Blazing Saddles (1974)
"Blazing Saddles" is probably not Mel Brook's best film (that's a toss-up between "The Producers" and "Young Frankenstein"), but it is easily his most consistently funny work. It would never be made today and that statement is as much praise for this movie as it is an indictment of the politically correct times in which we live.
Nowadays, when we have to refer to the "N-word" as, well, the N-word, I find myself actually nostalgic for a time when a movie was confident enough in its own sense of humor to throw around the N-word with such gleeful abandon. Brooks has enough faith in his audience to expect them to be in on the joke, and thus understand that he is an equal-opportunity offender.
This is a film based squarely on the old Abbie Hoffman quote that "sacred cows" make the tastiest hamburger, serving up a juicy slab of USDA Grade A irreverence. It assaults your sensibilities, yes, but it does it with a wink and a smile.
Watch this film and try not to take it, or yourself, too seriously.
--
Paul McElligott
"Uncertainty breeds fear
Fear breeds consultants"
- Robert X. Cringely
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