Silent Movie (1976)

Thanks for the memories!

Good movie but grossly overrated

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

If this entire film was constructed solely for the sake of a single joke--a mime speaking the only word in a silent film--I would be okay with that. Luckily, there's a little more to it."Silent Movie," written, directed, and starring Mel Brooks as Mel Funn, a down-on-his-luck Hollywood director--dressed as a sea captain, for some reason--looking for his comeback, which he believes will come in the form of a silent movie. He's joined by two cohorts, Marty Feldman--dressed as an aviator; something tells me Feldman wouldn't be able to acquire a pilot's license--and Dom DeLuise--dressed relatively normal, though bordering on golf enthusiast. The three must recruit major Hollywood stars in order for the studio to greenlight their film. The thorn in my side when it comes to this movie--and the same goes for 2011's "The Artist"--is that if this had come out prior to '29, nobody would care, and it would be seen as an imitation of greater artists. Many of the gags in the film simply lack the choreography and elegance of Chaplin, Keaton or Lloyd. Take a scene in which the three buffoons disguise themselves as knights in order to draft Liza Minnelli; it merely involves the three falling over, getting back up and falling over again, and goes on way too long. This isn't to say, however, that the film doesn't its moments; it has several, actually.Brooks is famous for having the world's most sophisticated fart joke--the coffee and bean diet of cowboys; it's only logical--and in this film, he performs the miracle of making an erection joke clever. Also, the running gag of bizarre California businesses is consistently funny, such as an acupuncture facility, in which customers walking out all look like hedgehogs. A frisky Coca-Cola machine nearly steals the show, and comes in handy later in a appropriately ridiculous manner. And who among us cannot crack a smile when witness to a high-speed wheelchair chase between Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise and Paul Newman. One would be remiss not to mention the fact that Burt Reynolds has both his name and a portrait of his face across the front of his mansion; if he doesn't have such a thing in real life, I will be sorely disappointed.While the film misses more than it hits, it's a pleasure to see it swing. The jokes that fall flat are quickly swept away by the charm of the movie and the childish optimism at the heart of it. I would rank it second-tier Brooks, along with "High Anxiety" and "History of the World, Part I." But second-tier Brooks is first-tier anyone else.

Silent Movie (1976) is cute for what it is: a loosely plotted homage to silent film comedians of the 1910s and 1920s. I would not put it in the same category as Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles (both 1974), but it is definitely better than History of the World (1980) or Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).The gags are hit-and-miss. When a gag falls flat, it falls HARD. Some routines drag on too long, like the part where Brooks and his crew (Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise, who both steal the show) are disguised as knights and find they cannot sit down in their clunky armor. Though it's quite funny when it begins, the joke runs too long and becomes annoying.On the flip side, the good gags are hilarious, like Marty Feldman's attempts at picking up women or the shower scene with Burt Reynolds. The highlight of the film is a wheelchair-bound chase between the heroes and Paul Newman. Just great! Out of all the films in which Brooks appears as a leading man, this is the only one where I feel he does a great job. Brooks is a genius director and supporting player, but I never felt he was much good at carrying a leading part (ex. High Anxiety, where he is easily overshadowed by the much funnier supporting cast and really should have just cast Gene Wilder).I have minor nitpicks, like there being too many intertitles and whatnot, but overall, this is a cute movie.

Don't expect too much from this Mel Brooks send-up of silent comedy and, well, you'll probably still be disappointed. Just not as much.Mel Funn (Brooks) is an out-of-work movie director who has an idea for how to get back in the business: Make the first silent movie in over 40 years. To get the backing of Big Picture Studios, Mel and partners Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman) and Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise) set about signing Hollywood stars to the project. Can Mel stay off the sauce long enough to see it through?"Silent Movie" was Brooks' first film after owning 1974 with "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein"; as a result he could do pretty much whatever he wanted. You want to do a silent movie, Mel? Sure, why not? Well, maybe because Brooks' type of comedy was more verbal than visual. "Silent Movie" too often plays like a movie whose maker thinks it's funnier than it really is.Take the cameo appearances of several big-name stars, another sign of Brooks' clout. Burt Reynolds has fun playing up his own ego, and so we do, too, while mime Marcel Marceau gets the funniest line in the picture (also the only line.) But the other stars brought in - Paul Newman, James Caan, Liza Minnelli, and Anne Bancroft - showcase their amiability more than their comedy potential.The physical comedy gets really labored and obvious at times, not what you got watching the silent clowns, or even "Blazing Saddles." When Mel and his two buddies try to recruit Liza, for example, they dress as knights in bulky suits of armor. Instead of engaging Minnelli in conversation while trying to look natural in their odd attire, the three just bumble around in a commissary, knocking down tables and chairs until Liza pulls a face, recognizes Mel, and asks to be in his movie. End scene.This strained gagginess extends to various sight gags. When we see a nurse in a hospital reading a smutty book, we can see patients on monitors behind her falling out of their beds, crying for help, etc. It's not much of a joke, but Brooks the director then pans over to put these monitors in close-up for a few seconds.The movie does have moments of genuine funniness, albeit in the same patchy way as the later Brooks' comedies "High Anxiety" and "History Of The World Part I." When we first see Mel driving down a street, a card tells us we are in "Hollywood, Film Capital of Greater Los Angeles." The plaque on the door of Big Pictures' boss (Sid Caesar) reads "Current Studio Chief."Caesar is pretty funny, too, as is Bernadette Peters as a sexy vamp who is sicced on Mel to take his mind off the movie. I love her big entrance, on stage inside a giant banana, from which she is peeled to deliver her silent catchphrase: "Ba-Ba-Loo!" Both Marty and Dom make for enjoyable company throughout, although they don't do much more than ogle ladies (Marty) or eat (Dom). In the technical department, John Morris's score and Paul Lohmann's cinematography are non-distractingly enjoyable.The big negative in this film, as with "High Anxiety," is Brooks. There is no funnier white person in living history, but he doesn't work as an actor, even in a farce. He's always smiling too much, pressing too hard to show us what a nice guy he is. Of course, it doesn't help that he's his own director here. (Brooks did better work as the lead in the 1983 remake of "To Be Or Not To Be," which he didn't direct.)"Silent Movie" is funny enough in spots and has enough of that old Brooks magic to make it pleasant if forgettable viewing. You can't help wanting more, but if you are like me, you're almost satisfied to get what you do.

