It has been a long time since I watched this, and while it was certainly never my favourite amongst Brooks' films (top honour goes to Young Frankenstein, which was incredibly released later in the same year), I always held it back of my mind as an important work of spoof and satire. Brooks pushes buttons and, when he's at his best, does what comedy can do better than any diatribe: he makes you laugh and then makes you think about why you're laughing.
So, a black sheriff with an alcoholic friend earning the respect of racist townsfolk while offering up and chopping down all kinds of stereotypes is a worthwhile spectacle, though it's still kind of amazing to me that it pulled in the most money of any movie in 1974. Gene Wilder is especially great, and he plays his part as just a really sweet, kind guy.
After my viewing, it still holds onto its place as what some call "culturally and historically important" - I just wished the movie clicked for me overall. It has great bits, but I find it meandering at times and not quite locking me in for the whole story. This doesn't include the gonzo ending of running around Hollywood, though, because that's obviously, and beautifully, meant to completely disconnect from the rest of the movie.
What was totally unexpected was the DVD inclusion of a pilot for Black Bart, a never-to-be TV spin-off/re-imagining of Blazing Saddles starring Lou Gossett, Jr. and a slew of other recognizable faces (for me, I was most pleased to see Gerrit Graham who I know from Spaceship/Naked Space/The Creature Wasn't Nice).
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