Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Amazon.ca
Mel Brooks's directorial debut remains both a career high point and a classic show business farce. Hinging on a crafty plot premise, which in turn unleashes a joyously insane onstage spoof, The Producers is powered by a clutch of over-the-top performances, capped by the odd couple pairing of the late Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, making his screen debut.
Mostel is Max Bialystock, a gone-to-seed Broadway producer who spends his days wheedling checks from his "investors," elderly women for whom Bialystock is only too willing to provide company. When wide-eyed auditor Leo Bloom (Wilder) comes to check the books, he unwittingly inspires the wild-eyed Max to hatch a sure-fire plan: sell 25,000 percent of his next show, produce a deliberate flop, then abscond with the proceeds. Unfortunately for the producers (but fortunately for us), their candidate for failure is Springtime for Hitler, a Brooksian conceit that envisions what Goebbels might have accomplished with a little help from Busby Berkeley.
Truly startling during its original 1968 release, The Producers does show signs of age in some peripheral scenes that make merry at the expense of gays and women. But the show's nifty cast (notably including the late Dick Shawn as LSD, the space cadet that snags the musical's title role, and Kenneth Mars as the helmeted playwright) clicks throughout, and the sight of Mostel fleecing his marks is irresistibly funny. Add Wilder's literally hysterical Bloom, and it's easy to understand the film's exalted status among late-'60s comedies. --Sam Sutherland
Special Features
The Producers makes its long-awaited DVD debut with a great-looking transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, and both widescreen and full-screen versions on the first side of the disc. There's no Mel Brooks commentary track, but he offers plenty of information in the 64-minute making-of documentary that highlights the second side of the disc. Brooks, Gene Wilder, and other cast and crew members discuss the development of the movie, casting decisions (Peter Sellers and Dustin Hoffman had agreed to play Leo Bloom and Franz Liebkind, respectively), and the creation of "Springtime for Hitler." Somewhat surprisingly, other than one mention by Brooks, the 2002 documentary ignores the 2001 Broadway stage adaptation, though the DVD does have an ad for the cast recording (misidentified as the "soundtrack"). Also on the disc are sketch and photo galleries and an alternate version of the final playhouse scene. --David Horiuchi
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I saw this movie at the cinema when I was in high school...many moons ago...and I laughed until I cried that evening...this movie holds up well with time and it is still hysterically funny...especially the wonderful performance by the Dick Shawn, as "LSD".
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Producers is the best of Mel Brooks' trio of masterpieces, which includes Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. Who knows if this is one of the funniest movies of all time? It's on my list of the funniest, though. You either love Mel's work, or you think he's inane and over-the-top; or both. Gene Wilder's best work may be found in Mel's movies; and Zero Mostel would certainly have been a mainstay in Mel Brooks movies if not for his unfortunate demise. The Producers is full of funny one-liners, and outrageous sight gags. Even the aspects that seem "dated" are still funny, because they were played over-the-top ridiculous in the first place; their datedness just plays into their over-the-topness now.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Donato
Format:DVD
I love this film because it always makes me laugh, but also because it captures the genius of Zero Mostel, a performer who did some of his best work on stage ("Fiddler on the Roof" "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum"). The plot revolves around the New York theatre world and Mostel's down-and-out, has-been producer. And the thought of Mostel (quite the vision in his lounging robe and with his bad comb-over) playing "boy toy" to rich little old ladies in order to raise enough to produce bad show after bad show, rarely fails to get laughs. Add to the mix one of Gene Wilder's best performances, as Leo Bloom, the accountant who wanders into Mostel's world and who gets sucked into a "sure fire" scam, and you have enough laughs to fill ten comedies. I had the pleasure of seeing Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the musical version of this film when it opened on Broadway a few years ago, and while that show was fantastic, I still think back fondly to where it all started: with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, whose zaniness is forever preserved on film, always there to entertain us.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 254 reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
mel brooks at his best
Kenneth Mars is the funniest Nazi you'll ever see.The musical was good but can't touch the original.Well worth the money
Published 17 months ago by joe swanson
2.0 out of 5 stars
DOOZY PREMISE WITH *SOME* GOOFY GAGS, BUT..
The theme held so much promise -- a couple of spent-out producers setting out to create the worst play ever to exploit an accounting glitch with finances. Read more
Published on July 8 2004 by Shashank Tripathi
4.0 out of 5 stars
A comedy classic
Whether or not you've caught the hot Broadway remake of Mel Brooks' 1968 classic - 'The Producers,' anyone who appreciates satire along with Brooks' zany style of humour will find... Read more
Published on May 15 2004 by Sibelius
5.0 out of 5 stars
Where Did I Go Right?
The Producers is the best of Mel Brooks' trio of masterpieces, which includes Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. Who knows if this is one of the funniest movies of all time? Read more
Published on April 23 2004 by Kari L. Black
5.0 out of 5 stars
A testimony to Brooks' genius
I first saw this movie over thrity years ago. Although I was pretty young, I was drawn in by all the hysteria and screaming, all the slapstick and goofiness between Zero Mostel and... Read more
Published on April 17 2004 by Rocco Dormarunno
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Mel's Greatest Comedies!
Max Bialystock (zero mostel) is a producer of Broadway shows who needs money quickly because he is in debt. Read more
Published on Jan 2 2004 by Elizabeth
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funniest Comedy Ever
"The Producers" is my favorite Mel Brooks film; unlike many of his later movies (such as "Blazing Saddles" or "Spaceballs") "The Producers" features little in the way of slapstick,... Read more
Published on Dec 7 2003 by T. Sparks
4.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and belly-aching...
Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), an accountant, visits Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), former big shot theater producer, to review Max's book keeping. Read more
Published on Aug 22 2003 by Kim Anehall
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel, and Gene Wilder are great comedians. I've always heard great things about this movie. As a result, I'd waited years to see it. It's a real letdown. Read more
Published on Aug 21 2003 by LesLein
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the greatest comedies of all time!
I first saw The Producers at a college movie theater when it was first released in the late 1960s. It was outrageous and hilarious then, and it still is now. Read more
Published on July 28 2003 by Francis L. Fitzpatrick
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
