Blazing Saddles [30th Anniversary Special Edition]

Overview

"One of the funniest films of all time, Blazing Saddles, is awarded an excellent 30th anniversary DVD release by Warner Bros., a company that has often shown great care to the important titles in its vault. The film itself is presented in a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio. The English soundtrack has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, which makes it seem like one is hearing the infamous farting scene for the very first time. There is a healthy amount of quality extra materials, including a commentary by director Mel Brooks. Although it seems as if he was simply recorded while talking about the film (he never once refers to what is happening onscreen, and the commentary ends only an hour into the film), he recollections are amusing and enlightening. He discusses in detail how the various behind-the-scenes people as well as the cast came together. The other five-star nugget included on this disc is the pilot for the television spin-off Black Bart. Starring Louis Gossett Jr., the show is as amazingly unfunny as the movie is uproarious, but one may be struck by the crudity of the comedy that would have been telecast in the mid-'70s. A making-of documentary and a section from a special on the late great Madeline Kahn help make this DVD a must-own for comedy enthusiasts."

Product Details

Release Date:	06/29/2004
UPC:	0085391895923
Original Release:	1974
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:33:00
Sales rank:	565

Special Features

All-new 30th anniversary digital transfer; Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1; Scene specific commentary by Mel Brooks; Documentaries: "Back in the Saddle" and "Intimate Portrait: Madeline Kahn" (excerpt); Black Bart: 1975 pilot episode of the proposed TV series spin-off; Additional scenes; Theatrical trailer; Languages: English & Español; Subtitles: English, Français, & Español

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Cleavon Little	Bart
Gene Wilder	Jim
Harvey Korman	Hedley Lamarr
Madeline Kahn	Lili Von Shtupp
Slim Pickens	Taggart
David Huddleston	Olson Johnson
Liam Dunn	Reverend Johnson
Alex Karras	Mongo
John Hillerman	Howard Johnson
George Furth	Van Johnson
Burton Gilliam	Lyle
Count Basie	Himself
Claude Ennis Starrett Jr.	Gabby Johnson
Mel Brooks	Indian Chief
Jack Starrett	Actor,Actor
Dom DeLuise	Buddy Bizarre,Harriett Johnson
Richard Collier	Dr. Sam Johnson
Charles McGregor	Charlie
Robyn Hilton	Miss Stein
Don Megowan	Gum-chewer
Darrell Sandeen	Actor
John Morris	Composer

Technical Credits

Mel Brooks

Andrew Bergman

Richard Pryor

Norman Steinberg

Alan Unger

Alan Uger

Mel Brooks	Director,Screenwriter
Michael Hertzberg	Producer
Andrew Bergman	Screenwriter
Richard Pryor	Screenwriter
Norman Steinberg	Screenwriter
Alan Unger	Screenwriter
Alan Uger	Screenwriter
Peter Wooley	Producer
Gene Cantamessa	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Mel Brooks at his ribald, tasteless best, Blazing Saddles stands out as one of the all-time great film spoofs. Sparing no one from his outrageous brand of humor, Brooks proved he was an egalitarian when it came to making fun of people, regardless of skin color or religious persuasion: where blacks may come off as stereotypical, whites are seen as just plain stupid and ignorant. Beyond its over-the-top humor and genre revision of the Western, Blazing Saddles boasts some great performances, with Madeline Kahn, Gene Wilder, and Slim Pickens doing some of the best work of their careers. It also features a number of scenes that have elevated the film into the realm of the comedy classic, perhaps most infamously the one involving beans, a campfire, and the most gratuitous display of flatulence ever to cloud a movie screen.