The Mel Brooks Collection (Blazing Saddles / Young Frankenstein / Silent Movie / Robin Hood: Men In Tights / To Be or Not to Be / History of the World, Part I / The Twelve Chairs / High Anxiety)

The earliest film, The Twelve Chairs (1970), is the least known, but is one of the funniest, helped greatly by a good story (adapted from a 1920s Russian tale) and the casting of Ron Moody and Frank Langella as treasure hunters. Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles followed in 1974. The former, a spoof of horror films, is easily one of the top two or three funniest movies of all time, and the latter is justly famous for its often-tasteless send-up of Western cliches. Silent Movie (1976) is just what the title describes, with its only word of dialogue spoken from the least-likely source, and High Anxiety (1977) pays tribute to the work of Alfred Hitchcock. History of the World, Part 1 (1981) mocks historical events and epics, and To Be or Not to Be (1983) is a remake of Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 classic of the same name (it's also the only film in the set Brooks for which didn't receive writing and directing credit). By this time, Brooks was more actively taking the leading roles himself (rather than the bit parts), and unfortunately relying less on his topnotch ensemble of recurring players, which included Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman, and Dom Deluise. But he does rely on a new ensemble (including Cary Elwes and, in his film debut, Dave Chappelle), for Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), the feature-length spin on the same hero Brooks had spoofed in his short-lived 1975 television series When Things Were Rotten.

Bonus features are minor. In addition to an HBO featurette on Men in Tights, there's a featurette and interviews on To Be or Not to Be and all the features (Brooks commentary, deleted scenes, interviews, etc.) that were on the original release of Young Frankenstein. Note that while rights issues kept The Producers, Spaceballs, and other films out of this set, 20th Century Fox was able to use Warner Bros.' Blazing Saddles. The features on that disc, however, are the ones that were on the 1997 DVD release, not the 2004 anniversary reissue. Regardless, the set's price for this many films is low, and because it has so many films new to DVD, Brooks fans will want to pick this up faster than they can say... "Frau Blücher!" --David Horiuchi

Disk 2 "High Anxiety" Canadian Rating: PG Disc Type: DVD9 Widescreen - 1.85:1 Runtime: 94 Minutes Audio: English: Stereo / Spanish: Mono / French: Mono Subtitled: English & Spanish Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Fox Flix: Robinhood Men in Tights, Silent Movie, To Be or Not To Be, & Young Frankenstein

Disk 3 "History of the World Part I" Canadian Rating: AA Widescreen - 2.35:1 Runtime: 92 Minutes Audio: English & French: 2.0 Mono Dubbed: French Subtitled: English Special Features: Menus: Brain Soup & Original Theatrical Trailer

Disk 4 "Robinhood Men in Tights" Disc Type: DVD9 Widescreen - 1.85:1 Runtime: 104 Minutes Audio: English: Dolby Surround / Spanish: Dolby Surround / French: Dolby Surround Subtitled: English & Spanish Special Features: HBO Special, Theatrical Trailer, Fox Flix: High Anxiety, Silent Movie, To Be or Not To Be, & Young Frankenstein

Disk 5 "Silent Movie" Canadian Rating: PG Disc Type: DVD 9 Widescreen 1.85:1 Runtime: 87 Minutes Audio: English: Dolby Surround Stereo / Spanish: Dolby Surround Stereo / French: Dolby Surround Stereo Subtitled: English & Spanish / Forced French Subtitled Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Spanish Trailer, Portuguese Trailer, Fox Flix: High Anxiety, Robinhood Men in Tights, & To Be or Not To Be

Disk 6 "To Be or Not to Be" Canadian Rating: PG Disc Type: DVD 9 Widescreen - 1.85:1 Runtime: 107 Minutes Audio: English: Stereo / Spanish: Mono / French: Mono Subtitled: English & Spanish / Forced Spanish & French Subtitled Special Features: Featurette, Profile: Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, & Theatrical Trailer

Disk 7 "Twelve Chairs" Canadian Rating: PG Disc Type: DVD 9 Widescreen - 1.85:1 Runtime: 94 Minutes Audio: English: Stereo & Mono / Spanish: Mono Subtitled: English / Forced Spanish Subtitled Special Features: Mel Brooks Theatre: High Anxiety, History of the World Part I, Robinhood Men in Tights, Silent Movie, & To Be or Not To Be

Disk 8 "Young Frankenstein" Legal Title: 1103 Disc Type: DVD9 Widescreen - 1.85:1 Runtime: 106 Minutes Audio: English: Stereo & Dolby 4.0 & French: Mono Dubbed: English & French Subtitled: English Special Features: Widescreen Feature with optional Mel Brooks Commentary, 36 minute documentary: "Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein" out takes/bloopers & deleted scenes, Trailers: Showrama A, B, International, and Re-Release, TV Spots: 1:60, 3:30, & 5:10, Mexican Interviews with Leachman, Feldman and Wilder, Production Stills, and Theatrical Trailer.