Mel Brooks: Blazing Saddles would 'never' be made today

BBC ^

[Sub-Driver]

Mel Brooks: Blazing Saddles would 'never' be made today

By Rebecca Jones Arts correspondent, BBC News

14 minutes ago From the section Entertainment & Arts

Mel Brooks, one of Hollywood's funniest film-makers, has told the BBC political correctness is "the death of comedy".

He said Blazing Saddles, his Western spoof about a black sheriff in a racist town, could "never" be made today.

"It's OK not to hurt the feelings of various tribes and groups," he said. "However it's not good for comedy.

"Comedy has to walk a thin line, take risks. It's the lecherous little elf whispering in the king's ear, telling the truth about human behaviour."

Brooks made his name with a series of successful film comedies, including Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Young Frankenstein.

Among the subjects he has satirised are racism, religion and feminism - and he describes himself as "the king of vulgarity".

But there is one subject he insists he would not parody.

Referring to World War Two, he said: "I personally would never touch gas chambers or the death of children or Jews at the hands of the Nazis.

"In no way is that at all useable or correct for comedy. It's just in truly bad taste."

However, he says that is the "only thing" he would avoid. "Everything else is OK."

[dp0622]

lol

[FreedomPoster]

>>Liberals are destroying everything they touch, including comedy.

Seinfeld has said that you can’t do comedy on college campuses. He hasn’t said the obvious and blamed it on Liberals, but any thinking person knows the deal.

Here:

Seinfeld: Comedians Tell Me ‘Don’t Go Near Colleges — They’re So PC’
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/06/04/seinfeld-comedians-tell-me-dont-go-near-colleges-theyre-so-pc/

[FrankR]

“Blazing Saddles” had a lot of black actors in it, and no one twisted their nuts to say the lines and act accordingly.

[Does so]

Blazing Saddles—said to mark the end of American cowboy movies.

[God luvs America]

so was Sanford and Son

[Skooz]

I found SNL Season 2 (1976 - 1977) on DVD the other day. Watching those skits ... no way would any network allow many of them to be aired today.

I guess we enjoyed freer speech back then.

[GreenHornet]

Richard Pryor co-wrote “Blazing Saddles.” I would imagine he INSISTED “the N word” be bandied about.

Richard Pryor wanted to play the part of the sheriff himself, but the studio didn't want him because they felt he was too controversial at the time. As a result, there were bad feelings between Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks because Pryor felt that Brooks didn't do enough to convince the studio to give him the part. (This would have been the first pairing of Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, who was a last minute replacement for character actor Gig Young as the Waco Kid.)

[cva66snipe]

Richard Pryor was one of the writers and was supposed to have been the sheriff. His reliability in showing up cost him the part.

[robroys woman]

“Sorry about the ‘up yours ni**er’”.

[robroys woman]

This is why I own Blazing Saddles and used to own Song of the South. Historical reference.

I’ve got a friend that is definitely NOT a racist but collects “collectable” 78’s. He has one with a song on it called “Darkies love their watermelon.” I kid you not.

[Vlad The Inhaler]

What In The Wide World Of Sports Is Going On Here?

[gnarledmaw]

Sundance broadcasts Archie but the episodes are in random order making it harder to tell which might have been pulled.

[Sivad]

I think Mel Brooks is the only cast member
still living or is he gone now too?

[Bender2]

Gadzooks and no buckets at Polish Weddings-- Looks like all we have left... are dead, gay, one-legged Nuns to make fun of!

No so fast, Bendy-- all those dead, gay, one-legged, Nuns... vote for Democrats, making them politically protected.

Damn! That's... a real pisser--

So, how about Nazis and Hitler... funny and fair game?

Sieg Heil... but to be politically correct, the Left Wing Media requires you substitute 'Conservatives and Trump' for 'Nazis and Hitler.'

Crap on a cracker-- Well, I'm out... of here!

Right with ya... Bendy.

https://static.deathandtaxesmag.com/uploads/2016/06/melbrooks.jpg
https://www.famousbirthdays.com/faces/brooks-mel-image.jpg
http://www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com/static-assets/images/articles/background/2014/06/2-10kevqk.jpg

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

These same comments were made by Mel Brooks about a year ago.

I remember Mel Brooks’s comments being discussed on talk radio. At the time, I watched “Blazing Saddles.” I have the movie on video and hadn’t seen it in years.

I counted about twelve times when someone said the “N” word in the movie.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

[Sivad]

Don’t know who said that but they are far from correct.

[CommerceComet]

The best retort to an offensive, racist joke, is an even morre racist, offensive joke directed back at the original person. Everybody wins.

Years ago, I played on a softball team which had two great joke tellers. One night after a bunch of beers, they started in. The white guy would tell an n-word joke and the black guy would counter with a honky joke. Both would toss in a q-word joke now and then. The whole bar was in uproarious laughter as we listened to these two go back and forth for over an hour. No one got offended but of course, that was 30 years ago.

[Borges]

‘In the Heat of the Night’ comes to mind. That was in 1967.

[Dr. Sivana]

‘In the Heat of the Night’ comes to mind. That was in 1967.

Same year, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"? Besides the all too perfect Sidney Poitier (who was just fine in "Lilies of the Field") even a bit part black character irritates Spencer Tracy, a west coast publishing magnate who drives a Dodge Dart bumping into a black fellow driving an MG. "In the Heat of the Night" also won an undeserved Best Picture Academy Award (over "The Graduate", "Bonnie and Clyde", "Dr. Doolittle" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner") showing there is praise to be earned for being P.C.