So happy to see some love for Mel Brooks! Spaceballs was a huge part of my life for many years, I remember taking a field trip on a coach bus in middle school where they played the movie on the drive, and me and a friend quoted every single line from the film. Mel Brooks was a true one of a kind talent.
It's must be good to be the king.....of comedy. A great video, it's important to understand that brooks is also a filmmaker, not just a comedian. He understands that comedy is an art form that deserves work, talent and time.
Vicente Ortega Rubilar It really does take a lot of work to make it look effortless, doesn't it? The man's stuff just has a lot of underacknowledged craft about it.
Johnathon Haney, yes! You can see that a LOT of Mel Brooks parodies have a much smaller budget than the ones parodied, but since the gags and comedic timing are so great, it works perfectly and even adds another layer to the humor (full awareness of the cheaper set pieces). There are exceptions though. Very bold move to shoot Young Frankenstein on real black and white film stock back in 1974. I heard it took a LOT of convincing from Brooks to actually being allowed shooting it on real black and white stock (as opposed to color stock and black and white prints, which doesn,t look the same and the top brass can trick the director by having made color prints). The result is fantastic with a genuine 1930s and 40s look and feel. Brooks even knows his cameras, lenses and film stock. The thicker, then older, film stock (Brooks said in an interview that is was Agfa, not mentioned on IMDb, where the tech information is usually incomplete) even caused technical problems, but he and his DP solved all of these.
Yes, but it needs a lot of thought to keep it interesting. Two people talking, even if it is clever dialogue, is one of the most boring things and a static two shot puts you to sleep. You need to add camera movement that doesn,t draw attention to itself (Mel Brooks cleverly pointed out that Hitchcock overused it) OR give the actors something to do with props or the likes that makes sense. Action movies, especially a one on one fight, are easier regarding camera work, since the choreography already has been done (in good action movies that is) and the camera follows smoothly.
Love Mel Brooks! Absolute comedic genius! Many of his movies are spoofs and love letters to cinema (and stage plays) at the same time. A lot of his gags are saying: Why didn´t this happen in the original? Incredibly keen observation and obvious AFTER Mel Brooks came up with the ideas. Spaceballs (for example) might not be his masterpiece, but it has tons of very clever gags and even says a LOT about Star Wars. High Anxiety is a hilarious parody of typical iconic Hitchcock movies and shows how much Mel Brooks really knows about the movies and how they work. Great break down of his method and style. Absolutely: his influence can be felt to this day. As always: thanks for another great video about a great (and somehow rarely covered) subject!
Johnathon Haney, The whole movie is totally hilarious. Zero Mostel was a comedic heavyweight (pun intended) and Gene Wilder was great as always. Well I know that this is perhaps the most serious (in lack of a better word) subject matter, but Mel Brooks addressed it through humor. Charles Chaplin did something kind of similar, but he went serious in the end. Mel Brooks always keeps on coming with very clever gags and stays clear of any melodrama or preaching until the end. Genius!
Loved Mel Brooks ever since the first time I ever saw Spaceballs (which was most of my generation's intro to him). Even before that, my parents gave me a poster of Young Frankenstein that hung on my wall for years. It's good to see someone acknowledge him as more than just admittedly hilarious slapstick.
Ah, but you see. He really gets slapstick, too. He's one of the only people I've seen who can make live action slapstick work in a post-Warner Bros world.
Not to mention how to make a great comedic masterpiece. Sadly, no one makes comedic masterpieces anymore in recent times because all there is is sex and drug related humor that create the atmospheres of dumb frat parties. We need new comic filmmaking auteurs.
That last sound bite from Brooks himself... it's a shame rian Johnson didn't hear that and let it sink in... but then again the directors of rogue one found out what "creative differences" meant xD I love Brooks films...i was brought up on silent movie and blazing saddles not truly getting the punchline but knew I'd understand his humour one day
God bless Mel Brooks!!! I never really understood the meaning, truth, and importants of the words... *Director's Cut* until The Crow 2... I know, pretty late in the game but the way the directors original cut (not the false director's cut later released) was described...is something we will never have! Such a great tragedy in my life...personally....sigh
Do one with Disney's the lion king both the animated film and the live action remake of it please, and to let u know that I love both the animated film and the live action remake of Disney's the lion king.
2001 a space odyssey. Yes, I know it is a clichéd choice, but I am truly amazed with the visual story telling and the effects each time I watch it. For The Producers I love the lovable characters, the story and the well timed comedy.
