Rate the Mel Brooks Movies

[Mofo Rising]

I love Mel Brooks, but I think there's a chronological line where his movies went from hilarious to... not so good. For a lot of people, this either occurs before or after Spaceballs. I love Spaceballs. Here's my list:

1. The Producers - The movie that put Mel Brooks on the map. Dated in a lot of ways today, but the sheer audacity of "Springtime for Hitler" is one hell of an achievement.
2. Blazing Saddles - Anarchy in the U.S.! Bravo for putting racism at the forefront and mocking it mercilessly, but more kudos to making a movie that, by the end, has just broken every rule of coherent film.
3. Young Frankenstein - An arthouse comedy classic. I love the fact they used all the old sets to make this.
4. Spaceballs - I love this film. Last year I dressed up as "Barf" for Halloween. Silly and pointless, but a touchstone of comedy for me. "Oh, Dark Helmet. Your helmet is so... big."
5. History of the World - There are a lot of parts of this film that seem to drag, but the high points are fantastic. Moses and the Inquisition number spring to mind.
6. High Anxiety - More along the lines of Young Frankenstein, but not as successful.
7. Silent Movie - Okay. That's about all I have to say.
8. Life Stinks - Another ho-hem.
9. The Twelve Chairs - I've seen it, but I find it almost unmemorable. I mostly remember it for seeing a really young Frank Langella.
10. Robin Hood: Men in Tights - This was the first Mel Brooks film I really did not like. It was lazy spoof humor (like Spaceballs), but not funny.
11. Dracula: Dead and Loving It - A disaster. Just bad. Really bad.