History of the World: Part I (1981)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

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 | Ten Commandments | Hit In Crotch | Guillotine | Ancient Rome

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 15

6:00 PM

AMC

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

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 | 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:

Gregory Hines' movie debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Comicus and Swiftus are watching Josephus performing on the slave auction block, there's a girl standing behind them in some shots and not in other shots.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Flesh for the Beast (2003)

Soundtrack:

Funkytown

Pretty good movie

This was actually a lot better than I expected. I'm more from a Monty Python humor background and some of the Mel Brooks humor is pretty campy and dated in a Marx Bros sense but it was still pretty darn good. It's hard not to like a guy who turns the Spanish Inquisition into a musical. I guess there's something for everyone to like (and be offended by).