Summary
- Mel Brooks’ parodies hit the mark by uncovering deep truths about human foibles.
- His best movies maintain their satirical focus, while also conjuring great comedy out of thin air.
- Brooks uses naturalistic dialogue and relatable humor to poke fun at historical events and movie genres.
For decades, Mel Brooks’ parody movies have delivered some hilarious scenes. Brooks has the impressive ability to aim right at the heart of his target. Whether he aims his satirical eye at Westerns, sci-fi movies, or even fascism, he always finds the funniest and most poignant angle. His comedy relies on slapstick, puns and the odd musical number, but most of the humor comes from the truth that he uncovers beneath layers of Hollywood artifice.
The best Mel Brooks movies retain a keen focus on their subjects, like Spaceballs and Blazing Saddles, but Brooks can also conjure great comedy out of thin air. He has an ear for naturalistic dialogue and one-liners, so he can throw in a curveball every now and then to keep the audience on their toes. The funniest Mel Brooks scenes combine his satirical wit with this natural flair for relatable comedy.
Related 10 Funniest Quotes From Mel Brooks Movies
Mel Brooks is one of the most popular comedy filmmakers of all time, and his movies are overflowing with memorable one-liners and hilarious dialogue.
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10 Along Came Bialy
The Producers (2005)
The Producers PG-13
Director Susan Stroman Release Date December 25, 2005
The 1967 version of The Producers was Mel Brooks’ debut feature, and a surprisingly big hit. He later turned it into a Broadway musical, which in turn was adapted into another movie. This makes The Producers a rare example of a musical remake of a movie, and the added show tunes offer plenty more laughs. “Along Came Bialy” is just one of many hilarious songs that make up the soundtrack.
“Along Came Bialy” is just one of many hilarious songs that make up the soundtrack.
“Opening Night” kicks things off in the best way possible, and “I Wanna Be A Producer” gives Matthew Broderick a chance to shine, but Nathan Lane has arguably the funniest song in The Producers with “Along Came Bialy”. The original movie doesn’t spell out how absurd it is that Max and Leo’s plan hinges on Max’s ability to seduce dozens of old women. With a chorus line of women tap dancing in their walking frames, the remake finally capitalizes on the comedic premise.
9 John Hurt’s Cameo
Spaceballs (1987)
Spaceballs Where to Watch
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Director Mel Brooks Release Date June 24, 1987 Cast John Candy , Daphne Zuniga , Mel Brooks , Rick Moranis , Bill Pullman
Spaceballs is a brilliant pastiche of Star Wars, but it also aims a few barbs at other classic sci-fi movies. In one of the movie’s most memorable scenes, John Hurt is forced to repeat what happened to his character in Ridley Scott’s Alien, as a chestburster erupts out of him during an ordinary scene in a diner. Hurt is only in one scene, but he gets one of the best quotes in Spaceballs – “Oh no, not again.”
Hurt is only in one scene, but he gets one of the
best quotes in
Spaceballs
– “Oh no, not again.”
This quote provides a link to Alien by bizarrely suggesting that Hurt’s character managed to survive the first time that an alien broke through his rib cage and scurried away. Mel Brooks then takes a sharp turn from parody toward outright nonsense, as the alien dons a straw hat to sing a show tune just like Michigan Q. Frog. The reasons for this are unclear, but it perfectly undercuts the tension and horror of the scene.
8 The Fight Spills Over Into The Studio Lot
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blazing Saddles Where to Watch
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Director Mel Brooks Release Date February 7, 1974 Cast Cleavon Little , gene wilder , Slim Pickens , Harvey Korman , Madeline Kahn , Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks loves to break the fourth wall. He wants to share some laughs with his audience, and it helps his style of parody for him to poke fun at the artificiality of the filmmaking process. The ending of Blazing Saddles delivers one of Brooks’ most sustained and most hilarious fourth wall breaks, as the climactic fight scene breaks free from the confines of the movie and spills over into the studio backlot.
