Mel Brooks, one of the most influential comedians of the twentieth century will celebrate his 100th birthday this June. He began his career after World War II as a drummer and pianist in the resorts and nightclubs in the Catskills when he filled in for a sick comedian by doing stand-up and impressions. He began writing for television and the stage in the 1950s, and by the late 1960s had graduated to writing film scripts, including his first, The Producers (1967). The success of this film led to a long career writing, producing, acting, and directing, often riffing on films and film genres that he loved through his long association with cinema. This summer, to help Brooks celebrate his centennial, the Dryden Theatre will screen seven of his best directorial efforts that spoof westerns, horror films, silent movies, Alfred Hitchcock, and science fiction.
Dates and Titles:
May 23: The Producers (Mel Brooks, US 1967, 88 min., DCP)
May 30 (2 p.m.): The Producers (Mel Brooks, US 1967, 88 min., DCP)
May 30: The Twelve Chairs (Mel Brooks, US 1970, 94 min., 35mm)
June 13: Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, US 1974, 93 min., 35mm)
June 20 (2 p.m.): Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, US 1974, 93 min., 35mm)
June 20: Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, US 1974, 106 min., DCP)
June 27 (2 p.m.): Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, US 1974, 106 min., 35mm)
June 27: Silent Movie (Mel Brooks, US 1976, 87 min., 35mm)
July 11: High Anxiety (Mel Brooks, US 1977, 94 min., 35mm)
July 25: Spaceballs (Mel Brooks, US 1987, 96 min., 35mm)
Events in this Series
Spaceballs (35mm)
100 Years of Mel Brooks One of Brooks’s most quotable films, this Star Wars send-up takes on the mega-franchise, American politics, and Hollywood itself.
High Anxiety (35mm)
100 Years of Mel Brooks Comedic genius Brooks plays Dr. Thorndyke, the new administrator for the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous.
Silent Movie (35mm)
100 Years of Mel Brooks Mel Funn (Brooks), a washed-up Hollywood director, announces his plans to make a contemporary silent movie. With the help of collaborators Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise) and Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman), Mel sets out to recruit a top-notch cast (Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, Paul Newman, Marcel Marceau and Anne Bancroft) in order to secure funding for his magnum opus.
Matinee: Young Frankenstein (DCP)
100 Years of Mel Brooks Mel Brooks followed-up his anarchic Western parody Blazing Saddles with something even better: a spot-on spoof of the great Universal horror pictures of the 1930s.
Young Frankenstein (DCP) - Free for Members!
100 Years of Mel Brooks | Free for Members Mel Brooks followed-up his anarchic Western parody Blazing Saddles with something even better: a spot-on spoof of the great Universal horror pictures of the 1930s.
Matinee: Blazing Saddles (35mm)
100 Years of Mel Brooks Mel Brooks’s third feature, and his first box-office blockbuster, turns the western upside down and inside out. Scheming politician Hedley (not Hedy!) Lamarr (Harvey Korman) appoints a Black sheriff (Cleavon Little) to the small town of Rock Ridge in order to drive the people away.