Time for another round of Highbrow! Lowbrow?, the podcast where we look at the top box office earner and Best Picture Academy Award winner from the same year. The 1970's were a great time for film, and 1974 is no exception with Mel Brook's classic Blazing Saddles and Francis Ford Coppola's epic Godfather Part II.
The Godfather Part II, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is the continuing saga of Michael Corleone, the new "Godfather" or crime boss of the italian mafioso. Al Pacino reprises his role of Michael Corleone, who has become colder and more business-minded. Michael's story is contrasted with the story of the original godfather, Vito Corleone - played by Robert De Niro - and how he came to power. This film is an undeniable classic, a sequel that no one thought could be done. It continues the Godfather story with a gritty cinematic style, capturing 1950's-era Michael Corleone in Hollywood, Las Vegas and Cuba, and Vito Corleone's life from Italy to New York. Robert De Niro has tough shoes to step into, following Marlon Brando's classic performance in the original Godfather film, but he delivers an excellent performance. This movie is one for every lover of film and deserving of every accolade and word of praise it receives.
Blazing Saddles, directed by Mel Brooks, is a parody of all classic western movies, but it turns the form on its ear by making a black man the centerpiece. Throughout his trials and tribulations as the first black sheriff of Rock Ridge, Bart - played by Cleavon Little - skewers his scenes jokes commenting on the racism of the time. Also starring Gene Wilder as Jim, a hotshot gunman turned perennial drunkard. Some of the humor doesn't translate as well today due to the passage of time, and Mel Brooks' style of comedy isn't for everyone, but there are definitely some classic scenes. Also, Brooks should be commended for tackling the issue of racism in a light-hearted but no nonsense manner. He is definitively mocking racists, although some viewers will certainly be turned off by his use of the N-word. Maybe not a film for everyone, but I would recommend it to most because the people who do start laughing with it don't seem to stop.
So were we more entranced by the crime drama of Godfather Part II or the laughs in the parody of Blazing Saddles? Tune in and check out the latest episode of Highbrow! Lowbrow?
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