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| BLAZING SADDLES (1974) |
Madeline Kahn spoofs the great Marlene Dietrich, Slim Pickens runs a railroad chain gang, Gene Wilder plays a drunken gunslinger and Cleavon Little stars as Rock Ridge’s new black sheriff.
Together, they make up the cast of the funniest, and one of the most socially conscious, screen comedies: Mel Brooks’ classic “Blazing Saddles.” This is Brooks at his side-splitting best, a movie that has no equals.
Brooks came close with “Young Frankenstein,” his black-and-white parody of the classic “Frankenstein” films. But “Blazing Saddles” is something different – a zany, no-holds-barred, non-stop, laugh-fest masterpiece.
Working from a script by five writers that included Brooks and Richard Pryor, “Blazing Saddles” finds the small Western town of Rock Ridge getting its first black sheriff. Brooks pokes fun at Western film conventions and uses his off-beat, crude humor to criticize racism.
Welcome to Top Five week at Sneak Prevue. Today’s edition: The Top Five Film Comedies.
