[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

La Dernière Folie de Mel Brooks

Original title: Silent Movie
  • 1976
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
19K
YOUR RATING
Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, and Marty Feldman in La Dernière Folie de Mel Brooks (1976)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:08
1 Video
81 Photos
Dark ComedyParodySlapstickComedy

A film director and his strange friends struggle to produce the first major silent feature film in forty years.A film director and his strange friends struggle to produce the first major silent feature film in forty years.A film director and his strange friends struggle to produce the first major silent feature film in forty years.

  • Director
    • Mel Brooks
  • Writers
    • Mel Brooks
    • Ron Clark
    • Rudy De Luca
  • Stars
    • Mel Brooks
    • Marty Feldman
    • Dom DeLuise
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    19K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Mel Brooks
    • Writers
      • Mel Brooks
      • Ron Clark
      • Rudy De Luca
    • Stars
      • Mel Brooks
      • Marty Feldman
      • Dom DeLuise
    • 87User reviews
    • 55Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations total

    Videos1

    Silent Movie
    Trailer 1:08
    Silent Movie

    Photos81

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 74
    View Poster

    Top cast62

    Edit
    Mel Brooks
    Mel Brooks
    • Mel Funn
    Marty Feldman
    Marty Feldman
    • Marty Eggs
    Dom DeLuise
    Dom DeLuise
    • Dom Bell
    Sid Caesar
    Sid Caesar
    • Studio Chief
    Harold Gould
    Harold Gould
    • Engulf
    Ron Carey
    Ron Carey
    • Devour
    Bernadette Peters
    Bernadette Peters
    • Vilma Kaplan
    Carol Arthur
    Carol Arthur
    • Pregnant Lady
    Liam Dunn
    Liam Dunn
    • Newsvendor
    Fritz Feld
    Fritz Feld
    • Maître d'
    Chuck McCann
    Chuck McCann
    • Studio Gate Guard
    Valerie Curtin
    Valerie Curtin
    • Intensive Care Nurse
    Yvonne Wilder
    Yvonne Wilder
    • Studio Chief's Secretary
    Harry Ritz
    Harry Ritz
    • Man in Tailor Shop
    Charlie Callas
    Charlie Callas
    • Blind Man
    Henny Youngman
    Henny Youngman
    • Fly-in-Soup Man
    Arnold Soboloff
    • Acupuncture Man
    Patrick Campbell
    • Motel Bellhop
    • Director
      • Mel Brooks
    • Writers
      • Mel Brooks
      • Ron Clark
      • Rudy De Luca
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews87

    6.719.2K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    8jzappa

    A Go-For-Broke Gagfest

    I suppose if anything epitomizes the style of Mel Brooks it is audacity, obscenity and a forthright quality that others seem either reluctant to use or often overplay with disastrous results. Brooks will do anything for a laugh. Anything. He is, for all intents and purposes, incapable of embarrassment. He's a rabble-rouser. His movies abide in a world in which everything is likely, especially the outrageous, and Silent Movie, where Brooks makes a bountiful aesthetic gamble and pulls it off, makes me laugh abundantly. On the Brooks calibration of amusement, I laughed not too radically more or less than at Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles or The Producers. It just doesn't have the subversive and ironic panache of those classic films.

    Brooks' fifth film as director, Silent Movie is streamlined fun. It's obvious in almost every shot that the filmmakers had a party making it. It's set in Hollywood, where Big Pictures Studio lurches on the brink of Chapter 11 and a merger with the mammoth Engulf and Devour syndicate, a daintily disguised reference to Gulf+Western's Paramount takeover. Enter Mel Funn (guess who), a has-been director whose career was stopped cold by drunkenness, who pledges to salvage the studio by persuading Hollywood's biggest stars to make a silent movie. This is a scenario that results in countless inside jokes, but the thing about Brooks's inside jokes is that their outsides are funny as well.

