- Zach Laws, Chris Beachum
- Film
Chelsea Lauren/REX/Shutterstock
One of only 19 people to win the EGOT, legendary funnyman Mel Brooks has excelled on the big screen, the stage and television. But it’s his movies that have made him a household name. Let’s take a look back at 12 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, Brooks got his start as a writer for Sid Caesar on “Your Show of Shows,” working alongside Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, Danny Simon and Mel Tolkin. He then moved onto “Caesar’s Hour,” which added Woody Allen and Larry Gelbart to the writing team. The show brought Brooks three consecutive Emmy nominations (1956-1958), and he won his first prize for co-writing the 1967 reunion special. In 1965, he co-created the spy comedy “Get Smart” with Buck Henry, which brought him another Emmy bid for writing in 1966. He later won three consecutive awards for his guest role on “Mad About You” (1997-1999).
During this same period, Brooks and Reiner created their famous 2000 Year Old Man routine, with Brooks playing the world’s oldest living human. The highly successful comedy albums brought the duo Grammy nominations in 1961, 1962 and 1964, and a victory in 1999 for “The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000.”
Brooks turned to filmmaking when he was 42 years old with “The Producers” (1968), a raunchy comedy about a hapless Broadway producer (Zero Mostel) and a nebbishy accountant (Gene Wilder) who decide to strike it rich by producing the worst musical ever: “Springtime for Hitler.” The classic satire brought him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and launched his successful big screen career.
It was with his parodies that Brooks hit his stride. In films like “Blazing Saddles” (1974), “Young Frankenstein” (1974), “Silent Movie” (1976), “High Anxiety” (1977) and “Spaceballs” (1987), the director spoofed westerns, horror films, silent cinema, Alfred Hitchcock and “Star Wars,” throwing caution to the wind with his bold, brazen sense of humor. He earned additional Oscar nominations for co-writing “Young Frankenstein” and penning the title tune for “Blazing Saddles.”
In 2001, Brooks brought “The Producers” to Broadway, where it won a record-breaking 12 Tonys, including three for him (Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Score). With that, he joined an elite group of people to complete the grand slam of Hollywood awards: the EGOT. Additionally, the show brought him two more Grammys in 2002.
As if he needed more awards for his mantle, Brooks also received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, the BAFTA Academy Fellowship in 2017 and an honorary Oscar for life achievement.
Brooks was married to actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death in 2005. She made multiple cameo appearances in his films, including “Blazing Saddles” and “Silent Movie.” The two paired up for a remake of Ernst Lubitsch‘s “To Be or Not to Be” (1983), playing a Polish husband-wife acting team in WWII Europe. That film is included in our gallery even though it’s the only one featured here that he didn’t direct.
Tour our photo gallery of Brooks’s 12 greatest films, including some of the titles above, as well as “The Twelve Chairs” (1970), “History of the World: Part I” (1981), “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” (1993) and more.
12. LIFE STINKS (1991)
Directed by Mel Brooks. Written by Mel Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy De Luca and Steve Haberman. Starring Mel Brooks, Lesley Anne Warren, Jeffrey Tambor, Stuart Pankin, Howard Morris.
See AlsoMel Brooks Movies RankedAll 11 Mel Brooks Movies Ranked — From Funny to HilariousEvery Mel Brooks Movie And Where To Watch Them OnlineEvery Mel Brooks Movie Ranked From Worst To Best - SlashFilmGive Brooks credit for trying something different: unlike his trademark parodies, “Life Stinks” finds the director trying to create a straight comedy in the Preston Sturges vein. In fact, it’s a loose remake of Sturges’s 1941 classic “Sullivan’s Travels,” with Brooks playing a wealthy businessman who bets a rival he can live on the streets of L.A. without a penny in his pocket, which of course is more complicated than expected. Problem is, it’s not that funny, and the uplifting message about the plight of homelessness rings false. Life might not necessarily stink, but this movie certainly does.
11. DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT (1995)
Directed by Mel Brooks. Screenplay by Mel Brooks, Rudy De Luca and Steve Haberman, story by De Luca and Haberman, based on ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker. Starring Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, Steven Webber, Amy Yasbeck, Lysette Anthony, Harvey Korman, Mel Brooks.
You can’t blame Brooks for returning to the horror mine that paid off with gold in “Young Frankenstein.” Unfortunately, this spoof of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and its many film adaptations is frighteningly unfunny. Leslie Nielsen dons a black cape and fangs to play the sinister count as a bumbling moron prone to pratfalls. Brooks, who shows up as vampire hunter Van Helsing, fails to bring anything fresh or original to the material, recycling instead tired gags that are as ancient as the famous bloodsucker. A real low point for the funnyman, who retired from directing after its commercial and critical failure.
10. ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (1993)
Directed by Mel Brooks. Screenplay by Mel Brooks, Evan Chandler and J. David Shapiro, story by Chandler and Shapiro. Starring Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yasbeck, Dave Chappelle, Isaac Hayes, Tracey Ullman.
