Blazing Saddles (1974)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Mel Brooks (screenplay) &
Norman Steinberg (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 February 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Never give a saga an even break!

Plot:

To ruin a western town, a corrupt political boss appoints a black sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Spoof | Governor | Railroad | Western Spoof

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Cleavon Little	...	Bart
Gene Wilder	...	Jim
Slim Pickens	...	Taggart
Harvey Korman	...	Hedley Lamarr
Madeline Kahn	...	Lili Von Shtupp
Mel Brooks	...	Governor William J. Lepetomane / Indian Chief
Burton Gilliam	...	Lyle
Alex Karras	...	Mongo
David Huddleston	...	Olson Johnson
Liam Dunn	...	Rev. Johnson
John Hillerman	...	Howard Johnson
George Furth	...	Van Johnson
Jack Starrett	...	Gabby Johnson (as Claude Ennis Starrett Jr.)
Carol Arthur	...	Harriett Johnson
Richard Collier	...	Dr. Sam Johnson

Also Known As:

Black Bart (USA) (working title)
Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles or Never Give a Saga an Even Break (USA) (poster title)
Tex X (USA) (original script title)
The Purple Sage (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Yiddish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2004) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Finland:K-12 | Portugal:M/12 | UK:12A (re-rating: 2008) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Crossbow Productions

Trivia:

In the DVD Commentary, Mel Brooks said that the working title for the film was "Tex X" as a reference to black Muslim leader Malcolm X. It was then switched to "Black Bart". In either case, neither he, nor the other writers thought those were great titles. Brooks says that one morning he was taking a shower and the words Blazing Saddles (1974) suddenly popped into his head. When he got out of the shower, he pitched the title to his wife, actress Anne Bancroft, who liked the idea and that's how the movie ended up with its title.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bart arrives in Rock Ridge and the "Welcome Sheriff" banner retracts, it flips once, leaving some of the writing still visible. When Bart walks over to unfurl it again, it is neatly closed with no writing visible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lyle: Come on, boys! The way you're lollygaggin' around here with them picks and them shovels, you'd think it was a hundert an' twenty degree. Can't be more than a hundert an' fourteen.

Movie Connections:

References "ABC's Wide World of Sports" (1961)

Soundtrack:

Merrily We Roll Along

One of the funniest movies of all time. Corny by today's standards but icon shattering in it's day. A stroke of two geniuses, Brooks and Pryor.

I can only imagine the laughter in the room when Brooks and Pryor combined their heads to create this one. A Jew making fun of Jews, a Black making fun of Blacks, two Western Americans making fun of the West, movie makers making fun of the movies. The childish fart-level humor and utter cornball gags keep you rolling of the floor unable to breathe. This movie doesn't pretend to be anything more than cornball humor, but it's the all-time best at that. Let's not pretend to be intelligent adults, let's just watch this gem and laugh our heads off like the kids we are inside. Downsides are the overuse of swear words, which were funny in the early 70's because of their shock value during those censored times, but today are just annoying and unnecessary. Another annoying scene is the sexual perversion when Hedley makes love to the statue, though it's funny that the creep gets horny over the thought of money, it creeps me out. But the strength of the movie is its originality for its day, long before the Zuckors. The jokes come so fast and so unexpectedly that you can watch this movie many times before you catch them all.