The Mel Brooks Collection

Compiling eight comedies directed—and in most cases written or co-written—by erstwhile TV funnyman Mel Brooks, whose apprenticeship included stints with Your Show of Shows and a performing partnership with Carl Reiner, The Mel Brooks Collection is a mixed bag, composed of classics, solid entertainments, and disappointing mediocrities. Mel's second directorial effort (after The Producers), The Twelve Chairs (1970), was deemed a disappointment by many, although it enjoys a better reputation today, while his two 1974 films, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, are widely considered to be his best (unfortunately, the version of Blazing Saddles included here is not the newly-remastered and extras-laden 30th anniversary edition, but an earlier release). Silent Movie (1976), a fascinating but flawed attempt to replicate the slapstick comedy of yore, was Mel's first as leading man as well as writer-director, and he also starred in High Anxiety (1977), an intermittently hilarious parody of Hitchcockian thrillers, before taking a hiatus of several years. Brooks returned as part of an ensemble cast in The History of the World, Part I (1981), which relied too heavily on trite gags but managed to generate some good laughs (and at least one immortal line: “It's good to be the king.”). To Be or Not to Be (1983), Mel's remake of the 1942 Ernst Lubitsch classic starring Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, was a dream project in as much as Mel cast himself in the Benny role and wife Anne Bancroft in Lombard's part, but the film lacked the original's savoir faire. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) returned to the genre spoof Brooks popularized with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, and with talented Cary Elwes in the title role it marked a brief return to form. On balance this collection is well worth having; after all, it spares us the crushing embarrassment of Life Stinks, one of Mel's unmitigated disasters, while also presenting the majority of his oeuvre in one compact box (all of the titles are in thin-pak cases). DVD extras include audio commentary by Brooks, a “making-of” documentary, deleted scenes and cast interviews on Young Frankenstein; a 55-minute interview with Brooks on Blazing Saddles; a half-hour HBO featurette on Robin Hood: Men in Tights; and a “making-of” featurette and interviews on To Be or Not to Be. Recommended. (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review—Dec. 22, 2009—Fox, 9 discs, 871 min., R, $139.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, The Mel Brooks Collection (1970-1993) includes nine Brooks films in a collectible case which features a 120-page hardcover book on the director's career. Although The Twelve Chairs (1970) includes only trailers, the other films here feature a wide array of bonuses. Extras on Blazing Saddles (1974) include audio commentary by Brooks, the retrospective featurette “Back in the Saddle” (29 min.), the TV pilot spoof of “Black Bart” (starring Lou Gossett Jr. as the sheriff), added/extended scenes (10 min.), a tribute to costar Madeline Kahn (4 min.), and trailers. Young Frankenstein (1974) includes audio commentary by Brooks, an “Inside the Lab: Secret Formulas in the Making of Young Frankenstein” picture-in-picture track with commentary and various featurettes also available separately (30 min. total), a “Making FrankenSense of Young Frankenstein” production featurette (42 min.), deleted scenes (42 min.), an “It's Alive: Creating a Monster Classic” featurette (32 min.), a “Transylvanian Lullaby” featurette on the music of composer John Morris (11 min.), interviews with costars Marty Feldman, Gene Wilder and Cloris Leachman (7 min.), a five-minute blooper reel, a “Franken-Track” viewing option with “A Monstrous Conglomeration of Trivia,” an isolated score track, a “Blucher Button” audio function, TV spots, photo galleries, and trailers. Silent Movie (1976) extras include “Silent Laughter: The Reel Inspirations” behind-the-scenes featurette (25 min.), a Hollywood trivia track, and trailers. High Anxiety (1977) includes a “Hitchcock and Mel: Spoofing the Master of Suspense” making-of featurette (30 min.), an “Am I Very Nervous?” onscreen quiz, a trivia track, and trailers. History of the World—Part 1 (1981) includes the featurettes “Musical Mel: Inventing the Inquisition” (11 min.) and “Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World” (10 min.), a trivia track, and trailers. To Be or Not to Be (1983) includes the featurette “Brooks and Bancroft: A Perfect Pair” on the married costars (15 min.), interviews with Brooks, Anne Bancroft, and costar Charles Durning (6 min.), a “How Serious Can Mel Brooks Really Get?” vintage featurette (3 min.), a trivia track, and trailers. Spaceballs (1987) includes audio commentary by Brooks, a “making-of” featurette (30 min.), “In Conversation: Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan” with Brooks and writer Meehan (21 min.), the tribute featurette “John Candy: Comic Spirit” (10 min.), a storyboard-to-film comparison (7 min.), “Film Flubs” clips of mistakes made in the film (2 min.), spoof “Mawgese” and “Dinkese” audio track options, an option to watch the film at “Ludicrous Speed,” three still galleries (featuring “Behind the Movie,” costumes, and art), and trailers. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) features audio commentary by Brooks, the HBO featurette “The Legend Had it Coming” (27 min.), “Funny Men in Tights: Three Generations of Comedy” on the various comedians in the film (14 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent Blu-ray presentation of Brooks' best (with the obvious omission of The Producers).]