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Blazing Saddles: The Art of the Stereotype

Mel Brooks never met a stereotype he couldn’t upend. The classic Hollywood cowboy is always white. Mel Brooks’s Hollywood cowboy is black. And his Indian chief speaks Yiddish.

blazingsaddles.info.posterDesigner: Ricardo Galvez. Producer: Tom McNamara.

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Mel Brooks’ comedy is a resistance against the mundane
Written as part of the American Masters Digital Archive project, this essay draws on original...
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Bernadette Peters Talks about Mel Brooks CLIP: 2:43
Bernadette Peters Talks about Mel Brooks
Bernadette Peters talks about meeting Mel Brooks.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- American Master Mel Brooks on Friend and Mentor Sid Caesar CLIP: 1:35
American Master Mel Brooks on Friend and Mentor Sid Caesar
Mel Brooks talks about Caesar’s genius for comedy in this film excerpt.
Space Balls Mel Brooks Infographic
Spaceballs: The Art of the Trope (or, making the cliché absurd)
What came first: the Mel Brooks movie or the cliché?The classic Hollywood Sci-Fi spaceship always...
Young Frankenstein Mel Brooks Infographic
Young Frankenstein: The Art of the Homage
For Mel Brooks the spoofing is in the details.The classic Hollywood Horror film is always...
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Mel Brooks: The Difference Between Comedy & Tragedy Is... CLIP: 0:57
Mel Brooks: The Difference Between Comedy & Tragedy Is...
The logic here is, as long as it isn't happening to Mel Brooks, it's funny.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Mel Brooks: Mel Brooks' Debut CLIP: 1:00
Mel Brooks: Mel Brooks' Debut
Mel Brooks ad-libbed his first stage appearance. The crowd loved it. The director did not.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Mel Brooks: Do You Want To Know How 'The Critic' Came About? CLIP: 1:32
Mel Brooks: Do You Want To Know How 'The Critic' Came About?
Mel Brooks remembers his Oscar winning short, "The Critic".
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Mel Brooks: The Insane & The Bizarre CLIP: 0:20
Mel Brooks: The Insane & The Bizarre
Mel Brooks is here to find the insane and the bizarre in the commonplace.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Mel Brooks: Melon Balls Mean Money CLIP: 1:21
Mel Brooks: Melon Balls Mean Money
Mel Brooks remembers growing up poor and exotic fruit cocktails.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Mel Brooks: Walking out on Hitler CLIP: 0:47
Mel Brooks: Walking out on Hitler
Not everybody gets Mel Brooks. Don't worry, he'll take it personally.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise PREVIEW: 1:52
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
Premieres May 20, 2013 on PBS (check local listings)
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Mel Brooks: Rhinestones, Not Diamonds CLIP: 1:09
Mel Brooks: Rhinestones, Not Diamonds
Mel Brooks remembers his hard working mother.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise -- Mel Brooks: The 2000 Year Old Man Revisited CLIP: 0:44
Mel Brooks: The 2000 Year Old Man Revisited
Carl Reiner remembers how the 2000 Year Old Man all got started.
Mel Brooks Production Photo
Mel Brooks Biographical Timeline
The life and times of Mel Brooks: The 2000 Year Old Man.
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks Biography
Mel Brooks, director, producer, writer and actor, is in an elite group as one of...