Mel Brooks: Make a Noise (2013)
**** (out of 4)
Excellent entry in the American Masters series has Mel Brooks talking about his life and career. If you were disappointed in the MEL BROOKS' STRIKES BACK! feature that was shown on HBO last year then this here is going to be a dream. Everything that was wrong with that production is corrected here and while there are a few flaws with this documentary, for the most part it's a completely wonderful and entertaining piece of work. I think it certainly helps that we've got Brooks here talking about the films and telling stories. He talks about how he got interested in writing, how he got into the business and then we hear about the various productions he has been involved in. The big titles like BLAZING SADDLES and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN get a lot of attention but so does both the film and Broadway version of THE PRODUCERS. We also get to hear about some of the films that Brooks produced including David Lynch talking about THE ELEPHANT MAN. Brooks is constantly telling good stories and I enjoyed the sense of humor that he displays here. This is especially true when talking about SPACEBALLS and hearing what George Lucas didn't want him to do with the film. There's also some great stuff about Alfred Hitchcock's reaction to HIGH ANXIETY. Andrew Bergman, Nathan Lane, Barry Levinson, Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Tracey Ullman, Joan Rivers and Richard Lewis are also interviewed and talk about Brooks. Fans of the director are certainly going to enjoy hearing all the stories as there are many great ones. The only questionable thing is that a couple films are pretty much overlooked including LIFE STINKS.
**** (out of 4)
Excellent entry in the American Masters series has Mel Brooks talking about his life and career. If you were disappointed in the MEL BROOKS' STRIKES BACK! feature that was shown on HBO last year then this here is going to be a dream. Everything that was wrong with that production is corrected here and while there are a few flaws with this documentary, for the most part it's a completely wonderful and entertaining piece of work. I think it certainly helps that we've got Brooks here talking about the films and telling stories. He talks about how he got interested in writing, how he got into the business and then we hear about the various productions he has been involved in. The big titles like BLAZING SADDLES and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN get a lot of attention but so does both the film and Broadway version of THE PRODUCERS. We also get to hear about some of the films that Brooks produced including David Lynch talking about THE ELEPHANT MAN. Brooks is constantly telling good stories and I enjoyed the sense of humor that he displays here. This is especially true when talking about SPACEBALLS and hearing what George Lucas didn't want him to do with the film. There's also some great stuff about Alfred Hitchcock's reaction to HIGH ANXIETY. Andrew Bergman, Nathan Lane, Barry Levinson, Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Tracey Ullman, Joan Rivers and Richard Lewis are also interviewed and talk about Brooks. Fans of the director are certainly going to enjoy hearing all the stories as there are many great ones. The only questionable thing is that a couple films are pretty much overlooked including LIFE STINKS.