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Blazing Saddles (1974)
You’ll often hear the common refrain online: “You could never make Blazing Saddles today” because modern audiences are too sensitive for Mel Brooks’ politically incorrect Western satire. There’s a fig of truth to such criticism, but it fails to account for the craft and influence that this movie still boasts more than 50 years later. This is your advance notice to mosey on down to the Hollywood Theatre when Blazing Saddles screens there in 35 mm next Wednesday, July 16.
In 1874, crooked attorney general Hedy—sorry, that’s Hedley—LaMarr (Harvey Korman) schemes with a band of thugs to drive the people of Rock Ridge from their homes and claim the land for himself. When the townsfolk stand firm and demand a new sheriff to defend them, LaMarr appoints Bart (Cleavon Little), a Black railroad worker, trusting that the townies’ racism will achieve the same result. But what follows is a madcap send-up of cowboy movie tropes as Bart—a wily trickster who owes more to Bugs Bunny than he does Randolph Scott—must stay one step ahead of both LaMarr’s goons and the prejudice of the people he’s sworn to protect. The script is loaded with racial epithets and off-collar jokes, but Brooks is a sharp enough satirist to ensure that Bart is never the butt of the joke and that Rock Ridge’s bigotry is shown to be just as ridiculous as any other gag in this farce.
Perhaps the real reason you could never make Blazing Saddles today is because you wouldn’t need to. We live in a culture that Brooks’ anarchic sensibilities helped create, and what shocked audiences in 1974 is fair game for comedians today. Legacy or no, Blazing Saddles still holds up as a riotously funny comedy that’s just as biting now as it was five decades ago. Hollywood, July 16.
Also Playing:
Cinema 21: Ran (1985), July 11–13. The Professional (1994), July 11–12. Criss Cross (1948), July 12. Cinemagic: Big Trouble in Little China (1986), July 10. The Lord Protector (1996), July 11. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), July 12, 14 and 15. Escape From New York (1981), July 11–13 and 15. Escape From L.A. (1996), July 12–14. Cult Classics: Deadly Friend (1986), July 13. Clinton: The Year ’01 (1973), July 9. Edge of Tomorrow (2014), July 10. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), July 12. WALL-E (2008), July 13. Holy Trinity (2019), July 14. Hollywood: Clifford (1994), July 9. Coming to America (1988), July 10. 99 River Street (1953), July 11. Out of the Past (1947), July 11. Alias Nick Beal (1949), July 12. The Narrow Margin (1952), July 12. The Prowler (1951), July 12. The Killing (1956), July 13. Detour (1945), July 13. Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991), July 14. Heavy Metal (1981), July 15. Tomorrow: Cecil B. Demented (2000), July 11. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (2024), July 12. It’s All Gonna Break (2024), July 13. And Water Brings Tomorrow (2025), July 13.
