Blazing Saddles review

 Number 507 on the top 1000 films of all time is Mel Brooks' parody of the Western genre: Blazing Saddles.

Bart (Clavon Little) is a black railway worker in 1974 on the American frontier. When the townspeople of Rock Ridge realise they're going to be bullied out by the corrupt politician Hedley Lemar (Harvey Korman) they designate Bart to be the sheriff of the town. He is assisted by alcoholic gunslinger Jim the Waco Kid. (Gene Wilder)

My favourite Mel Brooks' film is his parody of Robin Hood: Men in Tights. I thought it was absolutely hilarious and so clever. In many ways Blazing Saddles was his warm-up act - to a lesser extent, you also had Young Frankenstein. But Blazing Saddles shared the same meta-humour as Men In Tights. Men in Tights even hearkened back to its spiritual predecessor.

Granted, Blazing Saddles gets a bit ridiculous toward the end where it not only breaks the fourth but the fifth, sixth and seventh walls. Bart and Jim's posse fight with Hedley Lamar's posse spills out onto a neighbouring film set and the real world with Lemar escaping to a nearby cinema. The cinema is showing none other than Blazing Saddles. It was silly, but I didn't mind.

The film was full of tis funny meta-humour like when Lamar recruits a posse and everybody from the SS to the KKK and the Hells Angels turn up.

Yet this film wasn't all just humour. There was also some good performances from Cleavon Little - for the longest time I thought it was Richard Pryor in the lead role, but he just wrote the script. Gene Wilder also showed his comedic chops with a touch of emotional intensity as Jim.

Overall, I enjoyed Blazing Saddles. Sure it was silly at times, but it was just a warm up for Men in Tights. Mel brooks was a master of parody, wasn't he?