The Producers (Optimum)

Introduction

Long before he was a respected industry figure with films like Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs under his belt, Mel Brooks was a wannabe writer/director with ambitions of making a film of his screenplay Springtime For Hitler. The title was changed to The Producers and Brooks convinced wary producers that he was the best person to direct the film.

The Producers begins in the office of Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), a Broadway producer whose best days are long gone and he's now reduced to fooling around with old ladies for a cheque to fund his next project which will only, at best, turn a mediocre profit. He is visited by naïve and timid accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) who goes through his books and, thinking aloud, realises that Bialystock could make more money with a flop than a hit. All he'd need to do is raise vast amounts of money and have a flop of such monumental proportions that there would be no way for the backers to reclaim their money, leaving it for Bialystock to keep.

Bialystock, not being the most honest of men, convinces Bloom to make this academic proposal a reality and do the following:
Step 1: Find the worst play ever written.
Step 2: Hire the worst director in town.
Step 3: Raise two million dollars.
Step 4: Hire the worst actors in New York and open on Broadway
Step 5: Close on Broadway, take our two million, and go to Rio.

Video

This isn't the best transfer you'll ever see but the film is 40 years old and it's a massive step up from the last time I saw this which is on VHS. The colours and contrast are good and it is, for the most part, free of significant scratches and other detritus.

Audio

You have the options of Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or the original mono soundtrack. The 5.1 is completely redundant as the sound is channelled through the centre speaker, leaving the others with nothing to do - the mono option is clearer and entirely suitable for such a dialogue-dominated film.

Oddly, the previous Momentum release had subtitles which are absent here; subtitling can't be that hard/expensive to do, isn't data intensive and is important to many people so I can't understand its omission here.

Extra Features

The 63 minute making of is set out like a stage play and covers every aspect of the film from pre- to post- production and its impact on Mel Brooks' career.

The Sketchbook drawings by production designer Charles Rosen are lovely to see and show the detail he went into.

When the film was released, Peter Sellers took out an ad in Variety in which he espoused the virtues of The Producers and it is read out here by Paul Mazursky.

There is also the theatrical trailer.

Conclusion

The subject of a highly successful stage musical, remake (or film adaptation of the musical) and the basis of the narrative for the fifth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Producers has lost none of its impact in the four decades since its release. Not only did it launch the career of Mel Brooks, but also gave Gene Wilder his first big break. The scenes between Wilder and Mostel are superb and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny - the exchange about Bloom's blue blanket and the 'I'm in pain. I'm wet. And I'm still hysterical.' sequence is funny no matter how many times you watch the film. Of course, no film can rely on the leads alone and the supporting cast does not disappoint with bravura performances from Kenneth Marz as the Nazi who wrote the play and Dick Shawn whose LSD portrays the Fuhrer as an idiotic beatnik. The AFI have it at #11 on their '100 Years... 100 Laughs' list for good reason.

The genius of the film is the way it unfolds, with musical interludes and brilliant set pieces - the opening of 'Springtime for Hitler' is so well written and choreographed that it's a lesson in how to make a good comedy. It's hard to rank Mel Brooks' work but The Producers is easily in the top 3 with Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles - his latter work like Dracula - Dead and Loving It and Robin Hood: Men in Tights simply can't compete.

This is a brilliant film and a very good DVD but if you already own the Momentum Pictures release then stick with that - even if you don't given the similarities between the two, you might be better picking up that version given the low prices at which it can be found.