Right OK well I might have time to do this review but I will need to keep it a bit short in terms of the plot summary etc (no bad thing I guess!) and it will be on the 1970s comedy, Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks wildly anarchic (not to mention incredibly non-pc!) western comedy. So let's saddle up and give this un a look....
So the story is set in American old west in the year 1874 and it begins with the construction of a new railroad lead by Lyle (Burton Gilliam) which runs into quicksand, which is discovered by two of the black slave workers, Bart (Cleavon Little) and Charlie (Charles McGregor) when they ride the railcart along the track. When Lyle and his supervisor, Taggart (Slim Pickens) arrive to find the two men sinking into the quicksand and they showed more regard for rescue the sinking railcart than them, Bart out of revenge hits Taggart on the head with a shovel. Meanwhile the devious and manipulative State Attorney General, Hedley Lammar (Harvey Korman) decides as a result of the quicksand ruining the proposed route to re-route the new railroad through the town of Rock Ridge and Lamarr has Taggart send his men to terrorise the townsfolk in an effort to drive them out. In response the people of the Rock Ridge insist they want a new sherriff appointed and Lamarr comes up with the idea of using Bart for the job as he was about to be hanged for hitting Taggart, which Lamarr convinces the moronic Governor Le Petomane (Mel Brooks) to appoint.
As Bart arrives at Rock Ridge as sheriff, the townsfolk treat him with open contempt, but he soon befriends a drunken gunslinger, Jim (Gene Wilder) aka "The Wacko Kid" who apparently has the "fastest hands in the west" who was held in one of the sheriff's office cells. Lyle and Taggart in the meantime however decide to send a powerful but slow-witted henchman, Mungo (Alex Karras) to kill off Bart, but Bart along with Jim's help thwarts Mungo and ends up even befriending him. Lamar then tries to use a seductivie singer, Lili Von Shtupp (Madeline Khan) to thwart Bart but that also fails as she ends up falling for him, leaving Lamarr furious who decides to destroy Rock Ridge with an army of various thugs such as western outlaws, Nazis, Klansmen and outlaw bikers. Bart and Jim then decide to come up with a plan to save Rock Ridge with the help of the black railroad workers as they team up with the townsfolk and build a replica of the town to trick Taggart's thugs. So when Taggart's men ride into the fake town they soon realise they have been tricked and Bart, Jim and the townsfolk head down and fight it out, which leads into the film's whacky climax.
It has to be said that Blazing Saddles easily remains as one of the Mel Brooks's funniest films and it has so many silly and zany moments as well as references to the 20th century despite the fact that its set in the 19th as well as the "farting" scene where the cowboys eat beans around the campfire! The film also is well worth noted for its racist overtones but that is more a reflection of the period and the film itself can't really be said to be racist in itself as its more a satire on the racial attitudes of the time and one of the film's co-writers was of course Richard Pryor. Brooks also insisted that the use of the word "nigger" not be removed from the film either even though it was insisted by the head of Warner Brothers that it should be edited, but Brooks in the end had the decision on the final cut of the film and he also had the backing from Cleavon Little and Richard Pryor that the word should have stayed in the film. But overall its a very entertaining and very whacky comedy which delightfully takes a turn for the even more ridiculous near the end and its safe to say at that point we are no longer in the "old west".
Performance wise the film is also really good and Cleavon Little is great in his role as the confident and likeable Bart, who is given the unenviable job of being the sheriff of Rock Ridge, filled with prejudiced white townsfolk as well as having to contend with Lamar's schemes. Little has some really good moments in the film such as the scene where he arrives at Rock Ridge and when he sees the townfolk take their guns out and point them at him, he pulls out his own gun and points it at his head and he says in a gruff voice "Anybody makes a move and the nigger get's it! I swear if anybody comes near him I will blow this nigger's head all over this town!" and he backs himself into the sherrif's office and closes the door saying "Oh baby, you are so talented! And they are so dumb!". Little also some other funny moments such as when he tells a rather boring story from his youth about his family meeting a group of Indians to Jim, who ends up snoring, and Bart says "I always like to keep my audience riveted!". Cleavon also has some other funny moments such as the scene where Bart and Jim dress up as Klansmen and infiltrate the line where the thugs sign up for Lamar's assualt on Rock Ridge. And Lamar asks the masked Bart what his crimes are and he says "Stampeding cattle, through the vatican!" but when he goes to sign we see his black skin and Taggart removes his mask and Bart says "And for my next impression... Jessie Owens!" and he does a runner! Another is when Taggart and his men show up to confront Bart and Jim and Jim uses his fastest hands in the west to shoot the guns out of the men's hands and Bart says "Well don't just sit there grasping your hands in pain, how about a little applause for the Waco kid!".
