Just watched this again and still as good as the first time

[loyal1]

If any of you read my signature you can probably tell I am a fan of The Producers...the original, not the new one.  I just introduced it to my roommate and he hadn't laughed so hard in a long time.  If any of you here haven't seen it I highly recommend it.  Everyone I introduce the film to  cannot get over the grand musical scene which was quite controversial for Brooks back in the day.  So here it is for all you kiddies to enjoy! :)  (Although there are so many other great moments as well!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGp0hCxSg98
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[daveblackeye15]

I remember enjoying this and I wonder if the cheapness of the end explosion was SUPPOSE to reflect the cheap producers or if Mel Brooks really couldn't get enough money for it.

I scratch my head at that.

[Shadowphile]

It was a typical Broadway explosion.

[loyal1]

What do you mean typical broadway explosion?  You are talking about the end of the movie when they plotted to blow up the theatre right?

[Shadowphile]

I was referring to the guns going off at the end of the production number.....

[daveblackeye15]

*spoilers*

Loyal I was talking about the part where they try and blow up a building. The first and only time I've seen this was over four years ago so it's pretty sketchy.

But I remember enjoying it and I think I know what I'll watch tonight.

[loyal1]

I knew what you were talking about...but I don't think shadow did.  He/she was talking about the cannons blowing off at the end of the musical number :)

To answer your question, maybe it was both.  Not the kind of movie I would think to have any awesome realistic explosions.

[Alan Smithee]

I saw this movie for the first time about a year ago. I don't think I laughed once. I never much liked Mel Brooks' movies. 'Blazing Saddles' has its moments, though.

[loyal1]

Yes, Blazzing Saddles is a great one, I own it.  I am a big fan of Mel Brooks...for his time he really pushed the envelope with controversial subject matter and making a mockery of them.  Ithink he is brilliant really.  Someone I would love to meet.  But his humor is not for everyone I know.  My liking for him started out as respect, and the more I watched film through the ages, the more I really admired his work.  For example, for the untrained art enthusiast the Mona Lisa is quite ordinary and would probably wonder what all the fuss is about...but then you learn the history, the times, the art beforehand and then come to see it for the masterpiece it truly is.

 That is what I did for much of the film, writing, directing, as I got deeper into my love of film.  And for the comedy genre...Mel Brooks is all ready noted and in the hall of fame for his daring work.

[Alan Smithee]

I've always thought the humor in Brooks' movies to be broad and dumbed-down.

[Yaddo 42]

I read an article/review of the new Mel Brooks Boxed set. I liked how they summed up his films, the more he is in them, the worse they typically are. I love most of his early films, I like "Silent Movie", I like "High Anxiety" a little less, and loathe most everything from "History of the World Pt. 1" onwards. Although I have a slight soft spot for "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" for some reason. I wish he hadn't drifted into mostly directing spoofs of genres or just broad sketch-like farces hung on thread bare stories. That's why I like "Blazing Saddles, "The Producers", "Young Frankenstein" so much, for all their broad humor the actors in those films are playing fleshed out characters you can care about, not just "types" who are meant to remind us of characters from the movies being spoofed, the same old stereotypes, or zany for zany's sake characters. Leave that to the Zucker Bros. (although they could make it work at times), the Wayans family (who annoy me to no end except for Damon), or whoever handles the "Scary Movie" series next. I know it sounds corny, but Brooks' earlier films had heart mixed in with the laughs.

Maybe it's a local thing, but I'm amazed how many people I know IRL who love Mel's films but hate "The Producers", including a few local theater actors I've known. Too inside? Too NYC? Who knows? Then again, I find myself grinding my teeth after even a few seconds of "Spaceballs", the movie is just so much of the worst of Brooks to me.

Still I give him credit as a producer, his Brooks Films made some good films outside the things he was known for like  "My Favorite Year" (an ode to his "Your Show of Show" days) and the Daivid Cronenberg version of "The Fly" among others, IIRC. Plus he recognized the talent of Dave Chappelle early on and put him in "Robin Hood:Men In Tights" and told people in interviews at the time to keep an eye on Chappelle.