Why is this a classic?

I agree about too much shouting their lines, especially by Wilder. That got annoying fast.

I'm definitely with you on this, aciolino. I find this film hilarious, but a lot of recent comedies just don't even raise a smile from me — rather than being absurd or observational comedy, like Brooks' films, modern comedy seems based too often on verbal (and often smarmy!) putdowns, with setups so obvious you can hear the punchline coming a mile away. Doesn't do it for me in the slightest.



You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

Maybe it is a generational thing. I never had any interest in watching the remake because the original was so funny. Kenneth Mars has always been able to crack me up.






"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"

In true comedy, timing is crucial. It sets us up to laugh in spite of ourselves, often flashing a signal in our minds just a split second before the payoff. The gag comes off like a conjuring trick. Brooks substitutes mechanical tension-and-release routines that work on us like cheerleaders and make us feel that we ought to laugh when the payoff arrives: the actors get more and more frantic till at last they scream or burst into song. That's mere begging for a response. The one thing it doesn't appeal to is a sense of humor.

@mark-1589

Mel Brooks has a brilliant mix of subtle humor, over the top stuff, and absurdist nonsense. The lunacy of the plot in this film builds and builds.

You nailed it----just saw the film again last week on the THIS channel, and it was still hliarious because of all the over-the-top insanity---usually I hate it when things are too OTT in a film (depending on what kind of film it is) but it was actually very appropiate for this film in particular, and it works. And I like how things just get crazier throughout the film, especially after the two guys meet the crazy wanna-be Nazi playwright. Also the idea of two Jewish dudes doing a play celebrating Hitler must have seemed audacious as hell back in the anything goes late '60's---it would not have been made in any other time period, except the '60s and beyond. Plus I've always liked Gene Wilder's genuine weirdness, and it was always to watch him completely lose it in his unique off the wall way, and he and Mostel were an inspired pair-up---too bad they never teamed up again. But, on top of that, the movie's just plain old darn old-school fun,period--that's why folks still like it after all these years.