Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #665 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-07-19
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English, Yiddish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Mel Brooks scored his first commercial hit with this raucous Western spoof starring the late Cleavon Little as the newly hired (and conspicuously black) sheriff of Rock Ridge. Sheriff Bart teams up with deputy Jim (Gene Wilder) to foil the railroad-building scheme of the nefarious Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman). The simple plot is just an excuse for a steady stream of gags, many of them unabashedly tasteless, that Brooks and his wacky cast pull off with side-splitting success. The humour is so juvenile and crude that you just have to surrender to it; highlights abound, from Alex Karras as the ox-riding Mongo to Madeline Kahn's uproarious send-up of Marlene Dietrich as saloon songstress Lili Von Shtupp. Adding to the comedic excess is the infamous campfire scene involving a bunch of hungry cowboys, heaping servings of baked beans and, well, you get the idea. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
A hilarious, madcap spoof of nearly every Hollywood Western convention, BLAZING SADDLES turns racism on its ear at every turn. When the sheriff of a small frontier town is killed, convict Bart (Cleavon Little) is appointed the first black sheriff of the all-white Rock Ridge by the evil Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) in a plot to chase the townspeople from their homes. The naive Sheriff Bart soon realizes from the less-than-cheery welcome that the townspeople (who all seem to be named Johnson) aren't prepared for a black sheriff and that he was never meant to succeed at all. Enlisting the sensitive town drunk (Gene Wilder), formerly the Waco Kid, Bart embarks on a plan to help save Rock Ridge. A scathing spoof that deals with racism, sexism, and bodily functions, BLAZING SADDLES offers a contrast between picture and words that is shocking, subversive, and hysterical. Director Mel Brooks makes two memorable appearances as both the sleazy governor and a Yiddish-speaking Sioux Indian chief, while Madeline Kahn does a sidesplitting Marlene Dietrich imitation as the town floozy-entertainer. Featuring fabulous comic turns also by Alex Karras, Slim Pickens, and the aformentioned Little, Brooks, Korman, and Wilder, BLAZING SADDLES is one of the raunchiest, funniest, and lovable films ever made.

Customer Reviews

Sadly not anywhere near as good as I remember it
I have to agree with Peter Hutton, I used to have this years ago on video and have now got it on DVD.

I remember it being really funny, too much of the "humour" relies on fart, belching and use of the racist term n*gger "jokes".

It does not take itself seriously, which is fine, there are some good bits, for me the last 20 minutes contains the best bits, before the laughs come slow and thin rather than thick and fast.

According to the IFA list compiled in 2000 this is the 6th funniest film of all-time, all I can say is that they've not watched many comedies over the past 28 years as in my opinion there are at least 50 films funnier than this in that time alone.

Much of the humour in this film is outdated and many of the things that I found funny 15-20 years ago fall flat on their face, even Gene Wilder does not seem particularly funny in this anymore and I never thought I'd say that.

If you want a film that does pass the test of time then take a look at the considerably better Young Einstein which is another Mel Brooks/Gene Wilder film, Gene Wilder is superb and very funny too!!

Blazing Saddles - best patrol movie
We had Blazing Saddles as a movie onboard our submarine back in the mid 80's. I think my watch must have seen it a dozen times, until the Control Room watch could recite any scene from it. It is brilliant. Doing the watch handover to the strains of "There was a sleepy town called Rock Ridge..." in the background was slightly surreal. Best line in the film, you almost miss it - "Bart! They said you was hung!" "And they was right...!"

They keep coming and going and going and coming, and always too soon...
Films by Mel Brooks are guaranteed to court controversy amongst the easily outraged. This film may not be a timeless classic, but in a world of political correctness gone mad, it is perfect escapism. In this age, where everything is offensive to someone, this fixes that by being offensive to pretty much everyone.

You know you're in for a treat when you hear the sheriff ride in shouting "What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is going on here?". Cleavon Little puts in a great turn in the only performance of his I have ever seen. Gene Wilder sails through his alcoholic gun-toting cowboy, and Dom De Luise has a great little camp cameo at the end when it all goes really silly.

Don't be offended by this, life is far too short.