Brooks himself. Mel is an absolute legend in the world of comedy, with works like Young Frankenstein and History of the World, Part 1 becoming just as legendary as him. When you watch any of his films, you’ll be remembering them for quite some time. This isn’t to say that the other writers were any slouches (Richard Pryor was one of the more recognizable on the script), but it’s just that Mel has a style of humor that’s easily spotted by just about anybody.
The next positive of Blazing Saddles is it’s cast. Just like the writers for the film, the cast is equally impressive and legendary. The two leading male actors, Cleavon Little & Gene Wilder, were no strangers to acting by the time they read the film’s script. They brought a wild energy to the feature, as they managed to be both hysterical and serious throughout the whole movie. Many other amazing actors (most of which are unfortunately deceased) also graced Blazing Saddles, including the late Madeline Khan & Dom Deluise, who also brought in some fun energy. Even the famous bandleader Count Basie makes a cameo at one point, proving that just about anybody could come in and entertain the viewer.
Blazing Saddles’s 3rd positive is the humor. Due to the time of it’s release, as well as the intention of it’s writers, the majority of the humor is of the racial variety. In fact, some of the funniest moments are when Bart attempts to change the town’s perception of him, which often ends up with the person he’s talking to saying he a n!@#er or a spade (another insult towards black people). Other ethnic groups, including Asians and Irishman, get insulted as well, which ramps up the political correctness of the movie. Excluding the racism, Blazing Saddles is also filled with a bunch more jokes. Some of which include everybody in Rock Ridge having a last name of Johnson, people constantly mispronouncing his first name, and Madeline Khan’s character being a highly stereotypical German woman. Sex jokes make their way in, and even a farting sequence appears (Click on “***” to see for yourself). Despite the somewhat crude nature of the joke, they’re quite effective as making the viewer laugh and show the ridiculousness of racism and many other stupid things in life.
The final positive of Blazing Saddles is it’s availability & pricing. Normally I talk about this when I do an anime review, but I figured “why not” when I was watching this. Originally coming out in 1974, Blazing Saddles was subsequently released in 1993 & 2001 on VHS, as well as 1997 & 2004 on DVD, and a 2006 release on Blu-Ray. If you can believe it, you can find all releases of it over on amazon, in both the new and used sections. As a suggestion from me, buy the 2004 release, as that was done on the 30th anniversary of the film, and it includes a bunch of bonus features. A must have for any Mel Brooks fan! Pricing isn’t bad either, as most prices I saw never went above 10 dollars (the most “expensive” price I saw was $6.99 for a HD-DVD copy).
I’ve since a lot of movies in my time, and a lot of them weren’t the most perfect of features. Blazing Saddles, on the other hand, is just about one of the most perfect movies I’ve ever seen. It’s got humor, political satire, and even manages to keep a fresh look about it despite it’s age. Yep, this is perhaps one of the most perfect movies I’ve laid my eyes on. However, there is one this I want to talk about...
Because of the point in time that Blazing Saddles was released, it is very...very politically correct. Back then, nobody batted an eyelash at it, since everyone was used to most of what was in the film. Put this in a modern viewer’s hands, especially those who have a more conservative attitude about things, and they’ll more than likely pitch a fit because of the racism & crude jokes. Because of this, any sort of remake, whether professional or amateur, will probably never be done. It’s quite tragic really, as I see this as a historical release, and a surprising accurate view on racism, bigotry, and many other social issues. Hopefully, people’s attitudes towards this film with wither away, and a remake can be made.
Blazing Saddles gets a 9.5 out of 10. Mel Brooks has his name in it, the cast is incredible, it’s got a great variety of humor, and it’s easy to find & buy, but more politically correct individuals will walk away from this.
See you all next week, when I’ll tell you about how my time at Conneticon went. Until then, stay Otaku!
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