The ’90’s were the lean years for Brooks, with critics and audiences turning away from his films in droves. Of his output that decade, “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” has enjoyed a cult following, and while it’s far from perfect, it does contain a few prime chuckles. A direct sendup of Kevin Costner’s 1991 hit “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” it casts Cary Elwes as the famed outlaw, who must battle the evil King Richard (Richard Lewis) and the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees). He assembles a merry band of criminals, including Brooks as Rabbi Tuckman, Isaac Hayes as Asneeze and Dave Chappelle (in his film debut) as his son, Ahchoo.
9. THE TWELVE CHAIRS (1970)
Written and directed by Mel Brooks, based on the novel by Ilf and Petrov, translated by Doris Mudie and Elizabeth Hill. Starring Frank Langella, Ron Moody, Dom DeLuise, Andreas Voutsinas, Diana Coupland, Mel Brooks.
Brooks’s sophomore directorial effort — one of the few non-spoofs in his filmography — is an underrated gem waiting to be rediscovered. Set in 1920s Soviet Russia, it centers on a penniless aristocrat (Ron Moody), a greedy priest (Dom DeLuise) and a sly con man (Frank Langella) who learn that a vast fortune is hidden in one of twelve dining chairs. Unfortunately, the set was scattered throughout the country during the revolution, leading to a desperate and hilarious search. Brooks earned a WGA nomination for his script, adapted from a classic novel that’s been filmed across the globe 18 different times!
8. HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART I (1981)
Written and directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, narrated by Orson Welles.
“History of the World: Part I” never fully decides what it wants to be about, choosing instead to be a hodgepodge of parodies. Everything is spoofed here, from the Stone Age to the Old Testament, the Roman Empire to the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution to a preview of coming attractions (including Hitler on Ice). Brooks headlines the cast as Moses, Comicus, Tomas de Torquemada, Louis XVI of France and Jacques le Garcon de Pisse. Not all of the jokes land (and some are downright awful), but those that do are as good as anything the director has dreamed up. Watch out for a slew of celebrity cameos.
7. SPACEBALLS (1987)
Directed by Mel Brooks. Written by Mel Brooks, Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan. Starring Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, George Wyner, Joan Rivers.
Released 10 years after the original “Star Wars,” “Spaceballs” is Brooks’s attempt to spoof George Lucas’s beloved trilogy. Dismissed in its time as too little, too late, it’s since become one of the director’s most popular movies, and feels even fresher given the recent glut of prequels, sequels and reboots set in that galaxy far, far away. Bill Pullman plays Lone Starr, who along with his half-man, half-dog pal Barf (John Candy) must save a beautiful princess (Daphne Zuniga) from the evil Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis). Brooks shows up in a dual role as the villainous President Skroob and the mystical wise man Yogurt.
6. HIGH ANXIETY (1977)
Directed by Mel Brooks. Written by Mel Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy De Luca and Barry Levinson. Starring Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman, Ron Carey, Howard Morris, Dick Van Patten.
Brooks takes on Alfred Hitchcock in “High Anxiety,” which casts him as a newly arrived psychiatrist to the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous. When he’s accused of murder, he has to confront his own psychiatric disorder to find the real killer. All the hits from the Master of Suspense’s greatest movies are here, from the shower scene in “Psycho” (with Brooks getting attacked by a newspaper) to the tower climbing in “Vertigo,” and fans will revel in the director’s loving homages to those signature moments. The film earned him Golden Globe nominations as Best Comedy Actor and Best Comedy Film.
5. TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1983)
Directed by Alan Johnson. Screenplay by Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan, story by Melchior Lengyel and Ernst Lubitsch, based on the film written by Edwin Justus Mayer. Starring Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Tim Matheson, Charles Durning, Jose Ferrer, George Gaynes, Christopher Lloyd, Jack Riley.
Brooks pairs up with his wife, Anne Bancroft, for a highly entertaining remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s classic comedy (produced by Brooks and helmed by Alan Johnson). They star as a Polish husband-and-wife acting duo who become entangled in a dangerous spy operation in the lead-up to WWII. Charles Durning earned an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor for playing a nefarious SS chief. Brooks is hilarious as a thespian whose ego is as large as his talent is small. He’s matched by Bancroft, who manages to be equal parts seductive and silly. Watching the film, it’s little wonder the funniest man alive picked this woman to be his bride.
4. SILENT MOVIE (1976)
Directed by Mel Brooks. Written by Mel Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy De Luca and Barry Levinson. Starring Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise, Bernadette Peters, Sid Caesar, Harold Gould, Ron Carey.
