IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

For as far back as I can remember, The Producers (1967) has always been one of my favorite films. I originally saw Mel Brooks’ first movie on television during my grade school years (probably at an age when I shouldn’t have been watching The Producers), and I’ve viewed it dozens of times since. Even though I have practically memorized every image and line of dialogue, I still laugh out loud every time I watch it. It’s that good. I had the excuse to watch it again recently (although one never really needs an excuse to watch The Producers), due to a new 4K restoration and Blu-ray soon to be released from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. I found that the movie remains just as funny as always, but the film itself has never looked better on home video than it does in the upcoming Blu-ray release.

While Mel Brooks is mainly known for his movie spoofs, such as Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, his first film tells an original, coherent story. Has-been theatrical producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) has sunk to financing his Broadway flops by romancing little old ladies out of their retirement income. When a nervous accountant, Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), is sent to exam Bialystock’s books, he muses that a producer could make more money on a flop than he could on a hit by overselling shares, because the investors wouldn’t expect any money back on a play that lost money. Bialystock is understandably intrigued, and he seduces the high-strung accountant into joining him in a scheme to mount a sure-fire flop and make millions off unsuspecting investors. All they have to do is find the worst show ever written, hire a terrible director, and cast the production with non-talents. What could go wrong?

While Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and (inexplicably) Spaceballs are more popular titles from writer/director Mel Brooks, I personally believe that his first film is his very best. The characters and story in The Producers are stronger than any of the films that followed, and the screenplay is near perfection. It deservedly won the “Best Original Screenplay” Oscar. It is the most consistently clever and funny script since the heyday of Preston Sturges (albeit more vulgar than anything Sturges produced). Brooks’ more popular films contain some extremely funny lines and memorable scenes, but they also contain jokes that fall flat and numerous pop culture references that are lost on younger viewers. For instance, Millennials are unlikely to understand references to Laurel & Hardy, Olsen and Johnson, Hedy Lamarr, and Randolph Scott in Blazing Saddles. In The Producers, almost every joke hits the bullseye, and pop-culture references are kept to a minimum. The Producers is simply comedy bliss from the first frame to the last.

Even though The Producers is not a spoof, the film is no less cartoonish than the parodies that followed. On a scale of 1 to 10, All of the actors are performing at a level of “11.” Zero Mostel was one of the great ham actors of all time, and he never had a better showcase than The Producers. It’s a shame he didn’t do more film work (check out A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for one of his other rare leading roles), but his outsized personality was better suited for the Broadway stage, where he could play to the back of the house. Gene Wilder, who was virtually unknown to audiences at the time, deservedly received a nomination for the “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar for his career-making performance as Leo Bloom. After the amazing hysterical fit that he performs in his opening scene, Wilder’s comedy career took off like a rocket. All of the supporting players match the energy of the two leads, including memorable turns by Kenneth Mars as a Nazi playwright, Dick Shawn as a hippie Hitler, Lee Meredith as Bialystock’s Swedish secretary, and Christopher Hewett and Andréas Voutsinas as the director and his assistant (both played as exaggeratedly camp homosexuals).

While produced on a low budget, the technical aspects of The Producers are top-notch and maximize the effectiveness of the comedy. The sets are realistically seedy but are also cartoonishly colorful. Comedy scenes are staged in long takes to allow the actors to achieve peak comic rhythm; but the story is told in a tightly-edited 88-minutes, so none of the set pieces become tiresome. Best of all is the bombastic score by John Morris, which keeps the mood light and bouncy. Finally, the original songs by Mel Brooks and the staging of the “Springtime for Hitler” musical number (presented as a parody of a Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl parade) are highlights. It is no wonder that Brooks chose this film to remake as a stage musical.

Of course, I feel obligated to mention that the easily offended should steer clear of The Producers. It is a Mel Brooks film, after all. There are politically incorrect jokes involving women, homosexuals, alcoholics, and the elderly; and the climaxing “Springtime for Hitler” musical number is in glorious bad taste. Of course, all of the vulgarity is also hilariously funny, and the characters in The Producers are supposed to be terrible people, so the off-color jokes are absolutely appropriate.

The Producers is quite simply one of the greatest movie comedies ever made. If you’ve never seen Mel Brooks’ debut feature, do yourself a favor and do so as soon as possible. While it is always preferable to see a comedy in a theater with a large audience, the new Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics provides the best possible way to experience the movie in your home. The movie and the disc receive my highest recommendation.

USA/C-88m./Dir: Mel Brooks/Wr: Mel Brooks/Cast: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, Kenneth Mars, Lee Meredith, Christopher Hewett, Andréas Voutsinas, Estelle Winwood, Madelyn Cates, William Hickey

For Fans of: If you only know Mel Brooks from his spoof films (Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, etc.), you should really check out his hilarious directorial debut.

Video: Kino Lorber will release a new 4K restoration of The Producers on Blu-ray on April 13th under their Kino Lorber Studio Classics imprint. This is the film’s second Blu-ray release, after a 2013 Blu-ray from Shout!Factory. The earlier release looked good, but the Kino Lorber Blu-ray is sharper and more colorful, displaying more natural film grain. It also displays more contrast, which helps bring out more fine detail. Finally, a few minor scratches and speckles that were present on the prior disc have been cleaned up. It is unlikely that the film will ever look better. If you haven’t added The Producers to your collection previously, this is the version to buy.

The DTS sound is also solid. Dialogue and the bombastic John Morris score sound fantastic.

The Dual-Layered BD50 Disc from Kino Lorber is packed with special features. Most of the extras from previous releases have been ported over for this release, and Kino has added a new audio commentary. Here’s the full list of special features:

• NEW audio commentary by filmmaker/historian Michael Schlesinger: Michael’s commentaries are always relaxed and well-researched. He goes into behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the film, as well as covering the careers of the actors and personnel, and touching on the locations and a bit of Broadway history.
• The Making of THE PRODUCERS: This vintage, 64-minute documentary from 2002 is quite thorough. It includes participation of actors and personnel that were still living at the time, including Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Lee Meredith, Kenneth Mars, and John Morris.
• Playhouse outtake: This includes some extended footage that was cut from the scene with the dynamite towards the end of the film.
• Sketch gallery: Concept artwork
• Peter Sellers’ Statement Read by Paul Mazursky: The director reads the full-page ad Sellers placed in “Variety” praising the film.
• Radio spot
• Original theatrical trailer
• Bonus trailers for Spaceballs, Life Stinks, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, The Woman in Red, and Haunted Honeymoon
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

Streaming: The Producers is currently streaming as part of a subscription to HBOmax.

More to Explore: Mel Brooks only made two other films that weren’t spoofs of some sort — The Twelve Chairs (1970) and Life Stinks (1991). The Twelve Chairs (which is available on Blu-ray in The Mel Brooks Collection) is a lot of fun, and while Life Stinks is a lesser film, it does have its moments (including an excellent performance by Howard Morris). It’s a shame that Brooks didn’t write and direct more of this type of film.

Trivia: The character of Max Bialystock and the central scheme of the story were based on real people and illegal activities that Brooks encountered in early life.

For More Info: For more on the life and career of Mel Brooks, consult It’s Good to be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks by James Robert Parish, Funny Man: Mel Brooks by Patrick McGilligan, or Mel Brooks FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Outrageous Genius of Comedy by Dale Sherman.