"Slapstick is dead!" shouts Sid Caesar, the anxious producer, before sliding across the floor and hit the wall. You would think that indeed, slapstick is dead, that this kind of dated humor wouldn't work with today's audience, but that it worked during the post-Watergate pessimistic 70's, is the best guarantee of timelessness... and Mel Brooks' "Silent Movie" is not only one of the most underrated comedies but his best film in my opinion.It's interesting to note that the movie came out in 1976, the infamous year where the success of the cheerful "Rocky" over the more realistic "Taxi Driver", the cynical "Network" or the political thriller "All the President's Men" proved that the audience needed something new, but since the 70's revolutionized cinema, the newness could only be inspired from the past, the Golden Age. "Rocky" as the triumph of the underdog over the adversity was a celebration of the faith in human spirit à la Frank Capra, and in the same vein, "Silent Movie" is a return to the roots of comedy, the heritage of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and silent era's comedic treasures. Even the fans of Mel Brooks will notice the absence of explicitly raunchy humor and delightful vulgarity used to be his trademark. "Silent Movie" never exceeds a certain level of naughtiness, and the general tone carries the sweetness of a deliberate innocence drawing a big smile in our face."Silent Movie" is indeed a charming Family film that I had the pleasure to discover at the age of eight, I couldn't finish it but the least I saw was enough to keep intact in my memories. I remembered I laughed a lot, and even when i didn't get the jokes, I was smiling. I remembered the hysterical part in a shower, the funny sound effects, and more than anything, that skinny little guy with a race driver outfit who shared a vague resemblance with Jackie Wright, the little bald guy from "The Benny Hill Show", and it was not until I finally watched the film entirely that I put the name 'Marty Feldman' in his face. What a performance, he carries 50% of the fun, if only for him, the movie is a must-see, and never has the word 'see' be so relevant. "Silent Movie" is a visual delight in every meaning of the word. I even wonder why it hasn't been nominated for Best Art-Direction or Best Costume Design, the film's use of color creates a wonderful atmosphere making us wish that Keaton or Chaplin could have benefited from the use of Technicolor, at least once.I mentioned the slapstick pioneers, but the movie still has a modern feel beyond the homage to a classic genre. It's a masterpiece of adaptation in the way it keeps its relevance for a modern audience in three distinct ways. First, the gags, to name a few, there's one scene implying that a group of gentlemen are having a sensitive reaction toward a sexy picture, I won't spoil it to you, but the way, it's suggested is extremely well done, and shows how tactfully Mel Brooks handles a cruder form of humor, to paraphrase one of the character, Sex would have indeed killed "Funn". The second aspect is the way Brooks stills uses the cardboards to feature verbal jokes, cheating with the virtuosity of an iconoclast, after all, being silent doesn't prevent a movie from having a good script. And ultimately, there's the self-referential element : Mel Brooks plays the role of Mel Funn, a director who wants to make a silent movie, and with his two acolytes, Dom Bell and Marty Eggs, played by the namesakes De Luise and Feldman, they will propose to real-life stars to participate to the film. This is the genius plot device that provided the film's most memorable moments and some extra publicity.Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Liza Minelli, Anne Bancroft, Marcel Marceau, Paul Newman ... all these guest stars parody themselves in irresistible cameos that give the film an episodic feel without denaturing the narrative. "Silent Movie" is less a series of funny sketches than a self-reflexive depiction of the film. It's not just a tribute to silent movies but also to movie making, to the industry of cinema and the issues it faces : what "Sunset Blvd." did with a film-noir tone, Mel Brooks did with comedy and spoof humor. And the funniest reference to the industry is the big corporations that try to buy out smaller studios, the villainous team represented by Engulf & Devour is a clear reference to Gulf & Paramount. Ron Carey and the classy Harold Gould, provide the movie's best moments after Marty Eggs, and till now, I can't resist to the music played during their part, a sound that would have made Chaplin proud.Music, sound play a significant part to the film's success, even for the jokes, the sound effects perfectly match the scenes, but we're so distracted by the laughs that we forget the technical achievement the film represents. Silent films require a masterful direction relying on so many specific mechanisms : the timing, the speed, the editing. Some scenes wouldn't be as hilarious without the fast motion; others would be pretty dull without the sound. In fact, not all the jokes will have the same impact, some will eventually fall flat, but Mel Brooks doesn't censor himself and uses the film as the occasion to experiment old recipes with modern ingredients, and the result is absolutely delicious as we can all cheer for an uplifting family comedy, and the wonderful time we spent.And one particular moment is another proof of Brooks' comedic genius, there's absolutely no word to describe this scene, or actually maybe one which happens to be the only one spoken in the film. Only for that scene, the film is a must … who am I kidding? For every scene, this film is an absolute must see.