History of the World, Part I [Blu-ray]

Director: Mel Brooks

Overview

Mel Brooks produced, directed, wrote, and starred in this episodic comedy in the spirit of Monty Python and the 1957 studio travesty The Story of Mankind. The film is divided into five sequences that play like blue-toned Eddie Cantor vaudeville sketches -- "The Dawn of Man," "The Stone Age," The Spanish Inquisition," "The Bible," and "The Future." Also included is a Brooksian depiction of The Last Supper and a long-winded sequence about the French Revolution. The film starts with a 2001: A Space Odyssey parody, narrated by Orson Welles, in which a collection of ape-men learn to stand erect (in more ways than one). The Stone Age reveals the origins of both the first homo sapien and homosexual marriages. Brooks then appears in an Old Testament sequence as Moses, descending from Mount Sinai with three heavy stone tablets bearing the 15 Commandments; after he drops one of these tablets, the laws of God become 10 Commandments. The Roman period picks up with Brooks as Comicus, attempting to get a gig as a "stand-up philosopher" at Caesar's Palace. The Spanish Inquisition is a musical production number with monks torturing Jews to lively Broadway musical strains. The final French revolution section is a broad parody of The Man in the Iron Mask story. The film closes with coming attractions of "History of the World, Part II" that features a rousing Star Wars parody (anticipating Space Balls) called "Jews in Space" that includes a jaunty theme song.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/11/2010
UPC:	0024543657927
Original Release:	1981
Rating:	R
Source:	20th Century Fox
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:32:00
Sales rank:	9,076

Special Features

Musical Mel: Inventing "The Inquisition" HD Featurette; Making History: Mel Brooks on creating the world HD featurette; The real history of the World Trivia Track; Isolated score track

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mel Brooks	Moses/Comicus/Torquemada/Jacques/Louis XVI
Dom DeLuise	Emperor Caeser
Harvey Korman	Count de Monet
Madeline Kahn	Empress Nympho
Cloris Leachman	Madame de Farge
Ron Carey	Swiftus
Gregory Hines	Josephus
Pamela Stephenson	Mademoiselle Rimbaud
Andreas Voutsinas	Bearnaise
Shecky Greene	Marcus Vindictus
Sid Caesar	Chief Caveman
Howard Morris	Court Spokesman,Composer
Rudy DeLuca	Capt. Mucus
Mary-Margaret Humes	Miriam
Orson Welles	Narrator
Bea Arthur	Clerk
Charlie Callas	Soothsayer
Dena Dietrich	Competence
Paul Mazursky	Roman Officer
Ron Clark	Stoned Soldier
Jack Riley	Stoned Soldier
Art Metrano	Leonardo Da Vinci
Diane Day	Caladonia
Henny Youngman	Chemist
Hunter von Leer	Lt. Bob
Fritz Feld	Maitre d'
Hugh Hefner	Entrepreneur
Pat McCormick	Plumbing Salesman
Sid Gould	Barber
Jim Steck	Gladiator
John Myhers	Senate Leader
Lee Delano	Wagon Driver
Johnny Silver	Small Liar
Charles Thomas Murphy	Auctioneer
Rod Haase	Officer
Eileen Saki	Slave
John Hurt	Jesus
Jackie Mason	Jew No. 1,Actor
Ronny Graham	Jew No. 2
Phil Leeds	Chief Monk
Jack Carter	Rat Vendor
Jan Murray	Nothing Vendor
Spike Milligan	M. Rimbaud
John Hillerman	Rich Man
Sydney Lassick	Applecore Vendor,Applecore Vendor
Jonathan Cecil	Poppinjay
Andrew Sachs	Gerard
Fiona Richmond	Queen
Nigel Hawthorne	Official
John Gavin	Marche
Rusty Goff	LeMuff
J.J. Barry	Prehistoric Man
Sammy Shore	Prehistoric Man
Michael Champion	Prehistoric Man
Earl Finn	Prehistoric Man, Disciple - The Roman Empire
Leigh French	Prehistoric Woman
Richard Karron	Prehistoric Man
Susette Carroll	Prehistoric Man
Suzanne Kent	Prehistoric Man
Molly Basler	Game Show Girl - The Roman Empire
Christine Dickinson	Game Show Girl - The Roman Empire
Deborah Dawes	Game Show Girl - The Roman Empire
Lisa Sohm	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Michele Drake	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Jeana Tomasina	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Lisa Welch	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Janis Schmitt	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Heidi Sorenson	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Karen Morton	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Kathy Collins	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Lori Sutton	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Lou Mulford	Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Henry Kaiser	Disciple - The Roman Empire
Zale Kessler	Disciple - The Roman Empire
Anthony Messina	Disciple - The Roman Empire
Howard Mann	Disciple - The Roman Empire
Sandy Helberg	Disciple - The Roman Empire
Mitchell Bock	Disciple - The Roman Empire
Gilbert Lee	Disciple - The Roman Empire
Edward Heim	Actor
David Chavez	Actor
John Frayer	Actor
Dennon Rawles	Actor
Stan Mazin	Actor
Dom Salinaro	Actor
James Roddy	Actor
Ted Sprague	Actor
Spencer Henderson	Actor
Bill Armstrong	Actor
John King	Actor
Bella Emberg	Baguette - The French Revolution
Geoffrey Larder	Footman - The French Revolution
George Lane Cooper	Executioner - The French Revolution
Stephanie Marrian	Lady Marie - The French Revolution
Royce Mills	Duke D'Honnefleur - The French Revolution
Mike Cottrell	Tartuffe - The French Revolution
Gerald Staddon	Le Fevre - The French Revolution
Monica Teama	Actor
Cleo Rocos	Slave
Jilly Johnson	Actor
Barry Levinson	Column Salesman - The Roman Empire
Richard Lewis	Actor
Alan U. Schwartz	Senator #2
Ira Miller	Roman Citizen,Coming Attraction
Royce Applegate	Coming Attraction
Sean Barry-Weske	Insolent Flunkey

Technical Credits

Mel Brooks

Ronny Graham

Mel Brooks	Producer,Screenwriter
Albert J. Whitlock	Special Effects
Ronny Graham	Screenwriter
Marci Liroff	Casting
Steve Cantamessa	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

History of the World Part I is the kind of uneven comedy whose bad parts are so unworthy of its good parts that it creates a state of total schizophrenia. As those who shook their heads at the sputtering ending of Blazing Saddles will attest, Mel Brooks can be brilliant in stretches, but he often fills the gaps with eye-rolling idiocy, or simply ceases to try. Give him credit for making an ambitious parody with dozens of familiar faces hamming it up, but then take some away for the indifferent execution that falls away progressively as the movie moves forward. As usual with Brooks, the silly puns and other obvious jokes are sometimes quite winning; in a prime example, the director wrings genuine laughs from a scene in which a confused Jesus Christ keeps responding to the modern usage of his last name as an expletive. But he milks the winners for way too long. As the king in the French Revolution piece, Brooks winks at the audience and pronounces, "It's good to be the king" after engaging in one act of kingly lasciviousness after another. At first it's funny, but as the segment drags out interminably, it quickly becomes desperate, and groans soon follow. The film is worth a look for what it does right, including a priceless sequence in which the inimitable Madeline Kahn, as the Brooksian-named Empress Nympho, does a sing-songy selection between studs on the basis of their endowment. Still, it's definitely best that Brooks never tried a Part II.