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Blazing Saddles

Mel Brooks’ boundary-pushing western comedy is an endlessly sidesplitting barrage of big laughs, bad taste, and razor sharp satire, packed with an unforgettable cast and an unbelievable guffaw-per-scene ratio that will have you howling in the aisles. In a plan to overtake a potentially profitable town before the railroad rolls in, a corrupt politician arranges to appoint the West’s first black sheriff. But the quick-witted lawman will quickly become his most formidable opponent, especially when he enlists the help of alcoholic gunslinger The Waco Kid. Featuring indelible turns from Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, and Mel Brooks himself, plus a spoof-filled script from a team of writers including Richard Pryor, Blazing Saddles is one of the all-time great comedies.

“There are some people who can literally get away with anything — say anything, do anything — and people will let them. Other people attempt a mildly dirty joke and bring total silence down on a party. Mel Brooks is not only a member of the first group, he is its lifetime president. At its best, his comedy operates in areas so far removed from taste that (to coin his own expression) it rises below vulgarity. Blazing Saddles is like that. It’s a crazed grab bag of a movie that does everything to keep us laughing except hit us over the head with a rubber chicken. 4 Stars.” – Roger Ebert

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