Yeah, Mel Brooks was king in 1974.
BTW, Neil - which "Producers" film are you talking about? The 1968
Oscar-winner with Zero Mostel - or the 2005 musical version with Nathan Lane?
Because I gotta tell 'ya, in 2001, I saw the "stage version" of the 1968 film
at the St. James - featuring Nathan Lane and Matthrew Broderick - and it was
the single most hilarious evening I've ever spent in a Broadway theater. I saw
it four times in NY and I was even there for the "return" of Lane and Broderick
in 2004. That production still owns the record for the most Tony Awards in
history (12).
Then the "film version of the stage version" came out in 2005 - and they took
out several racial and sexual jokes - and one huge set piece that introduces
Max Bialystock. When I saw it, it was big, bright and brassy - but totally
UNFUNNY. The gay jokes, characters and songs in particular fell flat - and
what felt like joyous fun poking at every stereotype on earth - came off
offensively ridiculous. Musicals are a touchy genre on film. In tone, the
film bore no resemblance to what I saw in NY. On stage, Nathan Lane is
electric. On film, his charisma disappeared. (In real life, he's also abusive
toward fans.) The only set piece that worked in the 2005 film was the same one
that worked in 1968 ("Springtime for Hitler"); "don't be dumb, be a smarty,
come and join the Nazi Party!" Brooks make a mistake letting Susan Strohman -
who, unlike Brooks, had NO film directing experience - do that picture. My
thought has always been that after all the great notices for the stage musical
from the NY Times, Variety, WSJ, the New Yorker, etc., (the latter put it on
their cover!) - followed by the record-breaking-awards - Brooks felt obligated
to let Stroman direct. Uma Thurman (who can't sing) - was cast as "Ulla"
(played by Lee Meredith in 1968), after Nicole Kidman dropped out because of a
scheduling conflict. Even so, the film wouldn't have been any better unless
Brooks had directed it himself. Very sad what happened. Soon after that, his
wife Anne Bancroft died.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:34:40 +0000
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
To: [email protected]
Brook's has an excellent sense of humour, I would imagine it trancends many
cultures. One of the most enlightening stories about his film career was his
involvement on The Elephant Man as executive producer, he was responsible for
hiring Lynch because Brooks was an admirer of Eraserhead, he also had the good
sense not to involve his name in the credits anywhere as he did not want people
to get the wrong idea about the film, being known as a comedian and all. I
think that tells you allot about the man and the fact that he was very
passionate about his art.
Simon
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
-----Original Message-----
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:33:35 -0800
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
To: [email protected]
absolutely correct
it's Springtime for Hitler & Ger-man-y
-----Original Message-----
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:13:21 -0800
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
To: [email protected]
Mel Brooks' best film is The Producers
BY A MILE!
"Hitler... there was a painter! He could paint an entire apartment in one
afternoon. Two coats!"
-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Taylor <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, 23 February 2012, 21:55
Subject: Re: [MOPO] How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
David,
My experience was identical to yours in every way. Shocked, but unable to
resist.
“Where are all the white women at?”
I appreciated Young Frankenstein more than you, perhaps.
What a year for Mel Brooks, eh?
Regards,
DBT
-----Original Message-----
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:14:44 -0800
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
To: [email protected]
* I remember when I first saw "Blazing Saddles," I was SHOCKED. It was the
foulest and most racist picture I'd ever seen. But I went again and again,
each time with a new group of friends. It got funnier even though there's no
nudity nor a single f-word in the entire picture. Looking back, it's typical
juvenile humor by Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor and their gang of
crazy writers that mostly men enjoy. I took my Dad with my brothers to see it
and we all howled. But then I took my girlfriend to see it and she hated it.
She was OFFENDED. That was the kind of picture it was. (I wonder if other
MoPo'ers can share what their experiences were like.)
