History of the World: Part I (1981) Directed by Mel Brooks
History / Comedy / Musical
aka: Mel Brooks' History of the World: Part 1
Film Review
Mel Brooks takes us on a whistle-stop tour of human history in this
spirited but generally humorless attempt to parody the epic costume
dramas of previous decades. Whilst it was a significant box
office success, History of the
World: Part I is one of Brooks' lesser films, poorly structured
and lacking the focus of his previous great comedy send-ups.
Apart from the spirited Spanish Inquisition sequence, a full-blown
MGM-style musical number that is a monument to bad taste (complete with
swimming nuns), the film lacks sparkle and is far too scattergun in its
humour. Most of the jokes are crude and fail to extort more than
a grudging groan from the spectator, although the film's production
values are generally impressive. Brooks appears to be far too
in awe of the target of his lampoonery to be effective at sending it
up. The director never intended to make a follow-up film; the
film's title is a sly reference to Walter Raleigh's The History of the World, of which
only the first volume was completed before Raleigh was executed for
treason. How Brooks escaped a similar fate for inflicting this
comedy disaster on an unsuspecting public is a mystery.
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Next Mel Brooks film: Spaceballs (1987)
Film Synopsis
Man has barely grown accustomed to walking upright before he invents
fire, marriage, art and music. Then his problems really begin... At the time of the Roman Empire,
stand-up philosopher Comicus is delighted when he is offered a spot at
Caesar's palace. Unfortunately, the emperor does not appreciate
his humour and he ends up having to run for his life, pursued by the
Roman army. During the French Revolution, Mademoiselle Rimbaud
appeals to King Louis XVI of France to free her father from the
Bastille, offering herself if he will show mercy. When the king
is warned by his advisers that his life is in peril, he saves himself
by swapping his identity with his piss boy, who soon discovers the
downside of being a monarch...
Cast:Mel Brooks (Moses),
Dom DeLuise (Emperor Nero),
Madeline Kahn (Empress Nympho),
Harvey Korman (Count de Monet),
Cloris Leachman (Madame Defarge),
Ron Carey (Swiftus),
Gregory Hines (Josephus),
Pamela Stephenson (Mademoiselle Rimbaud),
Shecky Greene (Marcus Vindictus),
Sid Caesar (Chief Caveman),
Mary-Margaret Humes (Miriam),
Orson Welles (Narrator),
Rudy De Luca (Prehistoric Man),
Leigh French (Prehistoric Woman),
Richard Karron (Prehistoric Man),
Susette Carroll (Prehistoric Man),
Sammy Shore (Prehistoric Man),
J.J. Barry (Prehistoric Man),
Earl Finn (Prehistoric Man),
Suzanne Kent (Prehistoric Man)
Country: USA
Language: English / Latin / French
Support: Color
Runtime: 92 min
Aka:Mel Brooks' History of the World: Part 1
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