    The wild bunch of Mel, Dom DeLuise and Marty Feldman embark to charm the superstars, resulting in the shower of one, who counts his hands, confused, and discovers he has eight; and swooping another out of a nightclub audience. There are several "actual" stars in the movie, but the fun is in not knowing who's next. Everything transpires surrounded by a glossary of sight gags, classic and original. There are bits that don't work and durations of up to a minute, I guess, when we don't laugh, but a minute can feel pretty long. Perhaps it is Brooks' desire to control all that displaces an objective view of what will work.

    Nevertheless, in a movie overflowing with skillful Chaplin-, Keaton- and Laurel and Hardy-inspired set pieces, these parts are the chef d'oeuvre: Right before seeing the Studio Chief, Mel and his friends cross their fingers for good luck, and Mel can't uncross his. He shakes hands with the Chief, and the Chief's fingers are crossed rather than Mel's. The Chief then passes this crossed state to his secretary's fingers the same way. Another running gag is obvious discrepancy between the title cards and what the characters are really saying. The spoken lines are inaudible, as it is indeed a silent movie, but they can be clearly lipread. At one point Brooks asserts misgivings about DeLuise's idea of a silent movie by shouting "That's crazy!" as well as an agitated mouthful, but the screen says "Maybe you're right." In another scene, Marty hits on a nurse but gets slapped. When he gets back in the car, Mel obviously mouths a curse word, although the screen says "You bad boy!" And then there's the scene where Feldman and DeLuise haphazardly unplug and plug in his heart monitor various times, winding up changing the screen to a ping pong game and playing while the Chief flatlines and recovers over and over. Brooks stands outside the majority of Jewish comics and filmmakers in his lack of self-derision and in the success of his main characters, but still, humor is his own defense mechanism against the world, and he goes for broke.
    Jolie

    A departure from the usual Brooks' fare

    When I think of Mel Brooks, I think raunchy. Who wouldn't, with scenes like the "Virgin Alarm" in "Spaceballs" and the chastity belt theme in "Men in Tights?" But this film is a nice departure from the usual Brooks fare. For one thing, it's a satire. While the three producers look for famous stars to be in their silent movie, they're simultaneously acting with the stars in a silent movie. Clever, eh?

    Since the only line of dialogue in the movie is "Non!" by Marcel Marceau, cuss words were thankfully left out. It added some character to the movie, which played up the visual gags. My favorite part was the scene where the three producers walk briskly down the hall, hop, then walk briskly again. Shades of "The Wizard of Oz!" A nice little film.
    7davidmvining

    In the vein of Keaton, Lloyd, and Chaplin

    I see this described as a parody of silent comedies, and it's not. It's...just a silent comedy. I'm not sure how you parody comedies, but I don't think it ends up being just another example of the genre. Without getting into the sheer levels of chaotic anarchy of Blazing Saddles or the emotional pathos of The Producers, Mel Brooks made a consistently funny comedy, probably the straightest comedy of his career up to this point. It never reaches the heights of his previous work, but it is definitely and consistently entertaining.

    The has been and former alcoholic Hollywood director Mel Funn (Brooks) has decided that he's going to make his comeback with his two friends, Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman) and Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise), in tow. Together, they head to Big Pictures Studios to meet with the Studio Chief (Sid Caesar) to pitch Funn's idea of a silent movie to help save the studio. Beset by a threat from the evil conglomerate Engulf & Devour to purchase the studio, the Chief agrees to Funn's idea but only if he can get all of Hollywood's biggest stars to sign on.

    And that's pretty much it. Funn, Eggs, and Bell go from one Hollywood star to the next in a series of gag filled set pieces to sign them on while the head executives Engulf (Harold Gould) and Devour (Ron Carey) try to foil the plans. And this is really what I mean when it's not a parody, it's simply an example of the silent comedy genre. Go back to some of the best examples, like Chaplin's City Lights, and that's pretty much what you have. A thin reed of a plot on which to hang a series of gag filled set pieces. Take the boxing match, for example, in City Lights. It's there because the Tramp needs to make some money, so he accidentally gets roped into a boxing match in which perfectly choreographed comedy is executed. It could have been anything else. It could have been the Trump opening a lemonade stand or the Trump getting roped into a high-level executive meeting, as long as there was a way for Chaplin to find comedy in that context. We get the exact same thing here.

