History of the World: Part I (1981) ft. Sarah Duncan
- Thomas Duncan
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Guest:
Sarah Duncan - Sister of Tom, Daughter of Dana
Cast:
Mel Brooks – Moses, Comicus, Torquemada, Jacques and King Louis XVI
Woody Omens, Cinematography
John Morris, Music
John C. Howard, Editing
Dom DeLuise – Emperor Nero
Madeline Kahn – Empress Nympho
Harvey Korman – Count de Monet
Cloris Leachman – Madame Defarge
Ron Carey – Swiftus
Gregory Hines – Josephus
Pamela Stephenson – Mademoiselle Rimbaud
Shecky Greene – Marcus Vindictus
Sid Caesar – Chief Caveman
Sammy Shore – Prehistoric Man
Mary-Margaret Humes – Miriam
Orson Welles – Narrator
Background:
History of the World: Part 1 was released on June 12, 1981.
On a budget of $10 million, the film would gross roughly $31.6 million and finish #20 at the worldwide box office for 1981.
Critics were mostly negative at the time of release and some even since. It was nominated for Worst Picture at the 1981 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards but lost to Tarzan, the Ape Man. The revised ballot, released in 2007, removed its Worst Picture nomination and instead nominated it for Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy (which it won). It also garnered a Worst Song nomination at the same ceremony for "The Inquisition" (lost to "Baby Talk" from Paternity).
Unfortunately, despite its box office, the film was also largely considered a commercial flop.
On October 18, 2021, Hulu and Searchlight Television (the TV division of 20th Century's sister studio, Searchlight Pictures) announced that a sequel variety series, called History of the World, Part II was in the works, with production beginning in spring 2022. Mel Brooks produced and wrote the series along with Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, and Nick Kroll, who also star. It premiered on March 6, 2023.
History of the World, Part 1 currently holds a 62% among critics on RT, a 47 score on Metacritic, and a 3.3/5 on Letterboxd.
Plot Summary: History of the World, Part I is a wild comedy that makes fun of famous moments in world history. Mel Brooks plays several different characters as the movie jumps from the Stone Age to the Roman Empire and the French Revolution. Through songs, jokes, and ridiculous situations, the movie pokes fun at politics, religion, and human behavior. Its fast-moving style and silly humor have made it a cult comedy favorite.
Did You Know:
Beforehand, it was agreed that Orson Welles would receive $5,000 per day in exchange for his services. Figuring that he'd have to spend five eight-hour days recording and re-recording these lines with Welles, Mel Brooks paid him $25,000 up front. But by noon on the first day, Welles had recorded his lines to perfection. "Oh, my god, I could've paid you $5,000", Brooks lamented. After kicking himself for a few minutes, the funnyman asked Welles how he planned to spend the bounty. "Cuban cigars and Sevruga caviar", Welles replied.
According to Mel Brooks, the Moses scene was a last minute addition. "Sometimes, you will get very lucky, and the set will give you ideas for jokes", Brooks said in a 2012 interview with the Directors Guild of America. One day, he was gazing out at the scenery that had been built for the caveman segments, when the gears in his head started turning. "I immediately thought, 'Well, where do I go from here?'" Brooks recalled. Heading into the shoot, his plan was to "skip the Bible and go to Rome." But eventually, he realized that the Stone Age set might enable him to explore another chapter in world history. With a few minor alterations, Brooks converted his fake caves into a mountaintop, and the Moses bit was born.
In The Old Testament segment, the writing on the tablets are the correct two word Hebrew version of the commandments: Don't kill, Don't steal, Don't lie, et cetera. The five more Don'ts on the third tablet that Moses accidentally drops, are: Don't impregnate, Don't laugh, Don't buy, and the last one: Don't break.
Richard Pryor was originally cast in two Mel Brooks movies but had to be replaced. With Blazing Saddles (1974), Brooks was unable to secure financing for the film due to Pryor's controversial reputation, leading to him being replaced by Cleavon Little. Pryor was also originally cast in this movie, but his infamous drug-related accident - catching fire, getting severely burned - occurring just before filming began, led to Gregory Hines making his film debut as Pryor's replacement.
Mel Brooks claimed that the budget, an estimated $11 million, exceeded that of his previous three movies combined. Particularly expensive was the Inquisition scene, in which the set cost $1 million. By comparison, the entire budget of The Producers (1967) was $941,000.
During the "Jews in Space" sequence, the camera moves through the center of the Star of David-shaped spaceships and some Hebrew letters are visible on the interior wall, just under the guns. The word these letters spell is "Kosher".
Best Performance: Mel Brooks (Writer/Director/Star)/Gregory Hines (Josephus)
Best Secondary Performance: Gregory Hines (Josephus)/Cloris Leachman (Defarge)/Harvey Korman (De Monet)
Most Charismatic Award: Harvey Korman (De Monet)/Madeline Kahn (Empress)/Gregory Hines (Josephus)
Best Scene:
Moses
Josephus
Caesar's Palace
Last Supper
Inquisition
Guillotine
Favorite Scene: Inquisition/Jews in Space
Most Indelible Moment: Inquisition/Roman Markets/Jews in Space/Moses
In Memorium:
Grizz Chapman, 52, American actor (30 Rock)
Jeffrey Lane, 71, American television writer (Ryan's Hope, Mad About You) and playwright (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
Best Lines/Funniest Lines:
Moses: The Lord, the Lord Jehovah has given unto you these fifteen... [drops one of the tablets] Oy! Ten! Ten commandments for all to obey!
Leader of Senate: All fellow members of the Roman senate hear me. Shall we continue to build palace after palace for the rich? Or shall we aspire to a more noble purpose and build decent housing for the poor? How does the senate vote?
Entire Senate: FUCK THE POOR!
Oedipus: [walking around collecting donations] Give to Oedipus! Give to Oedipus! Hey, Josephus!
Josephus: Hey, motherfucker!
Dole Office Clerk: Occupation?
Comicus: Stand-up philosopher.
Count de Monet: Don't get saucy with me, Bearnaise!
Madame DeFarge: We are so poor, we do not even have a language! Just this stupid accent!
Empress Nympho: Oh, Bob, do I have any openings that this man might fit?
[Condemned for offending Emperor Caesar with his stand-up routine]
Comicus: Boy, when you die at the palace, you really DIE at the palace!
Comicus: Have you heard of this new sect, the Christians? They are a laugh riot! First of all, they are so poor...
Swiftus: How poor are they?
Comicus: Thank you! They are so poor... that they only have *one* God!
King Louis XVI: It's good to be the king.
Chemist: What are you looking for?
Marcus Vindictus: A pack of Trojans!
Chemist: Gee, I just ran out!
Count de Monet: Your Majesty, you look like the piss-boy!
King Louis XVI: And you look like a bucket of shit!
Count de Monet: It is said that the people are revolting.
King Louis XVI: You said it! They stink on ice!
Insolent Flunky: Count Da Money!
Count de Monet: De Monet! Say it... Mo - nay! Say it with me, Mo - nay!
King Louis XVI: Knight jumps queen! Bishop jumps queen! Pawns jump queen! *Gangbang*!
The Stanley Rubric:
Legacy: 6.5
Impact/Significance: 5
Novelty: 7
Classic-ness: 4.33
Rewatchability: 5.83
Audience Score: 7.95 (78% Google, 81% RT)
Total: 36.61
Remaining Questions:
N/A
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