Blazing Saddles

'Scuse me while I whip this DVD out...

Blazing Saddles. 1974 Warner Bros. Pictures
Starring: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Alex Karras
Director: Mel Brooks
Buy Blazing Saddles at Amazon.

One of the funniest American films ever made, Blazing Saddles is the story of a railroad worker named Bart (Little) who is elected sheriff of a frontier town called Rock Ridge in the Wild West as a tactic to run the place into the ground so the railroad can seize the land Rock Ridge was built on. With his sidekick Jim (Wilder), the seemingly permanently inebriated cowboy formerly known as The Waco Kid, Bart hatches a plan to save the town and its citizens as only they can (a fake Rock Ridge, anyone?) Memorable scenes include the epic fight scene that literally breaks the fourth wall, Bart taking himself hostage to get out of an awkward situation after being introduced to a town full of bigots, and of course, Alex Karras slugging a horse.

The 30th anniversary DVD linked above also features the short-lived adaptation for television, Black Bart, which CBS aired once on April 4, 1975. Louis Gossett Jr. plays the title role, and late '70s sitcom star Steve Landesberg takes Wilder's role as Jim. I haven't watched the show yet, aside from the first few minutes, but I honestly wasn't that impressed with what I saw.

Highest recommendation.