BLAZING SADDLES (1974) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Mel Brooks

Written by - Mel Brooks, Norman Seinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Alan Uger

Starring - Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens

"Blazing Saddles is certainly one of the most representative films of Mel Brooks' very own distinctive brand of comedy. Its story is about a black man, who is appointed by a governor as the sheriff of a town, in order to stir up the inhabitants' outrage and encourage them to leave, thus facilitating railroad works. But his plans soon backfire. 

A delightful western comedy spoof, as imaginative as it is gloriously funny. The creative chaos of the film is so boundlessly ingenious that a times it feels influenced by a healthy dosage of surrealism. 

Blazing Saddles not only draws inspiration from the classics of the American Western, but also pokes fun at some of the most irritating of society plagues, most notably racism, in a down to earth and remarkable way. This is another aspect that makes it seem as rebellious as it must have felt when it was released in 1974. 

Despite its occasional excesses, all in the name of fun, the way in which its forays into glorious rudeness and toilet humour are so well balanced within the bigger picture and cohesive vision is noteworthy, especially considering that examples of such comedy are so rare nowadays."

Comedy, USA