Trivia for
History of the World: Part I (1981) More at IMDbPro »

• Just like in Blazing Saddles (1974), Richard Pryor was originally cast but had to pull out of the picture. His part eventually was taken by Gregory Hines (in his screen debut). Just before filming was to begin, Pryor had his infamous drug-related accident, catching fire and getting severely burnt.
  
  
• Gregory Hines' movie debut.
  
  
• This is the second Mel Brooks film in which Harvey Korman's character has to correct someone on the pronunciation of his name. The first one was Blazing Saddles (1974).
  
  
• The scene where the showgirls rise out of the water (the Inquisition routine) is actually being played in reverse. The shot was of the girls being lowered.
  
  
• Mel Brooks came up with the name for this film because he was tired of people asking him what his next movie would be.
  
  
• The film makes quite extensive use of matte paintings for backgrounds. Every segment (except "The Stone Age" and "The Old Testament") features backgrounds that are nothing more than paintings, especially in the segments' establishing shots and in numerous wide shots. Such paintings were used for the harbor and for many of the city shots in "The Roman Empire", the castle in "The Spanish Inquisition" and both the city and the countryside in "The French Revolution."
  
  
• The Red Sea scene used Universal Studios' attraction.
  
  
• Average Shot Length ~6.0 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~5.7 seconds.
  
  
• The person responsible for the matte paintings, Albert Whitlock, was drafted to appear in front of the camera. He is the gentleman with the prominent English accent selling used chariots.
  
  
• The background music in the Viking funeral sequence is recycled from John Morris' score for Brooks' The Twelve Chairs (1970).
  
  
• John Myhers' final movie.
  
  
• John Hurt did this movie because he had just gotten through doing two seriously dramatic films, and said that he wanted to have some fun and do a comedy.
  
  
• The tune used in the 'Jews in Space' segment was later recycled into the 'Men in Tights' number from Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).
  
  
• The scene of the Viking Funeral uses footage from The Vikings (1958).
  
  
• When the Court Spokesman is whispering "Remember thou art mortal", that actually happened. When a Roman general entered Rome after a successful campaign, he had a servant riding in his carriage with him, whispering that in his ear.
  
  
• The vestal virgins (who took the oath of chastity) in Caeser's palace are all Playboy playmates. Hugh M. Hefner (Playboy's patron) appears as the pipe-smoking entrepreneur talking about his invention, the centerfold.
  
  
• Director Trademark: [Mel Brooks] [sequel] At the end of the film, a trailer is shown for "History of the World: Part II".
  
  

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