# AIRPLANE! vs. BLAZING SADDLES - Which is the funnier movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032 "2020-02-16T17:53:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/121 "2020-02-21T16:30:04Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Well I expected a different outcome too. Brooks is always going to have more soul than his imitators. This is a big part of blazing saddles. Aren’t the situations more involving when you aren’t careening from one pun to the next? > > Life of Brian was so lame I can’t recall one funny joke in it. Yet Holy Grail was the apex of filmed humor. I never understood how that could be. Meaning of Life was funny. My brother and I died laughing at the Latin lesson, and neither of us ever studied Latin. Decades later, I can still recite most of it by heart. (What follows is strictly from memory) ROMANES EUNT DOMUS? People called Romanes they go the house? It says “Romans go home.” No it doesn’t I even remember the correct answer ROMANI ITE DOMUM And that’s pretty much all the Latin I know. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/122 "2020-02-21T16:54:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Although _Holy Grail_’s ending is also anti-climatic - it feels like they just ran out of money and/or ideas. This is a recurring problem with comedies where the plot is just there as something to embed the jokes in. Look at the endings of Marx Brothers movies, for instance - the endings of the good ones are all contrived. If you’re having a good time going nowhere of importance, what to do when you get there is always going to be a dilemma. My feeling is that if the ride is good enough, I’m not going to be too particular about the ending. (If I felt otherwise, I wouldn’t be a Marx Brothers fan!) At least in _MP&HG_, they start setting up the ending well in advance, starting with the “A Famous Historian” scene which follows the knights’ initial encounter with the French taunters. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/123 "2020-02-21T18:29:20Z")
**Airplane!** is the only movie I literally (_literally_) fell out of my seat watching. At several points, I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. Of course, I was a 12-year-old boy the first time I watched it, so it did hit me in the sweet spot, as it were. **Blazing Saddles** is funny, and I’ve seen it as a kid and as an adult. Each watch is always a good time with lots of laughs. But nothing compares to **Airplane!** > [@ITR\_champion](#): > > I first watched _Airplane!_ circa 1990… I’ve watched it many times since then and notice new funny things every time. There’s a whole lot that happens in the background that’s easy to miss. > _Blazing Saddles_ has some hilarious scenes. It also has some scenes where the jokes fall flat. It’s a great comedy but not in the same class as _Airplane!_. I’ve seen **Airplane!** at least 15 times. And I’m \*still \*seeing new sight gags. For example, the scene with all the reporters putting up their microphones for a good quote on the impending disaster–one of the microphones is an ice cream cone! Just recently noticed that. **Airplane!** gets the vote. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/124 "2020-02-21T19:25:36Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > …I’ve seen **Airplane!** at least 15 times. And I’m \*still \*seeing new sight gags. For example, the scene with all the reporters putting up their microphones for a good quote on the impending disaster–one of the microphones is an ice cream cone! Just recently noticed that… OMFG, you’re right! I never noticed that myself, either. See at 10:25 here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-v2BHNBVCs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-v2BHNBVCs) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/125 "2020-02-21T23:28:44Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Life of Brian was so lame I can’t recall one funny joke in it. If you didn’t laugh in the “Biggus Dickus” scene you are dead inside and/or a robot, did you also not cry for Fry’s dog in Futurama? how did you even pass the captcha to register in the forum? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/126 "2020-02-22T11:59:42Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > ^ This is the first time I noticed that he walks out of the mirror at the end of that clip. OMG! And, I didn’t even notice it until you just pointed it out. That’s brilliant! I wonder how many more of those visual gags I’ve missed. I’d say Airplane! is funnier, BS is better satire. Since the poll asks which is funnier, I’ll be voting for Airplane!, especially after that video. Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/127 "2020-02-22T17:45:45Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > OMG! And, I didn’t even notice it until you just pointed it out. That’s brilliant! I wonder how many more of those visual gags I’ve missed. > > I’d say Airplane! is funnier, BS is better satire. Since the poll asks which is funnier, I’ll be voting for Airplane!, especially after that video. Amazing. I’m just going to say one name: Will Elder. The Mad comic book pretty much did that incessantly, starting in 1952. They were all reprinted, 3 to an issue in the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/128 "2020-02-22T17:51:42Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > If you didn’t laugh in the “Biggus Dickus” scene you are dead inside and/or a robot, did you also not cry for Fry’s dog in Futurama? how did you even pass the captcha to register in the forum? 😕 I just watched it. He was making his centurion crack up by saying stuff? That’s the joke? I didn’t even smile. Doesnt it seem like kind of a dumb outlier from most “smart” python bits? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/129 "2020-02-22T18:04:33Z")
We tried watching Blazing Saddles again around Christmas and I was surprised how dull the first half hour was. Couldn’t get into it again. Airplane, we still laugh from start to finish. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/130 "2020-02-26T12:29:28Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I just watched it. He was making his centurion crack up by saying stuff? That’s the joke? I didn’t even smile. Doesnt it seem like kind of a dumb outlier from most “smart” python bits? Dead. Inside. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/131 "2020-02-26T13:54:42Z")
> [@drad dog](#): > > I just watched it. He was making his centurion crack up by saying stuff? That’s the joke? I didn’t even smile. So you did not find it - wisible? Wegards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/132 "2020-02-26T15:14:39Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > So you did not find it - wisible? > > Wegards, > Shodan It’s not wisible!, he has a wife you know… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/133 "2020-02-26T18:17:22Z")
Mmmph. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/134 "2020-02-29T20:45:56Z")
Airplane! seems a remake of It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Blazing Saddles and Life of Brian heartily skewer cultural atrocities. Why has nobody mentioned Porklips Now? It only lacked a budget. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/135 "2020-02-29T23:27:14Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Airplane! seems a remake of It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Huh? \*Mad \*was a glacially-paced, heavily-plotted film starring famous comedians desperately mugging though endless chases and crashes for what seemed like six hours without a single joke ever being made. It would be hard to come up with a film less like _Airplane!_! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/136 "2020-02-29T23:51:23Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Airplane! seems a remake of It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Surely you can’t be serious? It was a remake of Zero Hour. Or a skewering. Or a complete decimation. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/137 "2020-03-01T00:10:47Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Surely you can’t be serious? > > It was a remake of Zero Hour. Or a skewering. Or a complete decimation. Yeah, count me in on the folks who don’t at all see the similarity between _[It’s a …]Mad World_\* and _Airplane!_. If **RioRico** hasn’t seen it, [here’s side-by-side of Zero Hour and Airplane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-v2BHNBVCs). As it was mentioned before, Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker bought the rights to Zero Hour, which is why it hews so closely to the source material in parts. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/138 "2020-03-01T02:01:57Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Huh? \*Mad \*was a glacially-paced, heavily-plotted film starring famous comedians desperately mugging though endless chases and crashes for what seemed like six hours without a single joke ever being made. It would be hard to come up with a film less like _Airplane!_! Hear, hear. _Rat Race_, the Zuckers’ semi-remake, was far superior, even if it wasn’t one of their all-time greats. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/139 "2020-03-01T14:51:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, count me in on the folks who don’t at all see the similarity between _[It’s a …]Mad World_\* and _Airplane!_. If **RioRico** hasn’t seen it, [here’s side-by-side of Zero Hour and Airplane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-v2BHNBVCs). As it was mentioned before, Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker bought the rights to Zero Hour, which is why it hews so closely to the source material in parts. They both had Ethel Merman? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032/140 "2020-03-02T05:05:42Z")
You mean Lt. Hurwitz? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-vs-blazing-saddles-which-is-the-funnier-movie/848032.md?page=8)