![]() ![]() It’s one routine where I’ve constantly tried to picture originally intended actor Richard Pryor – who co-wrote the movie – doing it, and I just can’t imagine anyone giving as perfect a performance here than Little. The best part is when Bart fools the crowd into thinking he’ll shoot himself, an ironic threat of course since they’re all about to shoot him themselves. Still, Brooks makes it work and it’s funny anyway. Same goes for the punchline of its utterance given by Howard Johnson ( John Hellerman). As much as I enjoy the gag involving that word at the start of this scene, with Gabby Johnson ( Jack Starrett) being muted by the church bell as he says it, there might have been more of a punchline to the bit had we not already heard the word used plainly beforehand. One of my all-time favorite comedy scenes, the arrival of newly appointed Sheriff Bart into Rock Ridge is filled with dialogue that you don’t want to quote in public. Also hilarious is the hardly unique gag of someone taking down another person’s dictation including a part that’s obviously not part of the statement. Of course, these bits are still funny each and every time, and Brooks could always get away with recycling, whether immediately or years later in his own movies. We also get the second instance in the first five minutes of near-dead workers being criticized for taking a break. That isn’t the only repetition of a joke here. And after the men do wind up sinking in the muck, Taggart is mostly concerned with recovering the $400 handcar rather than a couple human beings. They’re sent as an alternative to horses, which Pickens’s uber-bigot character, Taggart, deems too expensive to lose. Having just met Bart ( Cleavon Little), we watch as he and a fellow track layer are selected to check the railroad path for quicksand. This early scene is a perfect set up for the kind of humor and commentary the movie continues to deal in for the next hour and a half. I invite further discussion of Blazing Saddles after this look at a number of my favorite bits, and I welcome mention of any additional scenes you love that I didn’t have room to include. With Blazing Saddles, co-writer/director/co-star Mel Brooks lampoons historical and contemporary intolerance, among many other things, as well as the Western genre.Īnd it remains as relevant as any of the countless movies that have been influenced by it, from near-rip-off comedies like Three Amigos! to fellow subversive takes on systemic racism in 19th century America like Django Unchained. Strangelove, which also features Slim Pickens – it played the nation’s fears and flaws for laughs. Like another classic that recently celebrated an anniversary – Dr. It’s one of the most important American comedies ever made, not to mention possibly the funniest in the last half century. Yet this movie, which turned 40 years old this month, is a masterpiece of satire, slapstick and silliness. I realized this long ago while listening to shock jock radio and hearing many of the most hilarious quotes from the movie turned into uncomfortable soundbites. Not only is it a laugh-a-minute comedy with too many classic moments to narrow down from, but more importantly it is such a politically incorrect work that it’s hard to showcase excerpts that don’t play too offensively out of context of the whole picture. ![]() Blazing Saddles could be the most difficult movie to celebrate with a Scenes We Love feature.
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