This is a great thread filled with opinions about Blazing Saddles, the classic 1974 comedy movie directed by Mel Brooks. Blazing Saddles is known for its irreverent humor and satirical take on the Western genre. This iconic movie follows the crazy adventures of a black sheriff, played by Cleavon Little, who is trying to bring law and order to the unruly town of Rock Ridge. With its sharp wit, boundary pushing comedy, and memorable characters, Blazing Saddles remains a timeless masterpiece that continues to entertain and challenge audiences with its fearless approach to social commentary and humor. The things is, Blazing Saddles today would have conservatives burning down movie theaters. The movie is clearly mocking them.
(via: r/tumblr)
Let us know your opinion on Blazing Saddles in the comments below!
You couldn’t make Blazing Saddles in 2023 for one simple reason.
It’s still under copyright, and you don’t have the rights.
Seriously, though, EVERY movie is a product of its time, and most of them couldn’t be made (at least not in exactly the same way) fifty years later.
Anyone know the YouTuber referenced? I’d like to watch the video essay.
Not sure but I found this touched on the subject https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vsPoxKrwIY0
To be brutally honest, you pretty much couldn’t make Blazing Saddles in 1974. When Mel Brooks screened it for studio executives, the execs were basically an oil painting. They gave Brooks pages of suggested edits, which Mel “took under advisement” while the execs were present and immediately threw away once they had left the room. It took a screening for normal studio employees, who laughed uproariously, to get them to test screen the movie in three cities.
What I find fascinating was how, when broadcast over the air, you could tell how square the broadcast area was by how much of the ‘I’m Tired’ song was edited. If the place was particularly repressed, they even censored Lilly von Scht*p’s last name by plastering a ‘Sold Out’ sign over her name. (Which is really weird because Yiddish isn’t exactly common in the corn-and-rust belts.)
That amount varied over the years, but by the time it went to streaming, almost nothing was left out, though sometimes they muted/shortened the bean scene. (Which, as per the article, was exactly where my elders had us walk out.)