Blazing Saddles (1974) Review

Posted on the 16 August 2018 by Caz @LetsGoToTheMov7

In an attempt to ruin a town which is in the way of the railroad being built and be able to buy the land a corrupt politician appoints a black sheriff to cause total chaos. As he talks the Governor into this.

Blazing Saddles is often voted one of the funniest films of all time, Mel Brooks taking his parody style film to the world of Westerns. Leaving nothing unturned as his main theme highlights the racism that has always been around in America, then manages to flip it. With the main character being a black man as Sheriff Bart. He meets Jim who is currently locked up in the jail and a very unlikely friendship takes place.

Some parts of the film I did find hilarious, my favourite being when Bart takes himself hostage even though they all wanted to shoot him anyway. Honestly I could watch that scene over and over again and still laugh at it each and every time. I guess I like rather daft stupid moments which I cannot help but laugh out loud at. I as not a fan of the famous campfire scene as do not find things like that funny at all, I think that is more of a male thing? Well, for me it is anyways.

Cleavon Little is outstanding as Bart and works so well with Gene Wilder who keeps impressing me more and more with each film I watch him in, truly understanding the hype around him as an actor now. Mel Brooks takes on two very different roles in the film and I have to admit that his governor role is hilarious as he cannot see properly and plays on that in the best comic way.

The finale of the film breaks down the fourth wall and I think that was something I struggled to get involved with to be brutally honest, it totally changed what I had previously been watching into something that I was not expecting. I would therefore place this third in my Mel Brooks list. I can fully understand why it is so well regarded and loved, I just found myself rather underwhelmed when comparing it to his other films that I really enjoy.