History of the World: Part I (1981)

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writer:

Mel Brooks (written by)

Release Date:

12 June 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

IN MEL WE TRVST

Plot:

From the dawn of man to the distant future, mankind's evolution (or lack thereof) is traced. Often ridiculous but never serious...

Plot Keywords:

French Revolution | Dual Role | Wig | Actor Playing Multiple Roles | Ten Commandments

Cast

Mel Brooks	...	Moses / Comicus / Torquemada / Jacques / King Louis XVI
Dom DeLuise	...	Emperor Nero
Madeline Kahn	...	Empress Nympho
Harvey Korman	...	Count de Monet
Cloris Leachman	...	Madame Defarge
Ron Carey	...	Swiftus
Gregory Hines	...	Josephus
Pamela Stephenson	...	Mademoiselle Rimbaud
Shecky Greene	...	Marcus Vindictus
Sid Caesar	...	Chief Caveman
Mary-Margaret Humes	...	Miriam
Orson Welles	...	Narrator (voice)
Rudy De Luca	...	Prehistoric Man / Captain Mucus - The Roman Empire (as Rudy DeLuca)
Leigh French	...	Prehistoric Man
Richard Karron	...	Prehistoric Man

Also Known As:

Mel Brooks' History of the World: Part 1 (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

92 min | Argentina:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Latin | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:16 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:MG6 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:R (Approved No. 26348) | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | France:U

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Brooksfilms

Trivia:

Just like in Blazing Saddles (1974), Richard Pryor was originally cast but had to pull out of the picture. His part eventually was taken by Gregory Hines (in his screen debut). Just before filming was to begin, Pryor had his infamous drug-related accident, catching fire and getting severely burnt.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the Roman Empire Segment, one of the running jokes was the use of a V in place of a U. It seems that great care was taken to do this on every sign. Except the Annual Orgy sign which has two Us on it that were not changed to Vs.

Quotes:

Captain Mucus: [stoned] You men go northwest! You men go southwest! I'm gonna walk around right here in a circle.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Roman Scandals (1933)

Soundtrack:

Jews In Space

History Of The World Part I (Mel Brooks, 1981) **1/2

I had watched this as a kid, a popular but not highly-regarded Brooks effort. It is wildly uneven but, also, undeniably funny at times (even if most of the gags are, unsurprisingly, of the vulgar kind).

Brooks managed to rope in Orson Welles to provide indifferent narration over his lampoon of various historical eras (the film's one-liners, too, read better than they play). Still, "The Stone Age" (featuring Sid Caesar) offers a nice parody of the "Dawn Of Man" sequence from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) – while the brief but hilarious "The Old Testament" sees Brooks himself as Moses accidentally lose a third of God's original 15 Commandments! "The Roman Empire" – the longest segment – features Brooks veterans Dom De Luise and Madeleine Kahn, the film's single best joke (the Senators' spontaneous reply, in unison, to a fellow members' concern over the plight of the city's poor), plus wonderful conclusion involving John Hurt as Jesus Christ. "The Spanish Inquistion" is, again, brief but surely one of the film's highlights with its tastelessly inspired depiction of this infamous period as a Busby Berkeley-ish production number (though Brooks' typical Jewish jokes seem baffling in this context). Just as Monty Python had done the definitive parody of the Roman Empire with LIFE OF BRIAN (1979), "The French Revolution" follows on from the "Carry On" gang's DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD (1966). The results are just as middling (involving the inevitable impersonation of the King by a commoner) – but highlighting two established presences in Brooks' films, Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman. Easily the funniest bit from this segment is the King's outrageous shooting practice.

Still, at the end of the day, Brooks can't avoid repeating himself: the "Walk This Way" gag from YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974) turns up here as well; Brooks' lecherous French king is virtually a copy of his Governor characterization in the Western spoof BLAZING SADDLES (1974); and the surreal nick-of-time escape at the very end, which also derives from the latter film.