Not a cliched choice at all. It´s only number 90 (!!!) in IMDb top 250. Well I think it´s and excellent choice for many reasons. Did a lot of research regarding how Kubrick was able to create such incredibly convincing and mind blowing special effects back in the mid 1960s, all done with film. No electronic broadcast and video tape technology, no computers. All (!) monitors inside the spaceship had built in 16mm film projectors with totally clean film loops, all in perfect sync with the 70mm (Camera 65) cameras to get a pristine looking image without any artifacts. That´s just for starters. Ooops, I got carried away. To sum it up: Excellent choice!!!
DamnQuilty 2001 always felt a bit dull to me but I acknowledge its reach, popularity and influence. It still colors how films deal with sentient and sapient AI to this day. And how can anyone NOT acknowledge Brooks' subversive genius after seeing the intro of Springtime For Hitler in The Producers?
Johnathan Haney, apologies for being off topic, but 2001 was the first serious and convincing science fiction film ever. It very heavily influenced Star Wars and made it possible. The convincing looking spaceship model work: 2001 was the first. Star Wars of course didn´t care about the laws of physics, such as gravity always pulling where it is most convenient and everything making sound in space. Mel Brooks addressed a lot of cliches and convenient Star Wars choices in Spaceballs - and a LOT more.
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1974 was a great year for Mel Books. Young Frankenstein AND Blazing Saddles in the same year. Dude (and Gene Wilder) was on absolute fire.
What a novel way of spelling his name... :)
DOH!
Whoops. lol
I’ll leave it. Hahahahah
Matt Hare RIP Gene Wilder, Brooks' (or if you prefer, Books') partner in crime in the 1970s and the man I'll always think of as Willy Wonka.
Close friends call him Mel
legend!
So happy to see some love for Mel Brooks! Spaceballs was a huge part of my life for many years, I remember taking a field trip on a coach bus in middle school where they played the movie on the drive, and me and a friend quoted every single line from the film. Mel Brooks was a true one of a kind talent.
It's must be good to be the king.....of comedy.
A great video, it's important to understand that brooks is also a filmmaker, not just a comedian. He understands that comedy is an art form that deserves work, talent and time.
Vicente Ortega Rubilar It really does take a lot of work to make it look effortless, doesn't it? The man's stuff just has a lot of underacknowledged craft about it.
Johnathon Haney, yes! You can see that a LOT of Mel Brooks parodies have a much smaller budget than the ones parodied, but since the gags and comedic timing are so great, it works perfectly and even adds another layer to the humor (full awareness of the cheaper set pieces). There are exceptions though. Very bold move to shoot Young Frankenstein on real black and white film stock back in 1974. I heard it took a LOT of convincing from Brooks to actually being allowed shooting it on real black and white stock (as opposed to color stock and black and white prints, which doesn,t look the same and the top brass can trick the director by having made color prints). The result is fantastic with a genuine 1930s and 40s look and feel. Brooks even knows his cameras, lenses and film stock. The thicker, then older, film stock (Brooks said in an interview that is was Agfa, not mentioned on IMDb, where the tech information is usually incomplete) even caused technical problems, but he and his DP solved all of these.
'Send a wire to the front office, and tell them I said.....ow'.
'Send wire.
Main office.
Tell them.
I said ow.
Gotchya.'
What hump?
From Mel Brooks i Learn Comedy cam also be Cinamatic.
keep both actors in frame and you get bot an action/reaction in frame.
works for action too, great jackie chan moments have it too.
Yes, but it needs a lot of thought to keep it interesting. Two people talking, even if it is clever dialogue, is one of the most boring things and a static two shot puts you to sleep. You need to add camera movement that doesn,t draw attention to itself (Mel Brooks cleverly pointed out that Hitchcock overused it) OR give the actors something to do with props or the likes that makes sense. Action movies, especially a one on one fight, are easier regarding camera work, since the choreography already has been done (in good action movies that is) and the camera follows smoothly.
Love Mel Brooks! Absolute comedic genius! Many of his movies are spoofs and love letters to cinema (and stage plays) at the same time. A lot of his gags are saying: Why didn´t this happen in the original? Incredibly keen observation and obvious AFTER Mel Brooks came up with the ideas. Spaceballs (for example) might not be his masterpiece, but it has tons of very clever gags and even says a LOT about Star Wars. High Anxiety is a hilarious parody of typical iconic Hitchcock movies and shows how much Mel Brooks really knows about the movies and how they work. Great break down of his method and style. Absolutely: his influence can be felt to this day. As always: thanks for another great video about a great (and somehow rarely covered) subject!
truefilm And then there's The Producers, which produced one of the most mind-melting jokes of all time with the intro number of Springtime For Hitler.
