[HN Gopher] Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner on their 70-year friendship
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Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner on their 70-year friendship
Author : tintinnabula
Score : 96 points
Date : 2020-02-20 18:23 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theguardian.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theguardian.com)
| coldcode wrote:
| Two of a kind, never repeated. I don't think you could make
| people like this today, they came from a different era. Not even
| sure you could make Blazing Saddles today either.
| andrepd wrote:
| _> Not even sure you could make Blazing Saddles today either._
|
| I keep hearing stuff like that, but why not? Why would you
| think it couldn't be done today?
| kedean wrote:
| Well, to start, the number of n-bombs they drop is super
| uncomfortable these days, even with satire in mind. I love
| the movie, but that aspect just feels off now, even though I
| understand the intent.
| dragonwriter wrote:
| > Well, to start, the number of n-bombs they drop is super
| uncomfortable these days, even with satire in mind.
|
| It was, then, too, and intentionally so in contrast to the
| sanitized approach to the time period in conventional
| cinema of the time.
|
| OTOH, that specific thing that it is satirizing is far less
| current and relevant today, so I suppose without active
| consideration of context, it might seem gratuitous as well
| as uncomfortable.
| rocmcd wrote:
| I've always viewed Tropic Thunder as somewhat of a successor to
| Blazing Saddles, but I largely agree that it couldn't be
| recreated today.
|
| The time period in which these movies were made is a lot of
| what makes them so special. That's not to say that what we'll
| have next won't be special, but 1974 (and 2008) was a different
| time.
| oh_sigh wrote:
| Thinking back to when Tropic Thunder came out, I remember the
| scandal relating to the movie had nothing to do with RDJs
| character, but with the fact that they say "retarded" in it.
| [deleted]
| manigandham wrote:
| And like most of these "scandals", it was nothing more than
| a handful of offended people being very vocal while the
| vast majority didn't even notice. It's only worse now
| because of social media amplifying the outrage but the
| relative numbers are the same.
| Ididntdothis wrote:
| I have to admit the "full retard" is one of the best lines
| I have ever heard in a movie. Maybe "10-20 million dead,
| tops" from Dr Strangelove is on that level.
| nerfhammer wrote:
| I saw a good youtube video about how blazing saddles was
| satirizing decades of hyper popular sanitized Western genre
| and helped kill it
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzMFoNZeZm0
| slowmovintarget wrote:
| Mel Brookes got full creative control over _Blazing Saddles_
| in an accident of contract. The studio didn 't notice and
| signed. This is why the movie is so good. Mel got to make
| what he thought was funny.
| drewcoo wrote:
| The movie itself alludes to that toward the end when the
| cowboys bust through a wall into a studio dance number, Dom
| Deluise as the studio's director tries to regain order, and
| Slim Pickins proclaims "I'm workin' for Mel Brooks" and
| socks him. Which is a great example of what Mel Brooks
| thinks is funny.
| luckydata wrote:
| I wish any of my friendships was that robust. I've met a lot of
| people and I'm very social but for one reason or another
| friendships in the Bay Area never seem to become very deep (and
| most people I like end up leaving).
| d4mi3n wrote:
| I can't speak to friendships of 70 years, but I have a number
| of friends I've known for the better part of 10 to 15 years. I
| find there's a few things that help foster these kinds of
| relationships:
|
| 1. You genuinely like each other.
|
| 2. The relationship is positive, meaning each party contributes
| in positive ways to the well-being of each other.
|
| 3. Proximity helps, but in cases where friends get separated
| due to circumstances of life: stay in touch. Make a point to
| call now and then, send a holiday card, involve them in travel
| plans, etc. maintaining contact is key.
|
| 4. For people you do lose contact with: check in. I know SO
| many people who let fantastic friendships wither due to fear of
| getting back in touch. What's a year or two of downtime
| compared a friendship that can last decades? Reach out, they'll
| be happy to hear from you.
|
| Relationships take effort, and friendships are no different.
| Look for ones that add to your life in positive ways, try to do
| the same for them, and hang on to them as best you can. Good
| luck!
| gabagool wrote:
| Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks also appear in an episode of Jerry
| Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars getting Coffee. It can be found,
| officially, on Netflix in the "Light and Sweet" season:
| https://www.netflix.com/title/80171362.
|
| As I recall, the episode was initially just focused on Carl
| Reiner, but Seinfeld was invited back later that evening to join
| Reiner and Brooks for dinner.
| staticautomatic wrote:
| "You'll look at [the bacon] and you'll say 'That's too crisp!'.
| That's how I want it."
| circa wrote:
| Yes! Great episode!
| tomcam wrote:
| The real news is that Mel Brooks drives from Santa Monica to
| Beverly Hills during rush hour on a daily basis. I'd barely do
| that for my own kids! JK, but that's super impressive. It is a
| brutal drive of the sort known to people from SV where absolutely
| no shortcuts work anymore.
| melling wrote:
| Looks like a 9 mile drive.
|
| When I was a kid in the 1970s, I remember people in California
| joking about how they loved to drive. They couldn't see the
| point of mass transit.
|
| They even tried to build a high speed rail, but no one saw the
| value. 50 years later and it's nearly impossible to build one
| now.
| phlakaton wrote:
| In LA (and now in the Bay) you never measure car travel by
| miles. ;-)
| perigrin wrote:
| It may be 9 miles but at the wrong time of day (e.g. when the
| sun is out) it could take you hours. I hate driving in LA.
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