Customer Reviews

Twelve Chairs [VHS]

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you think Mel Brooks is only good for broad, obvious humor (Robin Hood- Men in Tights, or History of the World) or sharp parody, (Young Frankenstein) then you owe yourself a look at this movie. Made after The Producers, this is Brooks's first attempt at combining serious and comic elements. The film is NOT a laugh fest, nor is it meant to be. Brooks deals with character over comedy in the two main characters, creating an interesting (and often touching) relationship between the two, leading to a final shot in the film that is emotionally pure and effective. Dom Deluise provides wonderful comic relief as the priest who is also after the chairs, and Brooks himself makes a short cameo as the former servant to Ron Moody. Carl Reiner has said that to him, the funniest man on the planet is Mel Brooks. That's pretty high praise, but after seeing this movie, my bet is you'll come away with a deeper appreciation for Brooks's talent, and you might just wonder why he didn't make a few more films like this one.

I first saw this film when I was a Russian major in college in the 70s. It's based on the 1920s novel "Dvenadtsat' stul'ev" by the Russian-Jewish writing team of Ilya Ilf & Yevgeny Petrov, beloved for their hilarious, biting satires of the Bolshevik regime. (The Amazon reviewer said that 12 Chairs is from a Russian folk tale, but that's not the case.) While many of Ilf & Petrov's jabs at the inanities and bureacratic lunacies of Soviet life would be lost on an a non-Russian audience, Brooks does a marvelous job of turning this material into a parody of human foibles that can be appreciated by anyone regardless of time or place. What a masterstoke it was on the part of Mel Brooks to bring this uproarious classic to the screen!

You have to see this overlooked Mel Brooks comedy for one reason: Dom DeLuise's performance as the priest gone totally crazed with avarice. He is simply hysterical. I think the scene where he has gone to Siberia and finally hounded the chairs from the couple, only to come up empty, and begins his inept suicidal impulses is priceless.

There are other great moments in the film, a cameo by Brooks as the drunken Tikon, and nice performances from Ron Moody & Frank Langella.

The film is a dark comedy, not as light and fun as Blazing Saddles et al, and there is more exposition than usual, which tends to make the film's pace slower.

However, the real problem with the film, which prevents it from being a classic, is that there is a cruel streak in the relationship between Langella & Moody that can be uncomfortable at times.

Nonetheless, there are some great bits in this that make it well worth a look. I would rate it 3-1/2 stars if it were possible, but 4 will have to do. Dom makes it all worthwhile.

This obscure Mel Brooks work is my favorite movie of all times. It is the least known of his films, but rates as high as "The Producers" and "To Be Or Not To Be". Like those two other movies, "Twelve Chairs" has a more complex storyline and a slower pace than his better known films.
The beauty of this film is in the details. The names of streets and government offices are an example. The locations are fantastic.
Don't look for the fast pace of "Silent Movie" or the crazy, cheap jokes of "History of The World". In fact, don't think of this as a "Mel Brooks movie" at all. But do make a point to watch it. And keep and eye on the little details!

I have been a fan of Mel Brooks for a while, all this time considering Young Frankenstein as his all time best...now I have to rethink that! I discovered this movie a couple months ago, and now in my book it rates up there with Young Frankenstein as the best Mel Brooks movie out there. Why doesn't it get the publicity of his other films? It is a classic! The performances in the movie are great, I couldn't stop laughing! I wish that Mel Brooks would also make a movie of The Golden Calf, the sequel to this story.

