Mel Brooks is the undisputed master of the parody. While Monty Python and the Zuckers have crafted plenty of impeccable spoofs, no one can accurately recreate the cinematic motifs of a genre while simultaneously lampooning the tropes of that genre quite like Brooks.
His clearest masterpiece is Blazing Saddles, an incisive critique of the western that acknowledges the genre’s questionable racial politics and calls attention to the artifice of cinema as a whole. But a close second is Young Frankenstein, Brooks’ pitch-perfect riff on the classic black-and-white Universal monster movies that looks at Mary Shelley's literary masterpiece from a unique satirical angle.
BLAZING SADDLES: Its Take On Westerns Is Spot-On
There’s a rich history of the western genre. All film genres have rich histories, really, but the western is unique in that it dominated American cinema for decades before slowly dying out when audiences realized how skewed its historical myths were. It was around this time that Mel Brooks made his spot-on spoof of the genre.
From Frankie Laine’s overly dramatic title song to the infamous baked beans sequence, Blazing Saddles consistently takes familiar elements from westerns and gives them a ridiculous makeover.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: It Perfectly Recreates The Look Of The Universal Monster Movies
In everything from the production design to the lighting to the musical score to the scene transitions, Young Frankenstein perfectly recreates the style of the old black-and-white Universal monster movies it parodies – particularly Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, and The Ghost of Frankenstein, which is specifically spoofs.
Brooks even managed to get a hold of the lab equipment props from the original 1931 Frankenstein, which gave this otherwise goofy spoof a truly authentic look.
BLAZING SADDLES: It Sheds A Light On The Racism Sanitized By Old Westerns
Old Hollywood westerns propagated myths about gunslingers in the Wild West that conveniently glossed over the ugly racial context of the historical setting. In lieu of this, HBO Max recently added a disclaimer to Blazing Saddles explaining its social commentary, but the movie does a fine job of doing that itself.
The story concerns a white governor appointing a Black sheriff in a deliberate bid to ruin a town, but that sheriff proves to be so competent at his job that he takes on the governor himself and exposes his schemes. Minus that, Blazing Saddles exposes how ridiculously stupid racism really is by mercilessly mocking it.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: It Brilliantly Lampoons The Classic Novel
Mel Brooks wasn’t sold on the idea of a Frankenstein parody until Gene Wilder told him his story idea. Here, a descendant of Victor Frankenstein wants to distance himself from his crazy relatives and claw back credibility in the scientific community. This premise provided the foundation for a perfect spoof of the Mary Shelley classic.
Frankenstein's descendant is eventually drawn into his ancestor’s field of work, which plays on Shelley’s themes of the hubris of man and science. There's also a meta layer added here, with the entire Frankenstein clan being tarnished by everything that transpired in the endless sequels to the original 1931 film directed by James Whale.
BLAZING SADDLES: It Put The Final Nail In The Western’s Coffin
Spaghetti Western legend Clint Eastwood managed to single-handedly keep the western alive until he gave it the perfect swansong in the early ‘90s with Unforgiven but for the most part, the western’s heyday was all but over by 1974.
Blazing Saddles’ pitch-perfect mockery of the genre’s manipulative mythmaking hammered the final nail into its coffin, relegating what was once the epitome of masculine fiction into a hollow self-parody that no one could take seriously.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: Dr. Frederick Frankenstein Is One Of Gene Wilder’s Best Characters
Although Gene Wilder’s most iconic role might be Willy Wonka, roles like Leo Bloom in The Producers and Skip Donahue in Stir Crazy took full advantage of his uncanny ability to play neurotic, exasperated, and erratic characters.
One of his best characters – and arguably the one that makes the best use of his talents – is Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, the descendant of mad scientists who’s desperate to escape his family name but ends up being crazier than his ancestor. This was a character Wilder created for himself, which makes him all the more perfect.
BLAZING SADDLES: It Has One Of The Comedy Genre’s Quickest Joke Rates
The writers’ room for Blazing Saddles consisted of five guys all yelling over each other to have their ideas heard in the hopes of getting their jokes into the movie. The result was a surplus of comedic material, and only the funniest stuff made the cut.
Along with Airplane! and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Blazing Saddles has one of the quickest joke rates in comedy movie history. The gags keep coming from beginning to end, without a dull moment in sight.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: Marty Feldman & Peter Boyle Give Iconic Supporting Performances
Supporting Gene Wilder’s revelatory turn as Dr. Frankenstein are hilarious backing performances by Marty Feldman as Igor and Peter Boyle as the monster, respectively.
They’re both comedy legends who are perfectly suited to their roles, and they were given plenty of great comic material to play around with. Without them, Wilder's performance wouldn't be as hilarious and beloved as it's remembered today.
BlLAZING SADDLES: The Fourth Wall-Breaking Finale Is Spectacular
In the third act of Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks doesn’t just break the fourth wall; he bulldozes it. The final battle spills over onto the set of a Hollywood musical and eventually into the studio cafeteria. Sheriff Bart confronts Hedley Lamarr outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater, then buys a ticket with the Waco Kid to watch the ending of Blazing Saddles.
With the artifice of the movie now out in the open, Bart and the Waco Kid watch themselves on the screen as they ride off into the sunset, then dismount their horses and get into cars. It makes for one of the greatest comedy movie endings of all time, up there with The Apartment and Life of Brian.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: “Puttin’ On The Ritz” Is Comedy Gold
When Dr. Frankenstein unveils his monster to the scientific community, they perform a delightful rendition of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” It’s one of the most gleefully funny moments not just from Young Frankenstein, but in the whole of the comedy genre.
This musical number is pure, unadulterated, 24-carat comedy gold. Everything about it is just perfect, especially Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle’s performances.