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.
Without a doubt, 1974 was Mel Brooks’ finest year as a filmmaker. In February he released Blazing Saddles, the hilarious and politically incorrect spoof of the Western genre. An on-set conversation with actor Gene Wilder led to this satire of Hollywood’s most famous movie-monster. While not quite as funny as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein is in league with its predecessor as one of the greatest comedies of all time.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) has spent his whole life becoming a respectable doctor and lecturer in America. He wants nothing to do with his family legacy (you know, the whole monster creation thing) and even alters the way his last name is pronounced (fronk-en-steen, he insists). This all changes when he is notified that he has inherited his late grandfather’s estate in Transylvania.
After meeting a gorgeous lab assistant, Inga, and estate servants Igor and Frau Blücher, Frederick grows to embrace his roots and sets off to create a creature of his own. Naturally, things go awry and Frederick struggles to control his mammoth creation and assure the local townsfolk that his creature poses no threat to them.
Shot appropriately in black-and-white and featuring a delightful period score, Young Frankenstein finds just about every way imaginable to poke fun at the previous film incarnations of Frankenstein while avoiding being mean-spirited. Mel Brooks clearly understands what a landmark film Frankenstein was, even though it became the source of many science-fiction and mad scientist conventions and clichés. To do satire correctly, you have to respect the source material. Brooks’ reverential tongue-in-cheek attitude keeps things light and makes it clear that everyone was having a blast while making this film.
The original Frankenstein is a classic- no doubt about it. The numerous sequels (and time for that matter) were not kind to the legacy of the story, turning the hulking monster into more of a joke than anything else. Brooks channels into the creakiness of the Frankenstein legacy and works every angle of comedy to get the best results. For a film that was made for the sake of having fun, the richness of comedic details is astounding.
The actors hold nothing back in their performances. They play their stereotypical characters with a zest and fervor that can’t possibly be misconstrued as overacting. Gene Wilder’s manic performance as Frederick Frankenstein is among the best in his career. His facial expressions, especially the eyes, and body movements are so meticulous yet perfect. There aren’t enough actors capable of selling this kind of performance anymore.
The supporting cast is also spot-on. The ditzy lab assistant, the creepy servant Igor (whose hump amusingly switches places periodically throughout the film) and the cold and sinister Frau Blücher- they all drop their one-liners without hesitation and do it with the utmost sincerity. This knack for wit, some of which was ad-libbed on set to make scenes funnier, seems to have been lost over time. Modern genre spoofs feature stale writing with obvious one-liners and sight gags. Where recent comedies feature forced dialogue to cover up lousy acting, Young Frankenstein captures the best of both.
The humor does not stop with the cast though. The set design opens itself up to snarky remarks and even adds to the humor when characters wander the castle. The sound effects and even the music get in on the laughs. Lightning crashes and horses scream whenever someone mentions Frau Blücher by name, the film score rises and falls to clue you in on what’s coming next. All of this shows that every member of the team was working as hard as possible to achieve their goal.
Admittedly, I fear that the films of my generation may stand in the way of me fully appreciating Young Frankenstein for the comedy gold that it is. Comedy has gradually gotten stupider over the years and the art of the spoof is all but lost. Given films like the Scary Movie franchise and its followers, modern audiences have all but lost their appetite for satire and spoofs. It’s easier for us to see jokes coming now, which, despite protecting us from stupid comedy like Disaster Movie, makes it harder to let go of our inhibitions and let the filmmakers have their way with us.
If you have seen Frankenstein or at least know the basic premise, you need to see Young Frankenstein. Even if you don’t like monster movies (or perhaps especially if you don’t like them) you will get a kick out of Mel Brooks and his friends firing on all cylinders.
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.
