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Silent Movie (1976)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 2/24

SilentM
2/24: Silent Movie is genius.

I've seen plenty of silent movies and know how they work, but I never cared for the comedies. They're all bad, idiotic, and boring. Slapstick and physical stunts are the name of the game.

I wasn't initially expecting much from Silent Movie but got surprised in the beginning that it wasn't shot in black and white. After a while, I got used to the color. How keen is that some big-name stars actually appear when they weren't included in the opening credits: Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Liza Minnelli, and Paul Newman. Plus, Marcel Marceau makes a rare appearance in a feature film.

There are many, many funny parts. My favorite is the balancing act in James Caan's broken-down trailer. The back of the DVD cover says, "Only Mel Brooks would tell his laugh-packed tale about a silent movie—as a silent movie—with one word of dialogue." That's true as the mime will ironically say it. Brilliant stuff.

While watching the film, I had been thinking why these people during the 10's and 20's didn't do something similar. It's amazing to see an unrealized potential go waste. Also, they could've done more and more of them just exactly like Silent Movie. After all, it was a huge box-office hit, grossing $36 million against a budget of $4 million. Sadly, it's the only such film ever.

All in all, I'm compelled to say Silent Movie is better than Young Frankenstein.