A Comedy Classic Just Started Streaming on Prime Video

Mel Brooks’ 1974 comedy classic Blazing Saddles is now available for streaming on Prime Video, giving a new generation of viewers the chance to enjoy one of the most daring and hilarious films in cinema history.

The movie, which satirizes the American West while taking aim at societal norms of the time, stars Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, whose performances are widely praised as a perfect comedic duo. Brooks, known for his sharp wit, also appears in multiple supporting roles, including a Yiddish-speaking Native American chief and a quirky governor.

Blazing Saddles was co-written by Brooks along with Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Alan Uger, based on a story idea by Bergman.

The film features a talented supporting cast including Slim Pickens, Alex Karras, David Huddleston, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, and a cameo by Count Basie with his orchestra. The film is known for its deliberate anachronisms, from the Count Basie Orchestra playing “April in Paris” in the Wild West to references to contemporary television.

Upon release, reactions from critics were mixed. Vincent Canby of The New York Times described it as, “Blazing Saddles has no dominant personality, and it looks as if it includes every gag thought up in every story conference. Whether good, bad or mild, nothing was thrown out.”

In contrast, Roger Ebert gave it four stars, calling it “a crazed grab bag of a movie that does everything to keep us laughing except hit us over the head with a rubber chicken. Mostly, it succeeds.” Gene Siskel also praised the film, saying it was “bound to rank with the funniest of the year” and highlighting Brooks’ clever use of parody and raunchy humor.

Today, Blazing Saddles is recognized as a comedy masterpiece. It received three Academy Award nominations, holds a spot as number six on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years…100 Laughs list, and was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2006 for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

For anyone who hasn’t yet experienced it, Prime Video now makes it easier than ever to watch Brooks’ irreverent and endlessly entertaining take on the Wild West.

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