With “Silent Movie,” Brooks creates a loving and spot-on homage to the Hollywood of yore, featuring his usual array of great gags and terrible gags, celebrity cameos and visual invention. Brooks stars as a washed-up director trying to revive a failing studio by producing the first silent film in decades with the help of sidekicks Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise. Completely devoid of dialogue (except for one very funny word) the concept gives the filmmaker an opportunity to parody the slapstick greats like Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mack Sennett. A Golden Globe nominee for Best Comedy Film, lead actor for Brooks, and supporting bids for Feldman and Bernadette Peters as a vampy nightclub singer.
3. THE PRODUCERS (1968)
Written and directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Kenneth Mars, Dick Shawn, Estelle Winwood.
For Brooks, “The Producers” is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only did it launch his film career — winning him an Oscar for screenwriting — but it spawned a hugely successful Broadway musical that won a record-breaking 12 Tonys, including three for him (it was also later turned into a movie). Zero Mostel stars as Max Bialystock, a failing producer who raises money for his stage shows by seducing old ladies. He convinces timid accountant Leo Bloom (Supporting Actor nominee Gene Wilder) to help him mount the worst play imaginable so they can take the money and run: the sure-fire flop “Springtime for Hitler.” Brooks revels in the premise’s bad taste, creating a comedy that’s shockingly, refreshingly hilarious, and one that spawned the likes of “South Park,” the Farrelly Brothers and other vulgar satirists.
2. BLAZING SADDLES (1974)
Directed by Mel Brooks. Screenplay by Andrew Bergman, Mel Brooks, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg and Al Uger, story by Bergman. Starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, David Huddleston, Claude Ennis Starrett, Jr., Mel Brooks, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn.
It’s hard to imagine a movie like “Blazing Saddles” existing today, and for good reason: it’s crude, vulgar and offensive, but also very funny. This western send-up centers on corrupt politician Hedley Lamarr’s (Harvey Korman) attempts to ruin a small town by appointing a new black sheriff, Bart (Cleavon Little), who’s met with some nasty racism. Gene Wilder is a hoot as his drunken pal, Jim (“Most people call me…Jim.”), who helps him win the townsfolk over. There’s one great gag after another, with the director throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. The film earned three Oscar nominations, including Brooks in Best Song (for the title tune), Best Film Editing and Best Supporting Actress for Madeline Kahn as saloon singer Lili von Shtupp, aka the “Teutonic Titwillow” (who performs the hilarious number “I’m Tired”).
1. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)
Directed by Mel Brooks. Screenplay by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, based on ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley. Starring Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars, Madeline Kahn, Gene Hackman.
In addition to being uproariously funny, “Young Frankenstein” is Brooks’s most technically accomplished film, perfectly mimicking Universal’s classic horror movies through its cinematography and art direction. Gene Wilder stars as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, who fulfills his grandfather’s legacy by bringing a dead body back to life (Peter Boyle). Rather than scaring people, this monster just wants to be loved, and that gives this comedy a surprising amount of heart. The cast is filled with prime supporting players, including Marty Feldman as the hunchbacked assistant, Cloris Leachman as the stern housemaster, Teri Garr as the beautiful love interest, Kenneth Mars as the bumbling inspector, Madeline Kahn as the repressed fiancee and Gene Hackman as a blind hermit. Brooks and Wilder earned an Oscar bid for their script.
Who would you rather spend an evening with Bill Shakespeare or Melvin Brooks?
A muse of comedy?Reply
He should also get an award for inspiring senior citizens to get off their dumps and do the things they love!!!
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Mel Brooks is one of my favorite Writers, Derector. And I Love all of his Movies, but Blazzing saddles and Young Frankenstein is my Two Favorites. We need more people like him in Show Business
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I can Mel Brooks. I have a twisted mind like he has!
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I always hoped there would be a history of the world 2!
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“I am sending you a birthday card but l feel like l should send your parents a thank you note.” This copyrighted EPICGRAM, purchased for you in EXACT TIME 50 years ago for you by MISS BANCROFT when l was assisting her while a playwright apprentice for William Gibson. Frank Langella was directing Bill’s play John and Abigail or Letters the Present Heirs. Please forward this card to Max Brooks, a present heir. Another card, purchased by Hallmark, read, and Miss Bancroft read it very well: “BE AN OBEDIENT REBEL; DO WHATEVER YOUR PROTEST GROUP LEADER TELLS YOU TO DO.”
To which she replies, “I am your protest group leader and you better be an obedient rebel and do whatever l tell you to do…” I am still trying. Right before this scene in my play covering that season, she had sent me on an errand to mail your birthday letter. “Dont take fifty years. I want my husband to get this in time for his birthday…l would like to write more right now but l am heading to my desk to work up more HIGHLIGHTS FROM HAMMER to be forwarded to you either through the Dramatists Guild or….some “boys of that summer.” I love you dearly BIG POPPY. Andrea Bovril Rita KarchmerReply
1 – Blazing Saddles
2 – Men In Tights
3 – Young Frankenstein
4 – History of The World Pt. 2Reply
Blazing Saddles is the best comedy of all time. We will watch it at least once a year, and find new laughs every time. Thanks Mel
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