Review of History of the World: Part I (1981) by Harry W — 23 May 2013

History of the World Part 1 is scattered in parts and doesn't have a real plot consistently, but it's well made and funny enough to pass as a good film and another one of Mel Brooks' successes.

It's parodies of various big periods in historical are cleverly crafted into a comedic sense, be it for a farce or a musical. Either way they work and they touch on many issues comedically well, even though the laughs are inconsistent.

The production values in History of the World Part 1 are top quality and are in the style of the Monty Python satires such as Life of Brian, although with a higher budget and less of a comedic legacy. The various sophisticated spoofs of time periods are entertaining in the way they vary from clever references to musical numbers, and beyond.

The entire venture is a colourful one and although the amount of laughs is inconsistent, the film is clever enough and features well placed nostalgic narration from Orson Welles, along with the usual laugh from Mel Brooks.

Essentially, there isn't too much to say about History of the World Part 1 except that its colourful and clever enough to pass as a good film even though it isn't particularly enthralling and doesn't match his finer work.