History of the World: Part I
1981
| Twentieth Century Fox | Release Date: June 12, 1981 |
Starring:
Cloris Leachman, Dom DeLuise, Gregory Hines, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks, Pamela Stephenson, Ron Carey, Shecky Greene, Sid Caesar
Summary:
Mel Brooks brings his one-of-a-kind comic touch to the history of mankind covering events from the Old Testament to the French Revolution in a series of episodic comedy vignettes.
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An entertaining mishmash of skits which finds Mel Brooks back in lively form, both for better and for worse. The only consistent thing about this burlesque miscellany, which incorporates skits about the Dawn of Man, Moses, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution, is its inconsistency.
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The one interlude which really brings down the house has Brooks working as a waiter at the Last Supper and asking the assembled group. ‘Are you all together or is it separate checks?’..As the old ad line said, there’s something here to offend everybody, particularly the devout of all persuasions and homosexuals.
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Mel Brooks, the writer, director and producer of History of the World, is an
ecologically sound filmmaker, a staunch adherent of recycling. If you
laugh the second or third time, you defend the repetition as a variation
on a theme; if you don't laugh, the charges are self-plagiarism and lack
of imagination. [13 June 1981]
The movie is so sour that its humor is often undermined, because so many of the jokes are either mean-spirited or scatological, or both. Women are either explicitly predatory or stupidly decorative, and homosexuals are made fun of regularly. Bathroom jokes are everywhere. Flamboyantly bad taste, which Mr. Brooks raised to the level of supreme wit in his ''Springtime for Hitler'' number in ''The Producers,'' is this time just bad.
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Oct 8, 2019
Of course, when directed by Mel Brooks, the comedic genius, you have to expect whimsically, broadway, and some history content in the music and film. After watching this, you will find that, "it's good to be the king!"
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Mar 29, 2019
My second favorite comedy. God just may just never forgive me now, but it's hella funny. This movie can baste in its own "treasure bath" after its 38+ years of pure adult comedy gold.
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Jan 8, 2023
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May 23, 2023
One of Mel Brooks best movies. Lots to love. I wish they made movies like this again.
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Jun 5, 2023
I miss this type of comedy in films today. This film utilizes puns and hilarious play on words to bring plenty of laughs!
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