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Blazing SaddlesRating:
Release Date: 03 February, 2004 Retail Price: $19.98 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Complete Cast (11 total) |
Blazing Saddles Reviews
An important work of art
(4.5/5 stars) This film is so good because we all know people who are racist or who harbor prejudices against an ethnic or religious group. Brooks lays all of this bare and then confronts this bigotry directly by making a black man and his Jewish partner the heroes of the movie. True, the Gentiles don't fair very well in the movie because it seems every one of them winds up being portrayed as racist, mindless or both. As a Gentile, this does not bother me because I believe the point Brooks was trying to make is that during the period in which this film takes place, the 19th century, the white majority largely viewed the non-white minority as second class. Certainly there were enlightened people who earnestly believed all races and classes should share the same privileges, but this was after the Civil War and long before the era of Civil Rights. Blacks were free, but were very far from being accepted in business or as part of white society as a whole. It is within this setting that Brooks devises an astute commentary on the topic of race relations. When the Governor (Brooks) makes Bart (Cleavon Little) sheriff (as part of a self-serving plan, incidentally), no one takes it seriously because the town sheriff is a person the townsfolk respect and upon whom they rely (or at least hoped) for safety. How will these whites come to terms with having a sheriff they do not respect, and whom they view as being naturally inferior and therefore incapable of protecting them? This is not one of those condescending, guilt-ridden movies that white people make wherein the black man with a heart of gold is redeemed at the end only because a sympathetic white character shows him some pity. (See: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Green Mile, etc.) No, in this movie, the black characters are seen as being clever, intelligent and talented enough to redeem themselves based on their own terms. Yes, there are racial epithets and stereotypes that are offensive and politically incorrect; however, these are used to illustrate the ignorance and intolerance of the offender rather than as a valid way of inciting the offended. Much of the humor is sophomoric and scatological, so one's appreciation of the film will likely be in direct proportion to one's proclivity for such humor. Listen for Frankie Laine singing the title song and watch for a cameo by Count Basie. The finale is rather weak and I wish Brooks would have ended it before it spilled over the set, which is why I stop short of giving it five stars. The anniversary DVD is presented in anamorphic widescreen and looks great.
Classic Comedy
If you like Mel Brooks, you'll love this movie. I laugh everytime I watch it.
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