# Is Blazing Saddles the funniest movie ever made? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254 "2005-08-02T03:23:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BoringDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BoringDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoringDad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/81 "2005-08-03T03:15:03Z")
> [@diku](#): > > Can’t believe no one mentioned airplane. Sheesh. You mean besides me, **kunilou** , **cmkeller** , and **don’t ask**? Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/82 "2005-08-03T03:29:02Z")
> [@BoringDad](#): > > You mean besides me, **kunilou** , **cmkeller** , and **don’t ask**? Sheesh. Whoops. Ummmm- damn. I’ll just go away then. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/83 "2005-08-03T03:29:15Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Not nearly enough praise has been given to Harvey Korman’s brilliant exceution of Hedley Lamarr as one of the funniest, most bombastic, scheming, conniving, horny and sexually obsessive late 19th century movie villains ever. Korman rocks. He matched his Heddy (This is 1874. You’ll be able to sue _her_.) performance with his Count de Monet. “Don’t get saucy with me Bernaise!” I haven’t seen History of the World Part I for quite some time, but the mention of it here has brought back to memory how funny that one is too. Although it doesn’t rank up there with BS and YF, it’s still a hoot. “You’re nuts! N-V-T-S Nuts!” and “We got a god for everything! The only thing we don’t have a god for is premature ejaculation - but I hear that that’s coming quickly.” and who can forget “It’s good to be the king.” ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/84 "2005-08-03T03:30:36Z")
Time has not been good to **BS**. It’s homophobia kills it for me, even though I agree with the Dopers that it has some great bits. But it killed the movie’s good humor to watch Dom Deluise and the dancers mince about, inviting us to laugh at them swanning about. Contrast that with the black actors, who were using the stereotypes and race expectations to make the white folks the butts of the jokes. They’d pretend not to know any “nigger works songs” until they come up with “I Get a Kick Out of You.” The sheriff attracts Klansmen by playing to their expectations of blacks (“Where de white women at?”). There’s none of that good humor in the “French Mystique” scene. They aren’t parodying gay stereotypes. They _are_ gay stereotypes. There’s no difference between them and watching Stepin Fetchit or Sleep ‘N’ Eat or Mantan Moreland. Besides, I know saying words like s\*\*\* and f\*\*\* were still new and shocking then, but they’ve long worn out their welcome. I know it sounds like I’m reading too much into this, but I used to love **Blazing Saddles,** and this was my reaction after seeing it recently. I still love a lot about the movie, but time and changing attitudes have made it fade from the top of my list. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/85 "2005-08-03T03:31:51Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > **Young Frankenstein** is my favorite comedy ever. Way better than **Blazing Saddles.** Goodness gracious, people. Where is all the love for **Young Frankenstein** coming from? “Abbie Normal”? “It’s pronounced Fronk-un-shteen”? “Put… the candle… back”? I guess I can understand how one might find it funny, but I just… don’t. Maybe I’m humor-impaired. Maybe I think Gene Wilder’s manic clowning around and overreacting makes him an earlier and marginally-better Jim Carrey (whom I also don’t find funny). Seriously, I’ve seen it twice: once because I loved Blazing Saddles so much, and once again because I could not believe that a movie so universally hailed as “great comedy” could leave me so utterly non-plussed. **Ghostbusters** , **Blues Brothers** , **Groundhog Day** , **Animal House** , and even **Raising Arizona** made me laugh more than **Young Frankenstein**. Are you guys sure you don’t mean Yahoo Serious’s _magnum opus_, **Young Einstein**? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/86 "2005-08-03T03:48:31Z")
I like Blazing Saddles well enough but I’m not sure it’s even on my top ten. I laughed so much it hurt the first time I watched **Dr Strangelove**. I’m also a bit of a sucker for **Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle**. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/87 "2005-08-03T03:55:50Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Goodness gracious, people. Where is all the love for **Young Frankenstein** coming from? > > “Abbie Normal”? > “It’s pronounced Fronk-un-shteen”? > “Put… the candle… back”? Sure, pick the reasonably mediocre jokes for your examples. 🙂 How about: “SEDAGIVE?!” “No matter what I say, no matter how much I order you…do NOT OPEN this door.” Paraphrased, of course. And we all know what happens next. “Werewolf!” “Werewolf?!” “There.” “What?” “There, wolf. There, castle.” “Why are you talking like that?” “I thought you wanted to.” “I don’t.” “Suit yourself, I’m easy.” “What _knockers_!” “Thank you, doctor.” And, of course, the horses whinnying whenever Frau Blucher says her name. There’s a lot of wonderful jokes, and a surprising number of them that aren’t manic, but delivered so deadpan you don’t see it coming. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/88 "2005-08-03T04:40:05Z")
> [@BoringDad](#): > > Holy Grail was slightly funnier in the middle than Life of Brian, but of course Brian had much funnier ending. Both tie as reigning champions of Quote movies. _Holy Grail_ and _Life Of Brian_ are both great, but I’ve always considered _Dr. Strangelove_ to the the most quotable. That might be occupational bias; I work in the defense sector (ugh) and many of the quotes and attitudes are eerily apropos, especially back when we had the job-shopper who regaled us with his paranoid, Air America-inspired theories regarding fluorodation and the shadow government, controlled by the UN (which itself was under the control of the Communists), which would at the slighted provocation deploy their Red Army troops which were secreted in giant salt mines under Lake Michigan in coordination with crack anti-civilian Marine troops out of Twentynine Palms. He also claimed to have known Howard Hughes personally and volunteered that he was killed at the behest of Henry Kissinger, who was secretly in league with Fidel Castro to overthrow Nixon and assume control via martial law. But I digress. _Strangelove_ just has some of the greatest quotes in any film: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.” “I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.” “Mr. President, I’m not saying we wouldn’t get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks.” “Well now, what happened is… ah… one of our base commanders, he had a sort of… well, he went a little funny in the head… you know… just a little… funny. And, ah… he went and did a silly thing… Well, I’ll tell you what he did. He ordered his planes… to attack your country.” "Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines. " "Women uh… women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh… I do not avoid women, Mandrake…but I do deny them my essence. “But it is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious… service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.” The really sick thing is that most of these lines could be placed in a more somber context and be fully plausible. Ah well…each to his own. “Always look on the bright side…of life!” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/89 "2005-08-03T05:33:26Z")