    The first star is Burt Reynolds. The three show up at his house, sneak into his shower, and then end up piled on top of each other in a three person high coat in order to try to get into the house after having been kicked out. It's all an excuse for a gag about Mel staying at the top of the coat, everyone tumbling down the hill to the road where Reynolds ends up at the bottom of the trench coat and a compactor running over everything in between. The second star is James Caan, and it's all about trying to keep balance in a wobbly trailer in between scenes of Caan's movie he's making then. The third is Liza Minnelli with the three men dressed in medieval armor and falling all over the place. The fourth is Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft, where the three sweep her off her feet at a club and she gets the opportunity to demonstrate her own physical comedy chops by crossing her eyes independently.

    My favorite is the last, Paul Newman. Newman has a broken leg, in a wheelchair, in complete racing getup, and is next to his crashed racing car...at the hospital. When the three approach him in wheelchairs themselves, it breaks out into a mad chase through the hospital ending with Newman doing a daring jump off of a roof and then bringing up the idea of him being in the movie himself. It's madcap and wonderful with Newman just being charming.

    Facing defeat, Engulf and Devour conspire to break Funn with sex, hiring the dancer Vilma Kaplan (Bernadette Peters) to break him so he can't make the movie. Eggs and Bell figure her out right as she decides that she loves Funn, creating a situation where Funn goes off the deep end but Vilma can help get him back to where he needs to be.

    From beginning to end, it really is just a series of gags, and it's consistently amusing for what it is. I have a smile on my face from beginning to end consistently. It just never rises to the heights of hilarity or ends with any kind of catharsis. It's fun, through and through, and there's not too much more you can ask from a comedy.
    CHARLIE-89

    An Interesting Idea

    Of course, only Mel Brooks could have the idea to make a silent movie in today's Hollywood. And silent it is-this isn't one of those films like "City Lights","Modern Times","Bean" or "Playtime" that uses background noises and dialogue. No, aside from the brilliant John Morris score, the film is completely silent. Being that this is a Mel Brooks comedy, this COULD be considered a downside. It is filled with sight gags, from a pregnant woman upsetting the balance of the back of the car; the reaction of the executives to Vilma Kaplan, the sultry spy; the video pong-game on the life support machine; and of course, the fly in the soup. Unfortunately, there are stretches where the action moves very slowly, without sufficient explanation. Also, the music score occasionally has very unpleasant, loud drum crashes to indicate when there is action, and these can be an unpleasant contrast to the surprisingly quietly recorded music score. If you want to hear the music score, you'd best buy the soundtrack, where it is clear of the drum/cymbal crashes. The soundtrack mixes bits and pieces of "The Emperor's Waltz"(Strauss) and "Jalousie"(Bloom-Gade) as well as "Babalu"(Lecuona-Russell). The cast includes six main guest stars, as well as character actors like Chuck McCann, Jack Riley, Howard Hesseman and Fritz Feld. On top of this, Harry Ritz of the Ritz Brothers, Henny Youngman, and even Barry Levinson (DINER,HOMICIDE:LIFE ON THE STREETS) as a movie executive. All in all, it makes for genial entertainment and if nothing else should be seen to gain an appreciation of silent comedy. As a movie, it gets a 8/10. For a Mel Brooks film, it gets 7/10 on the Laff scale.
    10jrs-8

    Brooks' overlooked gem

    When one speaks of Mel Brooks the talk immediately goes to either "Blazing Saddles" or "Young Frankenstein" or "The Producers." How often do you hear mention of "Silent Movie?" After watching this film again just yesterday I can say that this film is also a masterpiece and ranks on the same lines of the previous films.

