Growing up in the mid-to-late-1990s, I experienced the golden age of cable television, when you could pretty much always find some classic movie just casually screening in syndication at 2 PM on a Saturday. I also experienced the golden age of cheap DVDs, which saw classic movies just casually released onto an affordable format at my local Target.
The first DVD I ever purchased was either O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2001) or today’s film, Blazing Saddles (1974). My memory is hazy on the point, but they both constitute my first two DVD purchases, and I know I only paid $5—in the early 2000s!—for the films. Those two flicks should give you some insight into the impressionable young mind of a doughy young man chubbily flubbing his way through high school.
Blazing Saddles was one of those absurd Mel Brooks flicks that had just the right amount of wackiness and ribald situations to titillate and delight a total nerd like yours portly. As a lifelong fan of Young Frankenstein (1974) and Spaceballs (1987), I naturally couldn’t resist this send-up of Westerners (and people’s hang-ups about race).
I had the opportunity to see Blazing Saddles on the big screen last night as part of one of those Fathom Events special screenings. The flick has hit its 50th anniversary (as has Young Frankenstein), so it seems like a great time to review this film.
The Portly Politico 