Review by Leonard Norwitz
Production:
Theatrical: Brooksfilms
Blu-ray: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Disc:
Region: FREE!
Runtime: 1:32:16.531
Disc Size: 32,189,642,342 bytes
Feature Size: 26,353,188,864 bytes
Video Bitrate: 27.96 Mbps
Chapters: 20
Case: Standard U.S Blu-ray Case
Release date: May,11, 2010
Video:
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080P / 23.976 fps
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio:
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3203 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3203
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2687 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2687
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio French 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448
kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Subtitles:
English, Chinese, Korean, French, Portuguese & Spanish
Extras:
• Musical Mel: Inventing
• Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World (10:04)
• The Real History of the World Trivia Track
• Isolated Score Track in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Theatrical Trailer
Description: Fox’s Mel Brooks Collection, released in
December 2009, included nine of Mel Brooks' ten films -
absent only The Producers. At that time three of his movies
were already available on Blu-ray (Blazing Saddles, Young
Frankenstein and Spaceballs) and it seemed only a matter of
time before the other six would find their way to becoming
available outside the collection. Fox is releasing three of
them separately on May 11: Robin Hood: Men in Tights,
History of the World: Part 1, and High Anxiety. Presumably
the remaining three will come out on their own at some later
date.
The Film:
4
The childish bathroom humor that seeped into High Anxiety
ripens to maturity in this vulgar, R-Rated disaster of a
movie that, despite itself, manages some of Brook's funniest
moments. Brooks covers the history of mankind from caveman
to the French Revolution, with some segments hardly a minute
in length, two others closer to half an hour. Sid Caesar is
funny as the caveman leader. Mel Brooks is not funny as
Moses who walks over his best line as he delivers the
fifteen commandments to the Israelites. Madeline Kahn is
Roman Empress Nympho (that says it all). Pamela Stephenson
is a reluctant succulent willing to do anything to get Louis
XVI to let her father out of the Bastille. Harvey Korman is
the lecherous Count de Monet. Orson Welles is bored as the
Narrator. I think that much of the movie would have played
better as 1 or 2-panel cartoons. By this time Brooks had
become lazy as director. The framing of most shots are
pedestrian. The pacing is . . . well, better ask: what
pacing? Ebert
HERE and I are in agreement on this one: which
he describes as "unfunny bad taste."
Image:
8/9 NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were obtained directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
The 2.35:1 widescreen image History of the World: Part 1,
with its colorful and varied production values, made the
transition to high definition video pretty much intact. The
two big set pieces: Ancient Rome and The French Revolution
are alive with color, texture, gaudy costumes and gaudier
makeup. Print damage is close to zero and digital
manipulations likewise.
Audio & Music:
7/7
The audio mix is also quite good, supporting the bright
colorful visuals perfectly. The music is splashy and the
dialogue crisp. There may not be much going on in the
surrounds, but that works just fine for this movie.
Extras:
4
In "Musical Mel" we hear from composer John Morris, Broadway
director Susan Stroman, choreographer Alan Johnson, and
others who extol Mel Brooks, the musician and composer.
"Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World"
summarizes the movie and its production. "The Real History
of the World Trivia Track" mixes fact with fantasy and
attempts to separate them with a Brooksian sense of humor.
There's really not much here, but at least the main items
are in high definition.
Bottom line:
4
For unshakable Mel Brooks fans. There are some funny bits,
mostly during the French Revolution segment. Miss Stephenson
is almost worth the price of admission. Yes, indeed, it
really is good to be the king!
Leonard Norwitz
May 15th, 2010
|
Also part of the Mel Brooks
Collection on Blu-ray
 |
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