Saturday, October 15, 2005
Blazing Saddles
I bought a copy of Blazing Saddles from my work yesterday. That movie makes me laugh so hard.
After the movie was over, they had interviews with Gene Wilder, Mel Brook, Harvey Corman (sp?), a couple of the writers, and the actor who played Lyle. They originally wanted Richard Pryor, who was also one of the writers, to play Sheriff Bart, but he was too unreliable, having one day missed work because he ran off to Detroit with a couple of women he had met. They laughed and laughed and laughed the 8 weeks they wrote the script for that movie. I wish I could have been there. As Mel put it, they were confronting racism with humor and playing very dangerously at a still volatile time.
I remember the first time I saw that movie. It was in the St. Johns Theater, here in Portland. I was 10, and my parents had taken me to see it. I remember the scenes between Cleavon Little (one of my favorite actors at the time from the sitcom "Temperatures Rising"), and Madeline Kahn. I was so terrified for the both of them. I was looking around the theater. I was expecting there to be outrage but only heard laughter. I was worried that they would both be killed because of the scenes they portrayed in that movie. Somehow the humor got people to see beyond their prejudices. HUMOR, it's a wonderful thing.
Cleavon Little, sadly, passed away in '92 from colon cancer. Madeline Kahn passed away a few years ago from cancer. Though there deaths are indeed sad, their humor lives on in their creative activities. I am so thankful that such two wonderful people have blessed this earth.
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!
After the movie was over, they had interviews with Gene Wilder, Mel Brook, Harvey Corman (sp?), a couple of the writers, and the actor who played Lyle. They originally wanted Richard Pryor, who was also one of the writers, to play Sheriff Bart, but he was too unreliable, having one day missed work because he ran off to Detroit with a couple of women he had met. They laughed and laughed and laughed the 8 weeks they wrote the script for that movie. I wish I could have been there. As Mel put it, they were confronting racism with humor and playing very dangerously at a still volatile time.
I remember the first time I saw that movie. It was in the St. Johns Theater, here in Portland. I was 10, and my parents had taken me to see it. I remember the scenes between Cleavon Little (one of my favorite actors at the time from the sitcom "Temperatures Rising"), and Madeline Kahn. I was so terrified for the both of them. I was looking around the theater. I was expecting there to be outrage but only heard laughter. I was worried that they would both be killed because of the scenes they portrayed in that movie. Somehow the humor got people to see beyond their prejudices. HUMOR, it's a wonderful thing.
Cleavon Little, sadly, passed away in '92 from colon cancer. Madeline Kahn passed away a few years ago from cancer. Though there deaths are indeed sad, their humor lives on in their creative activities. I am so thankful that such two wonderful people have blessed this earth.
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!
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