Flamingo Road (1949)
“I’m not running! Do you understand that?”
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High Anxiety (1977)
“Those who are tardy do not get fruit cup.”
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Indeed, there are so many cinematic references and in-jokes packed into the storyline that film fanatics will likely find themselves in a near constant state of recognition (“Oh! Look what he’s spoofing now!”) — which makes it all the more unfortunate that the storyline itself doesn’t do justice to the series of endless referential gags. Brooks gives away the film’s villains from the get-go, so what we’re mostly left waiting for (in addition to more gags/references, as well as a completely gratuitous and self-indulgent rendition of the title song by Brooks himself) is Dr. Thorndyke’s belated recognition that his own life is in danger. It’s difficult to fault Brooks for his clear attempt here to have fun with the genre, and it’s especially enjoyable to see Leachman given the opportunity to literally dominate the proceedings; however, the film as a whole doesn’t work well enough to designate as must-see viewing. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Silent Movie (1976)
“Mel Funn — once Hollywood’s greatest director, until drinking destroyed his career — is trying to make a comeback.”
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… Feldman playing around with Caesar’s life support machine at the hospital; and Brooks et al.’s visit to James Caan’s teetering trailer, where they find that even the sprinkling of pepper on a bun puts everything off balance.
Speaking of Caan, all the “big name” stars elicited to participate in the film through cameo roles (Caan, Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, Paul Newman, Anne Bancroft, and Marcel Marceau) seem to be having a great time, which adds to the overall festive mood. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Young Frankenstein (1974)
“With such a magnificent body, all we need now is an equally magnificent brain.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: I agree with Peary: Young Frankenstein remains a remarkably restrained and respectful homage to the films it’s satirizing. Fine attention is paid to recreating the overall feel and look of Universal’s classic flicks, whose fans — at least those willing to allow their beloved films to be poked fun at — will have a field day seeing scene after iconic scene tweaked for humorous effect (i.e., the Monster’s encounter with a young girl [Anne Beasley] near a well; the Monster’s not-so-comfortable encounter with a well-meaning blind hermit [Gene Hackman]; etc.). Meanwhile, the cast is indeed game throughout, with “wild-eyed” Wilder giving an appropriately impassioned performance as the conflicted Dr. Frankenstein (he fills the shoes of his classic thespian predecessors quite nicely), and Feldman wonderfully over-the-top as his wily assistant. I don’t quite agree with Peary that Brooks “remains tasteful throughout”, though I suppose the term “tasteful” is relative — and it’s definitely kept mostly in check here. In sum, this is one of a small handful of Brooks films that all film fanatics should be familiar with, and will enjoy revisiting from time to time. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
History of the World: Part I (1981)
“And of course, with the birth of the artist came the inevitable afterbirth: the critic.”
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Blazing Saddles (1974)
“There is one thing standing between me and that property — the rightful owners.”
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Producers, The (1968)
“Read, read! We’ve got to find the worst play ever written!”
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Response to Peary’s Review: While I’m far from a diehard Brooks fan — and agree in general with Peary’s complaint (in Cult Movies) that he tends to “equate innovation with simply breaking taboos” — I don’t share Peary’s sentiments about Brooks’ anarchic debut film, which remains bitingly humorous throughout most of its quickly-paced running time. I don’t find Max and Leo “too sweet” to pull off a scheme like this (they each have their reasons for conspiring in the plan), and I believe Mostel’s over-the-top, iconic performance as Bialystock is spot-on. I’ll admit that my interest in the storyline begins to wane once Shawn hits the stage, wowing the fictional audience with his “flower power” rendition as Hitler, given that I find his aged-hippie character dated and not really all that funny. But this somehow suits the arc of the film perfectly, given that we’re meant to be thrown off balance when Max and Leo’s plans go so horribly awry (they don’t find Shawn funny, either). While not all scenes are consistently humorous — I could do without the silly, sexist inclusion of “Ulla” (Lee Meredith) as Max and Leo’s token blonde secretary, for instance — the balance is clearly in favor of scenes that “work”, making The Producers an enjoyably outrageous comedy that film fanatics won’t want to miss. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
Twelve Chairs, The (1970)
“Pride is a luxury that neither you nor I can afford at this time in our lives.”
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Confidentially Yours (1983)
“These idiots suspect me. They want to detain me.”
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Two English Girls / Deux Anglaises et le Continent, Le (1971)
“They stopped by a river full of torrents: they decided the tumbling water was like Ann, the eddies like Claude, the peaceful pools like Muriel.”
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Review: There’s no denying the “pictorial beauty” of Two English Girls, which is consistently gorgeous, with fine attention paid to period detail. However, the storyline itself suffers from being too much of a somber literary adaptation, with Truffaut’s customary voice-over dominating the proceedings. Ultimately, those who have seen Truffaut’s Jules and Jim (and which film fanatic hasn’t?) will recognize this later film as simply a variation on the same theme; indeed, Leaud’s callow character is clearly based on Roche, and is even seen at one point writing and publishing a novel called Jerome et Julien, “about a woman who loved two men… It was his story, which transposed his love for the two sisters.” But while Jules and Jim remains a heady New Wave classic, utilizing creative editing and a non-linear storyline, Two English Girls takes more than two hours to tell its multi-year tale, and eventually becomes somewhat wearisome. In sum, I find myself agreeing with Peary’s initial take on the movie (as “depressing and endless”), rather than with his later enthusiasm. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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