The Producers: Mel Brooks Classic Gets New Blu-ray

The Producers gets a new Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and while the laughs are still there, the bonus features fall short of previous editions. While the film isn’t being released in 4K Ultra HD, this version is a 4K restoration. The bonus features are a bit different from Shout! Factory’s 2013 collector’s edition. The key difference being a Playhouse outtake substitutes for Mel and His Movies: The Producers. Since the Shout! Blu-ray is now unavailable,…

"The Producers: Mel Brooks Classic Gets New Blu-ray"

The Producers: One Of The Best Comedies Ever

Mel Brooks’ feature directorial debut starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, The Producers, is one of the best comedies of all-time. When producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) learns from accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) that he can turn flops into money-makers, it changes everything.  Hysterics ensue for a solid hour and a half.  There’s nothing more to say about the plot.  Mostly, this is because the film is over 50 years old.  You know what…

"The Producers: One Of The Best Comedies Ever"

It’s Good To Be The King: Happy Birthday, Mel Brooks!

Mel Brooks is one of the first people I think of when it comes to comedy.  Today, he celebrates his 91st birthday. Together with Carl Reiner, they created The 2000 Year Old Man.  While doing the routine for their friends, comedian George Burns told them to record an album or he would have stolen it from them.  Steve Allen was also one of those who approached them and if not for him, the album likely…

"It’s Good To Be The King: Happy Birthday, Mel Brooks!"

The Last Laugh: What’s So Funny About the Holocaust?

What’s so funny about the Holocaust? Nothing is really funny about it but director Ferne Pearlstein explores whether or not the Holocaust should be off-limits for comedy. If it’s off-limits what becomes of other controversial topics? What is considered to be too taboo for comedy? How soon is too soon to be talking about 9/11? In her interviews with survivors, we learn that those in the concentration camps turned to humor as a survival technique…

"The Last Laugh: What’s So Funny About the Holocaust?"