    "Silent Movie" is deceptively simple in plot. A washed up movie director (Brooks) comes up with an idea to make a silent movie to help save the studio that once employed him. Once given the okay by studio chief Sid Caesar, Brooks and his sidekicks Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise set out to find five superstars to help make the movie a hit. And that's all there is to it - plot wise. What Brooks does is fill every single scene with great ideas. Shots that have absolutely nothing to do with the story are thrown in to get a laugh. Brooks hits the bullseye most of the time. I don't think I went more then a minute without laughing throughout.

    Another master stroke is John Morris' rousing score that fills the movie from beginning to end. Without it the movie would have failed. And, yes, it truly is a silent movie save for one spoken word which most people probably are aware of anyway. It's another classic Mel Brooks moment.

    "Silent Movie" followed "Young Frankenstein" which followed "Blazing Saddles." It's safe to say Brooks was at his peak during this period. His quality of films began to dip after "Silent Movie" starting with the amusing but overblown "High Anxiety." But we still have this time period to savor when Brooks may have been the best (if not then equal to Woody Allen) comedy director of his time.

    More like this

    Le Grand Frisson
    6.6
    Le Grand Frisson
    Le mystère des douze chaises
    6.4
    Le mystère des douze chaises
    La Folle Histoire du monde
    6.8
    La Folle Histoire du monde
    Chienne de vie
    5.9
    Chienne de vie
    Les Producteurs
    7.5
    Les Producteurs
    To Be or Not to Be
    6.9
    To Be or Not to Be
    Frankenstein junior
    8.0
    Frankenstein junior
    Le shérif est en prison
    7.7
    Le shérif est en prison
    Dracula mort et heureux de l'être
    5.8
    Dracula mort et heureux de l'être
    Sacré Robin des Bois
    6.7
    Sacré Robin des Bois
    Le frère le plus fûté de Sherlock Holmes
    6.0
    Le frère le plus fûté de Sherlock Holmes
    La Folle Histoire de l'espace
    7.1
    La Folle Histoire de l'espace

    Related interests

    Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sian Clifford in Fleabag (2016)
    Dark Comedy
    Bill Pullman, John Candy, Joan Rivers, Daphne Zuniga, and Lorene Yarnell Jansson in La Folle Histoire de l'espace (1987)
    Parody
    Leslie Nielsen in Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver la reine ? (1988)
    Slapstick
    Will Ferrell in Présentateur vedette: La légende de Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      On the May 19, 1981, broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), Alan Alda related his experience of attending the film's 1976 premiere in Westwood (which had Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft in the audience). Alda said he probably laughed harder than anyone in the crowd, and once the movie had ended, he approached Brooks and Bancroft to compliment them on a job well done. According to Alda, Bancroft didn't miss a beat and responded, "Oh, that was you laughing? You see, Mel? I told you SOME idiot would find this funny!"
    • Goofs
      When Mel's car is lowered when the pregnant lady steps off, a small set of wheels can be seen below the car. These small wheels raise and low the front wheels of the car.
    • Quotes

      Mel Funn: [seen as an insert title] Mr. Marceau, how would you like to appear in the first silent movie made in nearly fifty years?

      Marcel Marceau: [in French, the only spoken line in the film] Non!

      Dom Bell: [seen as an insert title after Mel hangs up the phone] What did he say?

      Mel Funn: [seen as an insert title] I don't know. I don't speak French!

    • Crazy credits
      At the end of the movie, the letter O of the ending word ''GOOD BYE'' is zooming out, just like at the beginning with the word ''HELLO''.
    • Alternate versions
      On television prints, some of the subtitles are remade to become less offensive.
    • Connections
      Featured in Sneak Previews: The Top Ten Films of 1976 (1977)
    • Soundtracks
      I Left My Heart In San Fransisco
      (uncredited)

      Written by George Cory (as Cory George C. Jr.) and Douglass Cross (as Cross Douglass)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ20

    • How long is Silent Movie?Powered by Alexa
    • Is this movie really silent?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 13, 1976 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Silent Movie
    • Filming locations
      • Beverly Hills, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Crossbow Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,400,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $36,145,695
    • Gross worldwide
      • $36,145,695
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 27m(87 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.