Gene Wilder is also great in the film as the heavy drinking gunslinger, Jim aka "the Waco kid" who apparently has the fastest hands in the west and he proves it in the film a couple of times. Wilder also has some funny moments in the film such as in his first scene where Bart asks him what his name is and Jim replies flatly "Well my name is Jim, but most people call me....Jim". And when Bart sees Jim drink so heavily and says to him "a man drinks like that and doesn't eat is going to die!" and Jim eagerly says "When?". Also Bart asks him what he likes to do and Jim says "I don't know, play chess.... screw!". And Wilder continues as Jim explains to Bart about his backstory and says "I must have killed more men that Cecile B. DeMille! It got pretty gritty. And then one day I heard a voice say "reach for it, mister!" and I turned and was face to face with a six year old kid! So I just dropped my guns turned around and walked away. Little bastard shot me in the ass! So I limped into the nearest saloon, crawled into a whiskey bottle and I've been there ever since". Another funny for Wilder is when Bart is about to put on his gun holster to confront Mungo who is in town and Jim says "No, don't shoot him. If you shoot him it'll just make him mad!". The scenes where Jim proves he has got "the fastest hands in the world" are pretty cool, especially when he shoots the guns out of Lyle's men's hands and afterwards all the black railroad workers all give Jim five!
Harvey Korman is also great in the film as the devious Hedley Lamarr who devises a plan to drive out the townsfolk of Rock Ridge so he can build his railroad and places Bart in the town as the sherrif to repel them only to have all his following schemes fall flat on their face. Korman at times steals the film as well and he has various highlights in the film such as his first scene where he talks with Taggart and he says "Be quiet Taggart! My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives!". Another funny scene is where he talks to himself trying to figure out who to appoint as sherrif for Rock Ridge and he says "A sherrif! But law and order is the last thing I want. Wait a minute, maybe I can turn this thing to my advantage. If I could find a sherrif who so offends the citizens of Rock Ridge that his very appearance would drive them out of town" and he turns to the camera and says "But where would I find such a man. And why am I asking you?". Another moment Korman has is near the end where the film takes a whacky turn and goes out of the wild west setting and into modern day in LA where Lamarr runs down Hollywood boulevard and hails a taxi and get's in and says to the driver "Drive me off this picture!". And perhaps Korman's best monologue is when he tells Taggart he wants to gather together a group of thugs and villains to destroy the town of Rock Ridge. " I want rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados,
mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men,
Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers,
hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers,
ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists!!". And throughout the scene Taggart struggles to find a pen and paper and eventually produces it at the end and says "Could you repeat that, sir?". And another one of my favourite lines from Korman is when Bart and Jim are rumbled at the line-up for the thugs to join Lamar's assault on the town and as they run away, Taggart yells "We'll head them off at the pass!" and Lamar turns to him angrily and says "Head them off at the pass?! I hate that cliche!" and he shoots Taggart in the foot!
Slim Pickens is also priceless in his role as Taggart, Lamarr's main henchman, who is non too bright, but is nontheless loyal to his boss. Pickens has plenty of funny moments in the film as well such as his first scene with Lamarr where he is impressed by Lamarr's articulate qualities and says "Goddamnit, Mr Lamarr, you use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar whore!". Another funny moment is where Taggart and his band of thugs are stopped in their tracks by a tollbooth on their way to destroy Rock ridge and he yells back "Has anybody got a dime?! Somebody's gotta go back and get a shit load of dimes!". Also in the scene where Lamarr ponders how to get rid of the people of Rock Ridge and Taggart says "I got it! I know how we can run everyone out of Rock ridge. We'll kill the first born male in every household!" and Lamarr quickly dimisses it saying "Too Jewish". And in the scene where Taggart's men are eating beans and farting round the campfire, Lyle asks him if he wants any beans and Taggart says "I'd say you had enough!". And there is also his first scene where Taggart arrives to find his men squabbling and he says "What in the wide world of sports is going on here?! I hired you people to get a little track laid, not jump around like a bunch of Kansas city faggots!". And lastly another favourite of mine from Slim is when the film nears its climax with the cowboys invading a Hollywood set of a 1930s style musical featuring a group of camp male dancers all dressed in top hats and suits. And Taggart get's annoyed at the equally camp director (played by Dom DeLouis) by saying "Piss on you! I work for Mel Brooks!" and punches him in the gut!