* Hence my mild disappointment when "Young Frankenstein" came out in beautiful
b/w. (Cloris Leachman as Frau Blucher: "He vas my boyfriend!") It was funny,
but "Blazing Saddles" is still the best parody ever. Hell, any movie that
introduces a black sheriff riding on a horse decked out in a Gucci saddle
(close-up on the Gucci logo), with jazzy music, and then the camera pulls back
and you see Count Basie and his orchestra playing that music in the middle of a
vast desert - has to be good.
Patron on a horse outside a saloon:
"You can't park that animal over there! It's illegal!"
Mongo punches the horse in the face, knocking both to the ground.
Hedley Lamarr going through a law book:
"Land snatching! There must be some precedent for this! Land snatching, land
snatching, land, land, here it is! Land snatching, see snatch."
Hedley Lamarr, recruiting a long line of bad guys, discovers one chewing gum:
"Chewing gum in line, eh? I hope you brought enough for everybody."
"I didn't know there was going to be so many!"
Hedley shoots him.
Cleavon Little, observing this while hiding nearby, says to Gene Wilder,
"Boy, is he strict."
-----Original Message-----
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:49:37 -0500
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
To: [email protected]
Has there ever been a more quotable film?
When Sheriff Bart and Jim first meet and Jim is in jail guzzling a bottle of
whiskey first thing in the morning:
Bart – Man that drinks like that’s gonna die!
Jim – When?
And later when they are getting to know each other a bit:
Bart – Well, Jim, what do you like to do?
Jim – Play chess, screw . . .
Bart – Well, let’s play chess!
You could almost post the entire script!
Here are a few more faves:
We damn near lost a four hundred dollar hand car!
What a nice guy!
Pitter baby
You Teutonic twat!
. . . And always too soon
Gabby Johnson’s right!
And there is an perfect example of authentic frontier gibberish!
Work-work-work –hello boys, haven’t seen you all day!
I could go on forever with this movie!
Thanks,
MD
On Feb 23, 2012, at 4:07 AM, [email protected] wrote:
My favorite is Gene Wilder smoking weed and talking in a high voice also the
Waco kid's steady hand but he shoots with the other one that cannot stop moving
and I love the rendition of I get a kick out of You. Lastly we cannot forget
the bean scene...they don't make movies like this anymore.
This never happened to the other fella.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:18:26 -0800
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
To: [email protected]
Or how about almost all of Gene Wilder's lines as the Waco Kid, a.k.a., "Jim?"
To Sheriff Bart (Cleavon Little): "What's a dazzling urbanite like you doing
in a rustic setting like this?"
"I must have killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille."
Or this exchange between Madeline Kahn, who does a send up of Dietrich through
the whole picture; after an amorous night with Cleavon Little, the first camera
shot the next morning shows her character (Lili von Schtupp) holding up a huge
phallic-like bratwurst at the breakfast table:
Lili: "Would you like another schnitzengruben?
Bart: "No thank you. Fifteen is my limit on schnitzengruben.
Lili: "Well, how about a little..." (she whispers something in his ear)
Bart: "Baby, please! I am not from Havana!"
-----Original Message-----
From: peter contarino <[email protected]
To: MoPo-L <[email protected]
Sent: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 8:01
Subject: Re: How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
My favorite: Slim Pickins at the toll booth- Anybody got any dimes?
Someone go back to camp and get a shitload a' dimes.
-----Original Message-----
From: MoPo List
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Kusumoto
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 10:22 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?
What, no one cares about Hed-ley Lamarr?
>"How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?"
Lamarr's (Harvey Korman) final words after he gets shot by Sheriff Bart
(Cleavon Little) outside of Grauman's Chinese, gazing at Douglas Fairbanks'
footprints (Blazing Saddles, 1974).
My favorite scene in that picture is when Bart holds a gun to his own neck,
playing a stooge hostage who cries out "Help me, somebody help me!" - in front
of the clueless and racist townsfolk, who all have the same last name,
"Johnson."
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:18:02 -0500
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: OT: DiCaprio Helps AMPAS Acquire Best Condition Ruby Slippers from
"Oz."
To: [email protected]
"How did he do such great stunts, with such little feet?"
OK, that's a softball tossed up there for all to knock out of the park.
Regards
DBT
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