Mel Brooks
By
User:AllieCashel @timeAndDate(1276541076)
Famous for his brilliant farces and comic parodies, Mel Brooks is arguably one of the most talented directors of our time. He is one of the very few people who can say that he has won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony and has three of his films ranked in the top 100 comedies of all time by the American Film Institute (''Blazing Saddles, The Producers,'' and ''Young Frankenstein''). Since his release of ''The Producers'' in 1968, Brooks has continued to create hysterical films while also maintaining high quality movie making (an aspect of many comedies that often seems to fall by the way side) throughout his career. His films are sure to make you laugh at any time and represents some of strongest films in American comedy.
Popular Mel Brooks Films
'''The Producers''' - Brooks both wrote and directed this 1968 classic comedy which tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who attempt to cheat their investors by deliberately producing a flop show (entitled ''Springtime for Hitler'') on Broadway. Although many critics took issue with some of the potentially offensive Hitler allusions, most found the film to be brilliantly funny and wildly successful including the members of the Academy, who awarded the film Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars that year. Interestingly, over time the film has gained more and more popularity and is now considered by many to be one of the funniest movies of all time. The film was also turned into a Broadway show, which continues to be one of the most successful productions on Broadway.
'''Blazing Saddles''' - This 1974 satirical Western comedy was also written and directed by Brooks. In fact, Brooks even appears in the film in a few supporting and cameo roles. The film explores and reveals a lot of the racism obscured by fabricated Hollywood stories of the American West, but in a highly satirical and absolutely hysterical way. For example, the racist slur "nigger" is heard 17 times in ''Blazing Saddles'', regardless of the fact that the film's hero is black. Similar to ''The Producers'', the film was found offensive by many critics at the time of its release but has grown to be one of the most popular "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" (according to the Library of Congress in 2006) comedies of all time.
'''Young Frankenstein''' scientist we are familiar with from Mary Shelley's famous novel. Similarly to ''The Producers ''and ''Blazing Saddles'', this film has gained popularity over time and is now ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the funniest movies of all time. This film was also made into a Broadway production, but was not nearly as successful as ''The Producers'' on the New York stage. Regardless of this however, the film is arguably one of Brooks' best, and is sure to have you laughing out loud every time you watch it.
'''Spaceballs''' classic. Brooks helped to write, act, direct and produce this satirical film, which pokes fun at series like Star Trek and the Star Wars Trilogy. It tells the story of Planet Spaceball, which has wasted all of its air and needs to find somewhere to move all of its residents. It is a favorite among many Brooks fans, regardless of some of its negative critical reviews.
'''Robin Hood: Men In Tights''' - In the box office, this 1993 film ended up to be one of Brooks' most successful and remains one of Brook's most beloved comedies. It tells the story of Robin Hood and his men as only Brooks' can tell it, poking fun at the past more serious Robin Hood films and just about anything else it can. A personal favorite, this movie is completely ridiculous in an impressively smart way, keeping you laughing throughout almost every scene.
* Some other popular Brooks films include''
The History of the World: Part I.''
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