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SCMP Reporter

Starring: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Kenneth Mars, Estelle Winwood, Renee Taylor, Christopher Hewett, Lee Meredith, William Hickey, Dick Shawn, Andreas Voutsinas

Director: Mel Brooks

The film: One of the greatest of all cult comedies crossed into the mainstream two years back thanks to the rollicking Tony Award-winning Broadway revival starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.

Somewhat surprising then that MGM took so long to release a worthy DVD package of this 1968 Academy Award winner for best screenplay (Mel Brooks).

It was also Brooks' first time at the helm and went a long way to establishing his comic template with a tightly scripted, 90-minute slapstick romp that walks a dizzying tightrope between bad taste and biting satire.

The conceit is simple: down-on-his-luck Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) is paid a visit by idealistic accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) and the pair devise a scheme to make their fortunes by staging a rolled-gold flop.

However, the musical, Springtime For Hitler, proves a good old-fashioned blockbuster and now the many creditors will be lining up for a return on their investment.

Brooks (right) has penned hilarious songs and drawn endearing characters in believable situations to hang his relentless gags on.

The extras: The highlight is Laurent Bouzereau's 64-minute documentary on 'The Making Of The Producers'. Broken into five acts (Opening, Act I, Intermission, Act II and Closing) and set to its own score, Bouzereau rounds up most of the surviving cast and crew, including Brooks and Wilder, production designer Charles Rosen and casting director Alfa-Betty Olsen. Naturally, Brooks steals the show with his anecdotes on the many twists and turns in the life of the film (most notably, the story of a young Dustin Hoffman, who pulled out at the 11th hour after being cast in The Graduate).

There's also a deleted scene (the Playhouse outtake) and a bizarre reading by film-maker Paul Mazursky of a statement from Peter Sellers who had agreed to appear in the film but then failed to arrive. A photo gallery completes the extras.

MGM has given this re-release the full 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen treatment (a 4:3 open matte transfer is also included). And it's a good job too. This is a 35-year-old film and the existing videotape copies are of very poor quality. There are still grainy moments, but on the whole the technical team has done Brooks proud.

The verdict: A timeless piece of laugh-out-loud comedy that has never looked better.



The Producers