John Hillerman is also great in his role as one Howard Johnston, one of the many "Johnston's" in Rock Ridge as that is the surname of all the townfolk! Hillerman has two funny moments that stand out such as the scene where he says "Ya' know Nietzchse says out of chaos comes order" only for Olson Johnson to say "Ohh blow it our your ass, Howard!". And there is also the scene where Bart arrives in town as the new sherrif and Howard reads his speech without looking up he says "As honorary chairman of the welcoming committee, its my privilege to extend a laurel and hearty handshake to our new..." and he looks up to see Bart and says "nigger!". David Huddleston is also funny in his role as Olson Johnson although his character's prejudiced attitude does leave you somewhat ambivalent about whether to find him funny or not, especially in the scene where Bart shows up with the black railroad workers and he asks that the townsfolk share the town with them. And Olson says "All right..... we'll give some land to the niggers and the chinks. But we don't wan't the Irish!" and Bart says "No deal!" and Olson reconsiders and says "Ohh prairie shit! Everybody!". But Gooderson's best line of course comes when Mungo arrives in town and enter the town saloon and while Olson is being bored by Howard he suddenly sees Mungo and says "Never mind that shit, here comes Mungo!".
And the last three I will mention are Mel Brooks in his role as the incompetent Governor Le Petomaine who spends most of his time with his sexy (and busty) assistant as well as blindly following everything Lamarr suggests. Brooks has a couple of good scenes, such as the first one where his men are around the table in his office having a meeting, they all say "harrumph!" except one, which LaPetomaine notices and he says "I didn't get a harrumph out of that guy!" who harrumphs in reply and LaPetomaine says "You watch your ass!". And later when Lamarr presents Bart as the new sherrif of Rock Ridge to LaPetomaine, the Governor is outraged and he unwittingly takes Bart aside and says "Have you lost your mind, can't you see that man is a ni..." and stops when he says Bart and then he takes Lamarr by the arm instead and says the same! Madeline Khan is also good in her role as the German seductress, Lili Von Shtupp, who is used to try and seduce Bart but instead falls for him instead and pronounces all her r's as w's. And when Lili and Bart are together after her performance in her room, she turns out the lights and says "Is it twue what they say about you men being "gifted"??" and she unzips his fly and says "Oh its twue! Its twue ! Its wrue! Its twue!".
And Alex Karras is also pretty good as Mongo, the physically powerful and initimidating henchman who in the end turns out to be a bit of a softie as he befriends Bart. Karras's funniest moment comes when he Mongo arrives in Rock Ridge and one of the townsfolk riding on another horse tells him off for parking his horse in an "illegal" spot Mongo simply punches the man's horse, which goes falls to the ground! Karras also has a good line after Mongo befriends Bart and Jim asks him what Lamar's plan is and Mongo says "Dunno, Mongo is only pawn in game of life!". And last of all Dom DeLouise provides a funny brief role as the camp director of the Hollywood musical, which is invaded by the cowboys but before that he stops a cut of the musical when one of the dancers makes a mistake and he walks up to the dancer and yells in his ear "WRONG!" with his megaphone and thumps him on the head with it. And Dom then proceeds to show the men how to do the dance routine and says the line "Watch me faggots!" but ends up putting his foot in a small pond area in the studio. And the director then asks if they have all got the routine and the men all say "yessssssssssss" and he says "It sounds like steam escaping!".
Moving onto the direction Mel Brooks does a fine job with the film and at a mere 90 minutes long there isn't an once of flab in the film and he keeps gags coming thick and fast as well as the action and he also provides a neat whacky twist with the old west setting in the last 10 or 15 minutes of the film. John Morris also provides a pleasant and jaunty music score which perfectly suits the tone of the period and is complete with a catchy title song which features the crack of a whip throughout! The film also features some funny songs such as the one sung by the churchgoers in Rock Ridge
As for flaws and niggles Blazing Saddles isn't without problems and the main one is let's face it a film today that would never be made given is hugely politically incorrect attitude with the amount of times "nigger" is said as well as the racist attitudes presented in the film. Although the film itself is more a satire on the attitudes towards racism and prejudice of the time in a way still leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth when you watch it today. The film also even has some misogynistic overtones to it as well as seen in the scene where Taggart talks about pulling "a number 6" on Rock ridge where they go "riding into town, a-whompin and a-whippin every livin thing within a inch of its life!". And Lamarr asks "do you spare the women?" and he Taggart laughs saying "No we rape the shit out of them at the number six dance later on!". And in retrospect again scenes like this leave an unpleasant taste in the viewer's mouth and the attitudes displayed in the scene itself. Although the intent of the scene is somewhat diffused when as a result of the actual number 6 attack on the town the thugs instead raped the cattle! (still not good of course). The film is also undeniably corny in places as well such as in Madeline Khan's song number for her stage show when sings how she is "so tired" of men and she is accompanied by some male dancers in police uniform, one of which reiterates what she is singing and says things such as "can't you see she is nuts?!". Its a scene ripe for skipping on the DVD/Blu-ray for certain.
But that all aside Blazing Saddles is still a very entertaining comedy, which is still great fun and memorable after 40 years.
And so I will leave yus there!
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