Blazing Saddles Movie Review (1974)

"Blazing Saddles" was directed by Mel Brooks in 1974. The main actors are Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart, Gene Wilder as Jim, Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr, Mel Brooks as Governor William J Lepetomane, and the indian chief, Slim Pickins as Taggart, and Alex Karras as Mongo.

Blazing Saddles starts off with a view of the new railroad being built by different races of people, including Black and Asian workers. This is where we first meet Bart, the protagonist, he is working on the railroad with other black workers, and the bosses want to hear the men sing, as he says "When you were slaves, you used to sing like birds," and has them sing a song, that they don't know, they say they don't know the song, and Bart starts to sing, and the bosses say to sing a "Real song," such as "De Camptown Ladies." The bosses start singing "Camptown Ladies" to show the men what their definition of a real song was, and Taggart, the head boss, rides his horse over to see what the commotion was, and when he sees his men singing he fires his revolver to get their attention and says "I paid you to get some track laid, not to jump around like a bunch of Kansas City Faggots," and has his men send Bart and another worker to check the rail up ahead for quicksand, and when Bart and the other worker start to sink, the bosses throw a rope at the cart instead of saving the workers, and Bart has had enough with the workers, and hits Taggart over the head with a shovel, and tries to escape, but is later caught and imprisoned by Hedley Lamarr. Taggart informs Lamarr that the railroad has to go through a little town called "Rock Ridge," and Lamarr wants to drive the inhabitants out of the town, and Taggart suggests they would go and shoot up the town, and in the shootout the sheriff is killed, and Rock Ridge sends a wire to the Governors office asking for a new sheriff, and to make the citizens mad, they send Bart, because they think Bart will be killed by the townspeople. When Bart makes his arrival, the people see that he is black, they stop the ceremony and load their firearms to kill Bart, and Bart puts his revolver to his head and makes everyone think he is being possessed by himself, and having them think they would get himself killed. Bart makes his way to the sheriffs office with his gun to his head, and then closes the door, saying, "Baby, you are so talented, and they are so dumb!" When Bart is in the sheriffs station he meets Jim, also known as the "Waco Kid," who supposedly had the fastest hands in the whole world. Bart has Jim perform a test to see if he really is the Waco Kid or not, and Jim passes, proving he is the Waco Kid, and from there, they become partners, and lifelong friends, in a hilarious plot filled with tasteful racism, and jokes that don't pick on one person in particular, but pick on everyone so that nobody is left out.

I really enjoyed this film because, in my opinion, its one of, if not the best comedies that have been written. This film has a plot that makes you laugh at every turn, using cheesy fight sequences, and in one scene alludes to "Looney Toons." This comedy will make you laugh in nearly every scene, and is filled with jokes and in some parts, dark and toilet humor. Mel Brooks' Blazing saddles will continue to be a classic comedy film, for decades to come. if you are a fan of any Mel Brooks film, I urge you to come see this classic film.

In my three scoring categories, starting with the films overall rating, I would give it a 10. In the second category, which is the rating I give the plot, I would give the plot a 10. In the third and final category, which is character roles, which is how I score how well the actors played their roles, would also receive a 10 as well. From 1974 to 2013, Blazing Saddles has been a classic comedy film, and will continue to be a classic comedy film for many years to come.

"Imitation of Life" (1959) African American Movie Review

"Imitation of Life" was directed in 1959 by Douglas Sirk. The main characters are Lana Turner as Lora Meredith, Sandra Dee played Susie at age 16, Susan Kohner played Sarah Jane at age 18, John Gavin played Steve Archer, Juanita Moore played Annie Johnson, and Robert Alda played Allen Loomis.

Imitation of Life starts off at a beach, and Lora was looking for Susie, Lora enlists the help of a police officer in the search for little Susie. Susie ends up playing in the sand with her newfound friend, Sarah Jane, daughter of Annie, an unemployed homeless housekeeper. Annie and Lora talk, and find out that Annie is recently unemployed and homeless. Lora offers Annie and Sarah Jane to spend the night at her house, and one night turned into a housekeeping job at Lora's house. Susie finds a new best friend in Sarah Jane. Lora loves the job that Annie does, and offers her a job as a housekeeper and babysitter. Annie and Lora become friends, just as Susie and Sarah Jane become best friends. Sarah Jane is whitewash, meaning she is light skinned black, almost looking as if she is white, and Sarah Jane plays as if she is white, and that creates nothing but trouble for her and her mother, Annie. They face discrimination and prejudice during their journey through life.

I enjoyed this film because it was well written and the actors performed very well in the film. Lora takes Annie and Sarah Jane under her wing since she found out her and her daughter were homeless. I would recommend this film to anyone who would enjoy a great film. Imitation of Life will continue to be a classic film for years to come.

In my three rating categories, starting with the overall rating, I would give the film a 9.0. in the second category, which is the rating I give the plot, I would rate the plot at a 9.0. In the third and final category, which is character roles, which is how I score how well the actors playing the roles, I would give the actors a 9.5. Imitation of Life will continue to be a great film for many years down the road.