Oldies Movie Review - Blazing Saddles

Director: Mel Brooks
Genre: Western/ Comedy
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 1975
Starring: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman, Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 CHALLENGE
WEEK 38: A WESTERN
 
Description: In order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician (Harvey Korman) appoints a black Sheriff (Cleavon Little), who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.  

Review: Director Mel Brooks created this western parody that filleted boyhood fantasies about the Wild West. We could characterize the films as a frontal assault on American racism and capitalism, but is also contains flatulence jokes. Brooks mosses no opportunity to sabotage a serious interpretation of his work with absurd antics. It’s all for laughs, but the flat-out banter is definitely coupled with a sharp political stance.
Brooks worked on the screenplay with the then controversial comedian Richard Pryor, who was supposed to play the lead role, Warner Bros. didn’t see that happening and substituted him with Cleavon Little. He gives the film an appealing emotional core, revolving around friendship between the sheriff and a sniper played by Gene Wilder.
Brooks was never known for a sophisticated sense of humor, but knew how to make an audience laugh. And he succeeded with “Blazing Saddles”.

Rating: 4/ 5