DVD Corner

The Producers (1968) Blu-ray Review

Mel Brooks’ comedy classic “The Producers” makes its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Shout! Factory.

After the 1968 film and the enormously successful Broadway musical (and musical film adaptation), it’s safe to say that a good chunk of people know the story of “The Producers.” It’s a simple tale about Max (the producer) and Leo (the accountant) setting out to make a musical flop. Their plan/scam? To raise more money than they need from investors so that they can pocket the remainder.

I’ve always liked Mel Brooks’ 1968 comedy (I even liked the 2005 musical film version), but I’ve never loved it like many other film aficionados have. To me, it was never as amusing as some of other Brooks’ works like “Blazing Saddles,” “Spaceballs,” “High Anxiety,” “Young Frankenstein,” and so on. Perhaps it’s because the movie feels more like a play than a movie (especially since it was originally envisioned as a play). It has a very stagey feel to it and, aside from the iconic and hilarious “Springtime for Hitler” scene, it’s not a very visual or eventful comedy to be sure. The story pacing actually has a rather slow build to it as the two lead characters spend most of their time talking and scheming. True, there is another side story involving the oddball ex-Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind (which sometimes feels like a distraction from the overall story), but for the most part, it’s Leo and Max’s story.  Thankfully, you don’t mind the fact that the story spends most of the time on Max and Leo as both Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder give top notch performances here. Gene Wilder in particular gives one of the best performances of his career. Who doesn’t love seeing Wilder in hysterics?

Flaws aside, no one can deny the fact that “The Producers” is a clever original work. It revels in bad taste and delivers one of the most memorable musical numbers (“Springtime for Hitler”) in cinematic history. It may not be perfect, but it’s worth seeing if you can handle Brooks’ brand of humor.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.85:1 1080p. How does it look? Having seen this film a number of times over the year, I have to say I was wholly impressed by this new hi-def transfer. Despite slight patches of grain, the colors are strikingly beautiful here. This is most apparent on everything from the skin tones to the wild costumes.

This disc contains 5.1 DTS-HD MA and PCM Mono audio tracks. The new 5.1 track gives the film so much more life. Just listen to Wilder’s loud line deliveries or the musical numbers to see what I mean.

Extras:

* A DVD copy.
* A 3 ½ minute deleted scene involving explosives.
* A 2 minute plus sketch gallery.
* Peter Sellers’ Ad In Variety” is read aloud.
* “Mel And His Movies: The Producers”- Mel Brooks talks about the evolution of “The Producers,” Zero Mostel, the production, set stories, . You can never go wrong with Mel Brooks telling stories, the film’s reception, etc.
* “The Making Of The Producers” contains cast and crew interviews, film clips, casting, the script, and much, much more.

September 12, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks, The Producers (1968) Blu-ray Review, The Producers Blu-ray Review, The Producers DVD, The Producers Musical, Zero Mostel