I've been a Mel Brooks fan for many years, and count "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein" as two of the funniest movies I've ever seen, but I was unaware of "The Twelve Chairs" until the recent release of Brooks' box-set. My local library happened to have the video, so I picked it up out of curiosity, only to discover a real gem! As a precursor to the all-out wackiness of a few years later, and following the genius of "The Producers" before it, "The Twelve Chairs" is laugh-out-loud funny without the bodily functions humor and broad slapstick that would soon follow. How fun to see a (comparatively) thin Dom DeLuise as Father Fyodor; his scenes are some of the funniest in the movie ("Oh, Lord....you're so STRICT!!"), and Mel Brooks himself makes a really hilarious cameo appearance early on. But the real surprise of the movie, indeed nothing short of a revelation, is Frank Langella. Though he had been making a name for himself as a stage actor for most of the 1960s, this was his very first movie ("Diary of a Mad Housewife" was also released in 1970, but he filmed "The Twelve Chairs" first), and at 30 years old, he is impossibly, achingly, stunningly, devastatingly gorgeous. As he would soon do in "Diary of a Mad Housewife", and nine years later in "Dracula", every moment he is onscreen, you cannot take your eyes from him and he wipes every other character off the map. Back in those days, he exuded complete and utter sensuality in a way that few actors have ever come close to achieving, and in this movie it is in full and luscious flower. And yet, even apart from that, his performance itself is outstanding, running the gamut from coldly opportunistic, to cruel, to crafty, to playful (there's a wonderful scene between Frank and Ron Moody early on, when Frank tries to get Ron to tell him what is hidden in the chairs, that reveals a real gift for comedy), and ultimately even to kindness (the very last scene is a wonderful, real, emotional moment). It's a fully realized and nuanced performance, and a preview of the stellar actor he was on the way to becoming. A wonderful movie, a delight on many levels, and highly recommended!

The Twelve Chairs doesn't have as many belly-laughs as The Producers, but it is witty and quite entertaining, and is a worthy runner-up to that earlier classic. Like his later film To Be or Not to Be, Brooks mutes the comedy a bit and reveals an emotional side to the story. It's a welcome change of pace from films Brooks made in between these two which relied a lot on slapstick and sexual humor. In fact, it's okay for kids to watch, as there is no swearing, nudity, violence or sexual situations (which shows you what a filmmaker can do without going for the cheap laughs). All of the actors are wonderful, especially Dom Deluise, who is flat-out funny as the priest gone crazy with greed. Brooks' part in the picture, though not much more than a cameo, is among his best comedic acting roles, in my opinion.

The Twelve Chairs is one of those quiet little movie gems that is well worth seeking out. Starring Ron Moody as Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov a once Czarist noble who, after the revolution, is reduced to a registry clerk in the new Communist Russia. He learns from his dying mother-in-law about family jewels sewn in the seat of one of the twelve chairs in the families dining room suite. Teamed unwillingly and humorously with con artist Ostap Bender (Frank Langella) they set out on a journey to find the chairs and reclaim the jewels. Along the way they find a protagonist Father Fyodor (Dom DeLuise) who, after the hearing the mother-in-laws deathbed confession, is after the same thing. DeLuise has some of the funniest scenes in the movie. Filled with satire, humor, losses and gains this endearing movie is well worth adding to the collection.

This is one of the very best movies ever made. It holds up over time and is fine for all audiences. Great dialogue, tremendous sight gags and just general genius brings this movie off of the screen and into your heart forever.

Mel Brooks has made many funny movies but this one is perhaps his least known but maybe, just maybe his funniest movie of all.

For my money, the best Mel Brooks movies are those in which he appears the least or not at all. It's not that I don't think that he isn't a brilliant comedic actor: he is. But my top three Mel Brooks movies are THE PRODUCERS, THE TWELVE CHAIRS, and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Although he does have a few minutes on film in this movie, they're brief and effective. But he never comes close to stealing the scene from Ron Moody, Frank Langella or Dom DeLuise--and all three of these actors are perfect in their roles. DeLuise is at his best here, and Moody, with his Trotsky looks and high strung personality is hysterical.THE TWELVE CHAIRS is brilliant historical spoof of strong materialism in a place where no one is to have possessions: post-Revolutionary Russia. But humans will be humans, and the desire for comfort and money will always be with us, I'm afraid.

But this isn't a morality film. It's huge fun, great satire, and loaded with an understanding of humanity.