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Mel Brooks' History of the World -- Part I
 
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Mel Brooks' History of the World -- Part I (1981)

Starring: J.J. Barry, Sid Caesar Rating: R (Restricted) Format: DVD
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (162 customer reviews)


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Product Details

  • Actors: J.J. Barry, Sid Caesar, Ron Carey, Susette Carroll, Rudy De Luca
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: R (Restricted)
  • Studio: 20th Century Fox
  • DVD Release Date: December 28, 1999
  • Run Time: 92 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (162 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00000K3CQ
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,114 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #39 in  Movies & TV > Comedy > Comedy Directors > Mel Brooks
  • For more information about "Mel Brooks' History of the World -- Part I" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Mel Brooks's 1981, three-part comedy--set in the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, and the French Revolution--is pure guilty pleasure. Narrated by Orson Welles and featuring a lot of famous faces in guest appearances (beyond the official cast), the film opens well with Sid Caesar playing a caveman, then moves along to the unlikely but somehow hilarious juxtaposition of Caesar's soldiers (the other Caesar, not Sid) with pot humor, and ends on a dumb-funny note in the French bloodbath. This is a take-it-or-leave-it movie, and it works best if you're in a take-it-or-leave-it mood. --Tom Keogh

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Customer Reviews

162 Reviews
5 star:
 (91)
4 star:
 (36)
3 star:
 (17)
2 star:
 (8)
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 (10)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (162 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars History has never been more hilarious., June 26, 2004
By J. A Hayes (Montgomery, AL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
I wasn't familiar with History of the World until someone recommended that I see it. I knew a little of who Mel Brooks was and had seen Young Frankenstein so I knew this might be good. Now I think it is one of the funniest movies ever, a genius spoof of world history troughout different period of time. You get to see prehistoric man invent art, and along with the first art came the first art critic. We see the real story behind Moses and the Ten Commandments. The best part to me was the part about the Roman times, when Comicus the stand up philosopher is introduced. I was laughing long and hard when Comicus gets a job as waiter at the Last Supper. Also spoofed are the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution.

History of the World is a great movie that features a terrific cast including Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Sid Caesar. There are others, but together they give an entertaining perspective into some of history's most important events. There are also countless quotes from the movie that will stick with you for a long time after you hear them. This is something I recommend seeing, as even after 23 years it still seems as fresh as ever with the humor it provides.

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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars History of the World - According to Mel Brooks, October 10, 2008
By Justin Heath (Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: History of the World Part I (DVD)
Though it's not considered a classic like Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein, there are a lot of laughs to be found in Mel Brooks' HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART I, a zany,if inconsistent look at Biblical times, the Stone Age, Ancient Rome, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution as seen through Brooks' demented brain. The film is not as all encompassing as its title implies, but Mel gives his own twisted vision to these particular times in earth's history, which includes Mel himself in four different roles, including Moses and his own version of Louis XIV (It's Good to be the King). Mel gathers his usual nutty repertory company together and laughs are provided by Sid Ceasar (very funny as a caveman), Madeline Kahn and Dom DeLuise (hysterical as Cleopatra and Ceasar), Gregory Hines, Cloris Leachman, and Harvey Korman as Count De Money ("That's De Monay!!!).

As always in his films, music is key and the Spanish Inquisition is presented here as a mammoth production number that is guaranteed to either amuse or offend,depending on your mood. Hard-core Brooks fans will love it, others be warned...there's something to offend everyone here.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brooks' finest work!!!, April 22, 1999
By A Customer
I don't know how else to put it. Mel Brooks is just sheer genius. Period. This film is so good, I wonder if it just might pass up Blazing Saddles, (probably not). From the Dawn of Man to the French Revolution, from the Stone Age to the Spanish Inquisition, from the Old Testement to the Roman Empire, Mel Brooks gives us a 92 minute lesson in history, the way that it never happened! As I said before, Mel Brooks is a comic genius. First, hes able to direct such an inferior movie, second, he wrote the screenplay, and third, he still had enough room for 5 whopping roles in the film!!! This film has many familiar faces like Mel Brooks, (Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie, High Anxiety), Madiline Khan (Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles), Harvey Korman, (Blazing Saddles), and Dom DeLuise, (Silent Movie). Mel Brooks gang pulls it off again with hilarious slapstick, and some out-of-date humor, (like Las Vegas' Caeser's Palace). There's a lot to laugh at, and you won't be dissapointed. Very little of the humor is dry, but a majority of them hit their marks. A very etertaining movie. A must see.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars History of the World Part 1
Irreverant movie that I first saw when it came to the theater. As it says on the cover something to offend everyone. It is just plan silly and funny. Read more
Published 4 days ago by C. Roberts

4.0 out of 5 stars A hit-and-miss history lesson from Mel
The moment I saw the opening scene with our shaggy forefathers reaching for the sky--and then dropping their hands to masturbate--I knew this was going to be a crude & bawdy Mel... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Randy E. Halford

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Brooks Made A Funny
Mel Brooks has done it again. Who knew Philosophy and History could be so funny? Mel did. Brooks, that is. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nik

1.0 out of 5 stars A long wait for nothing.
I ordered this DVD to be given as a gift. After initially being told that it was "pending", I waited two weeks before inquiring about a shipping date. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Michelemabelle

4.0 out of 5 stars genuine Mel Brooks
Typical Mel Brooks, from start to finish, song & dance, sexual innuendo, references to mild drug use, a lot of slap stick comedy ala 3 stooges. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Art N. Movie

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Mel Brooks Classic
Great Mel Brooks Classic. Relive those forgotten scenes, find out where those quotable quotes originated. Ah Ha, that's where that saying came from, Hilarious!
Published 6 months ago by D. Erickson

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastically Funny Movie
I love this movie! When this movie came out I was just a kid. It was funny then, and it's just as funny now. You can't go wrong with this one!
Published 7 months ago by S. Woeppel

4.0 out of 5 stars Might be a good way to teach history to the disinterested?
Slap-stick and irreverent satire start here at the stone age
and go on through to the French revolution, with stops at Moses and the Roman Empire. Read more
Published 8 months ago by R. Bagula

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Mel Brooks
My VHS tape wore out, couldn't wait to get this! Great cast, even Henny Youngman in a great quick scene. Read more
Published 9 months ago by N. Bryson

3.0 out of 5 stars 2.5 stars out of 4
The Bottom Line:

Sporadically amusing, albeit juvenile, History of the World is an uneven series of sketches that feels disjointed and will not be remembered as one... Read more
Published 11 months ago by One-Line Film Reviews

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