Brooks uses the humble cream pie, a weapon of choice for clowns everywhere, to show just how bizarre the Western genre is.
The fight initially rumbles into a Fred Astaire-style musical on the next lot, but it keeps growing and moving until it devolves into a giant cream pie fight. Brooks uses the humble cream pie, a weapon of choice for clowns everywhere, to show just how bizarre the Western genre is. Blazing Saddles repeatedly draws attention to the fact that Western stars are seen as tough cowboys, but in reality they are nothing more than pampered Hollywood actors. They have more in common with clowns than gunslingers.
7 Puttin’ On The Ritz
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Young Frankenstein
Director Mel Brooks Release Date December 15, 1974 Cast Marty Feldman , Cloris Leachman , Madeline Kahn , Peter Boyle , gene wilder
Young Frankenstein is a brilliant horror spoof that constantly uses humor to deconstruct the phony tension of the genre. There’s a lot of build-up to Frankenstein’s creation of the monster, and once he rises from the laboratory table it’s a mystery how things will play out next. Rather than sticking to the dark story of Mary Shelley’s novel, Mel Brooks has his version of Frankenstein presenting the monster to the scientific community with a song and dance.
“Puttin’ on the Ritz”
is the perfect song choice for the scene, and the way that Peter Boyle’s shrieks it out has made it one of
Young Frankenstein
‘s best quotes.
“Puttin’ on the Ritz” is the perfect song choice for the scene, and the way that Peter Boyle’s shrieks it out has made it one of Young Frankenstein‘s best quotes. The other thing that helps the scene shine is the disconnect between the smooth performance of Frankenstein and the shambling mess of his monster. Frankenstein escalates very quickly from simple commands to a lively musical number, and the monster simply can’t keep up.
6 The Last Supper
History of the World, Part I (1981)
The History of the World: Part I Where to Watch
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Director Mel Brooks Release Date June 12, 1981 Cast Mel Brooks , Dom DeLuise , Madeline Kahn , Harvey Korman , Cloris Leachman , Ron Carey
Like almost any comedy anthology movie, History of the World, Part I suffers from an uneven pace and a few misses to go with the hits. However, the sections that work well are hard to resist, as the concept of the movie gives Mel Brook to lampoon the entire span of human history. One of the highlights features Brooks himself playing a pushy waiter at the last supper who just wants the disciples to agree on their order.
Typical of Brooks’ style, this scene uses naturalistic dialogue and relatable, everyday humor to make light of things which many people assign huge importance to.
Typical of Brooks’ style, this scene uses naturalistic dialogue and relatable, everyday humor to make light of things which many people assign huge importance to. After a muddled back-and-forth between Brooks and Jesus, Leonardo da Vinci enters to paint his famous portrait of the occasion. Again, Brooks likens the historical to the contemporary, as the disciples are forced to squeeze into an unnatural position like a group posing for a photo.
5 The Bridge Fight
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Director Mel Brooks Release Date July 28, 1993 Cast Cary Elwes , Richard Lewis , Roger Rees , Amy Yasbeck , Mark Blankfield , Dave Chappelle , Isaac Hayes , Megan Cavanagh
Rather than skewering entire genres like some of his other movies, Mel Brooks uses Robin Hood: Men in Tights to zero in on Kevin Costner’s 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. There are some jokes aimed at adventure movies and medieval romance tales, but Costner himself is forced to cop a lot of gags. One of the funniest scenes in the movie gets a laugh out of the absurd ideals of chivalry and honor that exist in Robin Hood and similar folk stories.
One hilarious touch is that the music steps up an octave each time the sticks go down a size.
Robin fights Little John for the right to pass along a tiny bridge over a pathetic creek. The entire scene is reminiscent of Arthur’s duel with the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but Brooks has his own ideas. Their dueling sticks repeatedly snap into smaller and smaller pieces, to emphasize how petty and childish their squabble is. One hilarious touch is that the music steps up an octave each time the sticks go down a size.
