Best scene of the film and unique to a Mel Brooks picture
This movie is wonderful, I loved every second of it and it is my favorite Mel Brooks movie. There is a very important scene in this movie and the characteristic of it had never been in any Brooks movie prior and hasn't since. The scene I am referring to is when the theatrical troupe is performing in front of Hitler and all the Nazi soldiers at the end of the movie. The scene comes at the end of the performance when all performers leave the stage to make their exit and escape. Since the troupe was harboring Jewish people in hiding, they had to make them part of the act. At the end of the performance as all were escaping one of the Jews in hiding (old lady in clown costume) starts panicking as she looks out at all the Nazis in the audience. Her husband (old man) is trying to get her to leave faster but he is unable to get her to move. The gay performer, Sasha, needs to hurry back to the couple and save them from getting caught. He proceeds to yell out to the Nazi audience, there in the middle of the theater aisle, Juden, Juden. This is the German word for Jew and after each shout of Juden he sticks a Jewish star on each of their chests respectively. The Nazis laugh and the characters escape. This scene, though very brief in the movie, is a key moment in Mel Brooks' career. Never before and never again would Mel allow a scene of this nature make its way into his movies. The correct interpretation of this scene is very deep with regard to the Jewish plight during the Holocaust in Germany during WW2. The scene provides us with a situation where the fact that the actual putting of the star on the Jewish person is the only way to save the two from doom because the Nazis, witnessing this action by Sasha, believes that it was just part of the show that the characters were in a panic. Mel makes this scene to show the shameful things that were done to Jewish people during that awful time. It shows that these putrid Nazis are amused by disgraceful human behavior and the way Sasha emphasizes Juden in this scene makes it clear that Mel is trying to make a dramatic point. Never has this occurred in any other Brooks picture prior and since. I was so profoundly affected by this scene that after being stunned to see this in a Brooks picture, I nearly vomitted at the fact that these two Jewish people had to be degraded like this in such a fearful moment for them just to save their lives. I cannot imagine experiencing, even as a Jew myself, what Jewish people had to experience during that horrible time. Fantastic work by Brooks and the rest of the cast and crew in this movie. The movie was indeed a remake but I don't know if a scene like this was in the original. Just by Mel allowing this scene in the movie is credit in itself and I found a new respect for Mel after watching this movie and the scene I discussed.
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