Review of The Producers (1968) by Anders G — 17 May 2012

I think we can all agree that Mel Brooks is one of the great greatest directors of comedy that has ever lived on this planet (I'm not ruling out life on other planets). Everyone knows of how good at making paradys he is. He has a great way at looking at the funny little things that entertain society so much. Most of the planet has probably seen "Spaceballs". But have those people seen "The Producers"? Well, maybe the musical, but what about the original? Before it became one of the broadway musicals that it originaly was mocking?

To those who haven't seen "The Producers", it is the tale of an unstabble accountant and a greedy broadway producer who discover that they can make more money with a broadway flop than with a broadway success. They go out to see if they can pull this skeem off, but they end up releasing one of the biggest broadway hits in history. A fantastic story, very creative and filled with opportunities to laugh. And you know what? Not only does it take advantage of all the opportunities to laugh, it gets ones you wouldn't even think of as an audience.

Another thing we have to consider is that this was Mel Brooks first movie. No director makes a hit so successful as this on his first go. Anyone who saw this when it was first released had to have known that this man was destined for greatness in film. He didn`t go cheap on this movie either. He got a fantastic cast including Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. And he didn`t just get a great cast for the leads, but the smaller characters in it really were what made the film. Especially the characters of the man who wrought the play and the lead actor in the play, L.S.B. I couldn`t stop laughing when those guys where on screen. And who could forget Mel Brooks first cameo in one of his own films; a single line he sings, `Don`t be stupid, be a smarty! Come and join the Nazi Party!`. Good times, good times!

As for Wilder and Mostel, they were at they`re very best. They were living charactures of things hat were already hilarious. From the first time these characters meet each other, the audience knows they are going to have a real treat by watching these guys. But with these characters, it wasn`t just how funny they were, you really loved them. You felt lucky to be able to spend 2 hours with such interesting people. They were the kind of characters that revolutionized comedy film making for the world! They werent afraid to go over the top with the way they acted. They really just wanted to give everyone some of the greatest laughs of their lives! They didnt use some of the cliches that we see in comedy today, they invented their own!

Sometimes, we watch a film and we we finish we realize silently that this film is going to change everything for this film industry, and then you immediatly watch the film over again. If you have not watched this film yet, then what the hell are you doing! GO SEE IT, YOU IDIOT!!!!