4 The Spaceballs Watch The Movie
Spaceballs (1987)
Spaceballs takes Mel Brooks’ penchant for breaking the fourth wall to a new and hilarious level, as the characters in the movie watch the movie to figure out what their adversaries are up to. They must fast-forward through the parts that have already happened, but they go too far and reach the exact moment of the movie that they are currently in. Rick Moranis’ perplexed expressions make the meta joke even funnier.
Lord Dark Helmet and Colonel Sandurz have a mind-bending conversation about where and when exactly they are, underlining just how little sense this narrative stunt makes.
Lord Dark Helmet and Colonel Sandurz have a mind-bending conversation about where and when exactly they are, underlining just how little sense this narrative stunt makes. After almost 40 years, Spaceballs is finally getting a sequel, presumably to poke fun at the Disney era of the Star Wars franchise. Rick Moranis has retired from acting and Mel Brooks won’t be in the director’s chair, so the sequel faces an uphill battle.
3 The Monster Meets A Blind Man
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks’ collaboration may have reached its peak with Young Frankenstein. Wilder is perfectly suited to the character of the egotistical scientist, but this doesn’t stop other characters from stealing a few scenes. One of the best scenes in Young Frankenstein doesn’t feature Wilder at all, as the monster escapes and meets a kind blind man, played by Gene Hackman in a surprising cameo.
The jokes are all fairly straightforward in the monster’s meeting with Harold, but the dynamic between the gentle host and his brutish, ignorant guest is still a joy to watch.
The jokes are all fairly straightforward in the monster’s meeting with Harold, but the dynamic between the gentle host and his brutish, ignorant guest is still a joy to watch. It helps that Hackman commits wholeheartedly to the role with all the seriousness of his dramatic performances. This heightens the cartoonish reactions of the monster when Harold smashes his drinking cup and promptly sets him on fire.
2 Sheriff Bart Holds Himself Hostage
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Sheriff Bart’s arrival is easily the funniest scene in Blazing Saddles, even before he is forced to take himself hostage. When he first rides into town, the welcome procession turns into a stunned silence when the people see the skin color of their new sheriff. As a way of breaking the silence, the townsfolk draw their various weapons and point them at Bart. His escape plan makes no sense whatsoever, but that’s what makes it so funny.
As soon as Bart creates enough distance to drop the charade, he breaks the fourth wall to marvel at just how stupid the townsfolk are.
Bart commits to his role as both a hostage and a racist kidnapper. The townspeople have no idea what to do except submit to his unusual demands. Logically, they should call his bluff, if it can even be considered a bluff, but logic does not prevail in the town of Rock Ridge. As soon as Bart creates enough distance to drop the charade, he breaks the fourth wall to marvel at just how stupid the townsfolk are.
1 Springtime For Hitler
The Producers (1967)
The Producers Where to Watch
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Director Mel Brooks Release Date November 10, 1968 Cast Zero Mostel , gene wilder , Dick Shawn , Kenneth Mars
Mel Brooks was forced to rename The Producers. His original title was “Springtime For Hitler,” which is the title of the musical that Max and Leo put on, and the title of the lavish opening number. After all the build-up of Max and Leo’s scheming, the first song in their offensive musical is the perfect punchline to the entire movie. What’s impressive is that Brooks doesn’t stop there, and he keeps on adding to the joke with a chorus line of German stereotypes and militaristic imagery.
It can be seen as a bizarre satirization of how Germany was swept up by the appeal of fascism, or as a joke about how hollow and vapid some Broadway musicals are.
The production value on “Springtime For Hitler” is beautiful to behold. Although the musical is in ludicrously bad taste, it’s an undeniably catchy tune, and an enjoyable spectacle to boot. This scene works so well because it has so many layers. It can be seen as a bizarre satirization of how Germany was swept up by the appeal of fascism, or as a joke about how hollow and vapid some Broadway musicals are. In both cases, the joke is about how people will excuse anything for good entertainment.