Best Western Ever (and that includes spoofs): _Rustler’s Rhapsody_ The Death of Blackie is comedy gold. _Blackie: I don’t much like the idea of gettin’ shot in the hand._ Colonel Ticonderoga’s Eulogy For a Dead Foreman is sheer poetry. _Col. Ticonderoga: I saw a different side of Blackie. I saw a man who could feel. A man who could touch._ Meeting at the Campfire sends me into paroxysms of laughter. _Rex: We’re a little informal here tonight._ and _Peter: You scream in my ear one more time and I’ll tear your heart out._ The Confrontation in the Saloon is a joy to behold. _Wrangler Bob: Well, don’t worry, Rex. I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m just going to shoot the guns out of your hands. Rex: I’d rather you shoot me in the heart. Wrangler Bob: Now you know I can’t do that._ The Showdown on Main Street is funnier than the funniest line ever spoken in _High Noon_. _Rex: You’re not a Good Guy at all! Wrangler Bob: I’m a LAWYER, you idiot!!_ Gotta say it’s funnier than _Blazing Saddles_. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/90 "2005-08-03T06:01:28Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > The really sick thing is that most of these lines could be placed in a more somber context and be fully plausible. The movie was originally supposed to be a drama, and the plot is pretty much identical to _Fail Safe_. Fortunately, someone - I guess Kubrick - had the stones to think “we’re talking about the nuclear annihilation of humanity, but shit, this is just begging for a sendup.” Which makes it about a bazillion times more interesting than _Fail Safe_. I’m still debating whether I consider _Strangelove_ a great comedy or just a great movie that happens to be a comedy. Now I’m thinking of all the good scenes and leaning toward the former, and if so I guess I’d put it in the last spot of my top 5. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/91 "2005-08-03T13:10:29Z")
> [@Bomzaway](#): > > “You’re nuts! N-V-T-S Nuts!” I use that pretty frequently. Nobody ever gets it. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/92 "2005-08-03T13:19:50Z")
The answer from this quarter must regrettably be no - Blazing Saddles is funny. Very funny. But the Mel Brooks spoofs tie for second in my comedy hierarchy, matched with Python zaniness, both behind the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker brand of screwball insanity. “And that’s when I realized I had a drinking problem.” _splash!_ ---
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/93 "2005-08-03T13:56:13Z")
Even though I love Mel Brooks, even I know he’s not fit to lick the ball stuffings of Woody Allen. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/94 "2005-08-03T14:09:52Z")
> [@MadderMitch](#): > > Even though I love Mel Brooks, even I know he’s not fit to lick the ball stuffings of Woody Allen. So in the category of funnist movie ever, which Woody Allen flick to you offer. The only really funny one I’ve ever seen is sleeper and its pretty dated now. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/95 "2005-08-03T14:11:01Z")
I’m happy with Blazing Saddles as Funniest Movie Ever. Airplane should also be in the top five. But if I may, I’d like to nominate another: The Emperor’s New Groove. Yes, I know it’s a cartoon, but I’ve seen it approximately a hundred times and I still sit down and watch it whenever I get a chance. The kids and I are always using quotes from it in our conversations. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/96 "2005-08-03T14:21:55Z")
I’d like to pop in and mention the _other_ great comedy western, which I don’t think has been mentioned yet… \*_The Three Amigos_ is one of the funniest ever, especially on repeat viewings, and deserves to be up with BS, Airplane, Holy Grail, Blues Bros, & Young F’stein. Most of its humor, in comparison, is in the wonderful physical acting of the Short, Martin, and Chase. Their facial expressions and mannerisms just slay me into tears on every watching. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/97 "2005-08-03T14:52:58Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > I\*\*The Three Amigos\* is one of the funniest ever, especially on repeat viewings, and deserves to be up with BS, Airplane, Holy Grail, Blues Bros, & Young F’stein. I don’t think I liked it as much as you did, but 3 Amigos had one of the funniest lines I think I have ever heard. When the older woman is preparing the kidnapped girl for her night with El Guapo, and she asks her “Do you know what foreplay is?” The young woman says “No.” The older one then says, “Good. Neither does El Guapo.” ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/98 "2005-08-03T14:56:42Z")
Just putting in a word for **Living in Oblivion** , which IMHO is tremendously underrated. I think it’s a hilarious film with some great lines, not to mention the gorgeous Catherine Keener in a starring role. “The only place I’ve seen dwarves in dreams is in stupid movies like this!” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/99 "2005-08-03T15:11:19Z")
I’d go with YF over BS, though my husband is the opposite. YF is in my top five, along with: Better Off Dead The Awful Truth MP’s Grail The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254/100 "2005-08-03T16:05:23Z")
I admit that I’ve never seen “Blazing Saddles” or “Airplane” or “Something About Mary” or any Woody Allen movie at all, but I’ve got to say that they’d have to be something pretty damned special to beat out “Office Space”. (I’m adding Blazing Saddles to my Netflix queue now.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blazing-saddles-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/315254.md?page=6)