Johnathon Haney, The whole movie is totally hilarious. Zero Mostel was a comedic heavyweight (pun intended) and Gene Wilder was great as always. Well I know that this is perhaps the most serious (in lack of a better word) subject matter, but Mel Brooks addressed it through humor. Charles Chaplin did something kind of similar, but he went serious in the end. Mel Brooks always keeps on coming with very clever gags and stays clear of any melodrama or preaching until the end. Genius!
If you haven't seen "What's Up, Doc?" (1972) I recommend it. It's similar to Mel Brooks works.
Loved Mel Brooks ever since the first time I ever saw Spaceballs (which was most of my generation's intro to him). Even before that, my parents gave me a poster of Young Frankenstein that hung on my wall for years. It's good to see someone acknowledge him as more than just admittedly hilarious slapstick.
Ah, but you see. He really gets slapstick, too. He's one of the only people I've seen who can make live action slapstick work in a post-Warner Bros world.
My God, I just realized. "Spaceballs". Mr. Rental. MEL INVENTED REDBOX!!!
Not to mention how to make a great comedic masterpiece. Sadly, no one makes comedic masterpieces anymore in recent times because all there is is sex and drug related humor that create the atmospheres of dumb frat parties. We need new comic filmmaking auteurs.
I love Blazing Saddles
That last sound bite from Brooks himself... it's a shame rian Johnson didn't hear that and let it sink in... but then again the directors of rogue one found out what "creative differences" meant xD
I love Brooks films...i was brought up on silent movie and blazing saddles not truly getting the punchline but knew I'd understand his humour one day
i fucking love mel brooks and all your movie reviews! always have notifs on. thank you for so many great videos🙏🏼
also could you do edward scissorhands?!?
God bless Mel Brooks!!! I never really understood the meaning, truth, and importants of the words... *Director's Cut* until The Crow 2...
I know, pretty late in the game but the way the directors original cut (not the false director's cut later released) was described...is something we will never have! Such a great tragedy in my life...personally....sigh
Do one with Disney's the lion king both the animated film and the live action remake of it please, and to let u know that I love both the animated film and the live action remake of Disney's the lion king.
Blazing Saddles will always be my definition of a great comedy among the genre as a whole.
I like your vids but Kubrick did the same thing in Lolita and Dr Strangelove.....
:D
Mel Brooks is a comedy genius 💯
I wish he would've direct more Hollywood spoofs than what we got
Too short, Jack.
Great review!
500th like!
Love Mel Brooks movies. The Producers is my second favorite film of all time.
Agreed: The Producers is pure gold. That still leaves the question: which one is your favorite film of all time?
2001 a space odyssey. Yes, I know it is a clichéd choice, but I am truly amazed with the visual story telling and the effects each time I watch it.
For The Producers I love the lovable characters, the story and the well timed comedy.
Not a cliched choice at all. It´s only number 90 (!!!) in IMDb top 250. Well I think it´s and excellent choice for many reasons. Did a lot of research regarding how Kubrick was able to create such incredibly convincing and mind blowing special effects back in the mid 1960s, all done with film. No electronic broadcast and video tape technology, no computers. All (!) monitors inside the spaceship had built in 16mm film projectors with totally clean film loops, all in perfect sync with the 70mm (Camera 65) cameras to get a pristine looking image without any artifacts. That´s just for starters. Ooops, I got carried away. To sum it up: Excellent choice!!!
DamnQuilty 2001 always felt a bit dull to me but I acknowledge its reach, popularity and influence. It still colors how films deal with sentient and sapient AI to this day. And how can anyone NOT acknowledge Brooks' subversive genius after seeing the intro of Springtime For Hitler in The Producers?
Johnathan Haney, apologies for being off topic, but 2001 was the first serious and convincing science fiction film ever. It very heavily influenced Star Wars and made it possible. The convincing looking spaceship model work: 2001 was the first. Star Wars of course didn´t care about the laws of physics, such as gravity always pulling where it is most convenient and everything making sound in space. Mel Brooks addressed a lot of cliches and convenient Star Wars choices in Spaceballs - and a LOT more.