Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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 Woman | |
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Richard Karron | ... | Prehistoric Man |
From the dawn of man to the distant future, mankind's evolution (or lack thereof) is traced. Often ridiculous but never serious, we learn the truth behind the Roman Emperor, we learn what really happened at the Last Supper, the circumstances that surrounded the French Revolution, how to test eunuchs, and what kind of shoes the Spanish Inquisitor wore. Written by Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
There's a little something to offend everyone in this hilarious history lesson, with some personal research by Mel Brooks. To me, it's funnier than, say SILENT MOVIE or HIGH ANXIETY, but not as good as BLAZING SADDLES or maybe YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. My personal feeling is that HISTORY OF THE WORLD-PART 1 succeeds as being so hilarious due to the fact that it is so incredibly crude. It's a miracle that it gets shown on TV (even in a censored version). I own the book written by Mel Brooks in 1981. It is a telling of the movie complete with MANY photographs taken from the film. Sometimes, I think that the film gets mean-spirited, and that is when it isn't funny anymore. Mel Brooks is the undisputed comedy genius of the latter half of this century. Without a doubt, he has made more people laugh than any one else. His comedy is unique because while it is in bad taste, he somehow makes us feel good. Even in his first film, he makes us laugh at something in bad taste. This is where he is different from other, run-of-the-mill comics like Adam Sandler or Eddie Murphy, or SNL or anything like that- because Brooks' really knows what is funny. From his earliest effort to his latest, he remains a genius. But as for HISTORY OF THE WORLD. It seems to be his most popular movie with today's generation. BLAZING SADDLES is still popular, though. Of course, THE PRODUCERS, THE TWELVE CHAIRS, SILENT MOVIE, HIGH ANXIETY, TO BE OR NOT TO BE, and LIFE STINKS were all aimed at older audiences, his films like BLAZING SADDLES,YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, HISTORY OF THE WORLD, SPACEBALLS, ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS and DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT will always be popular with the younger audiences.