History of the World Part I (1981)

Mel Brooks’ career features a number of standout hits but, as with any director, he is capable of missing the mark. Some of his films remain as classics, some have been forgotten about and other remain somewhere in between. History of the World Part I falls into that awkward middle ground. While Brooks has been successful in spoofing westerns and monster movies, this bold attempt to skewer several Hollywood genres and history at the same time falls short along the way.

The film is broken into five main components. ‘The Dawn of Man’ focuses on the evolution of cavemen as they move towards becoming a more sophisticated species. Brooks covers the creation of fire, marriage, art, music and comedy. We then move on to a brief synopsis of ‘The Old Testament,’ where Brooks appears as Moses irreverently proclaiming God’s commandments unto the Hebrew people.

Jumping forward a few centuries, Brooks lays into ‘The Roman Empire,’ where he plays a stand-up philosopher named Comicus. He falls in love with one of Caesar’s virgins (Mary-Margaret Humes) and befriends an Ethiopian slave (Gregory Hines). Caesar (Dom DeLuise) is not impressed by Comicus’ act. The philosopher and his new pals flea the wrath of Caesar, bumping into Jesus Christ along the way.

We then move ahead to a goofy, Broadway-esque song and dance number for ‘The Spanish Inquisition.’ We then segue into ‘The French Revolution,’ where Cloris Leachman, as Madame Defarge, leads an uprising against the aristocracy. Catching wind to the tide of change, shifty King Louis of France (Brooks again) looks for a way to avoid the guillotine.

For the most part, History of the World Part I is enjoyable. Between Orson Welles’ absurdly serious narration and some amusing references to great films of yesteryear, there’s enough going on between the lines so to speak to keep a film buff chuckling. For those who have never seen 2001: A Space Odyssey (spoofed during ‘The Dawn of Man’) or any of the ‘sword-and-sandal’ flicks Brooks takes aim at, some of the humor is lost.

Part of the problem is probably because we are so far removed from the Bible epics of the 1950s. Everyone knows about the clichés and conventions of monster movies and westerns, which is why Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles worked so well for Brooks. But by 1981, films like Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments, while still appreciated, were considered relics of the past by many moviegoers. Had this film come out in the 70s, the satire might have seemed fresher and more people could have gotten the jokes.

Perhaps the scope is also part of the problem. History of the World Part I, while sounding like it limits itself, takes on a bit too much and ends up delivering too little. The Roman and French pieces make up a bulk of the film but even they seem to drag on a tad too long by the end of it all. It’s a shame that a 92-minute film could be described as feeling long. To be fair though, had this film been little more than vignettes lampooning historical moments, it would have seemed like a half-baked Monty Python clone. I guess Mel Brooks was bound to lose either way.

If you’re a fan of Brooks’ other work, this film is worth seeing. The laughs are more gimmick-oriented but Mel hasn’t lost his touch yet. For the rest of you out there, if you happen upon this film on TV, feel free to check it out. Clever it may be but there’s no need to rush out for a copy.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5