Review

by Sam S

A comedy classic

Classic Mel Brooks comedy, considered by his fans as one of the best, and still capable of inducing hysterics in today’s audiences. Including Richard Pryor amongst the writers, the film is notable for its satirical treatment of racism as well as the more obvious parody of the Western genre. This was only Brooks’ second major film after The Producers, but he was on top form, and also provides much of the hilarity in his three separate cameo roles. The film also frequently breaks down the illusion of the audience watching a film, i.e. towards the end when the fight breaks out of the film set and into the musical that is being filmed next door. Featuring countless memorable moments (not just the infamous ‘beans around the campfire’ one), it really does still stand up today, over thirty years later.