I've been eagerly awaiting this episode, thinking it was going to be much more action-packed or incorporating some of the more juicy bits of narrative from the over-800 page book. I ought to have known going in that, at 2:18 running time, the movie was too short. Even considering the tweaking that needed to be done to incorporate information differently than the book presents it (like by-passing the house elves storyline), at least a half-hour more could've been left in to really build up the story. The scenes we do see are well acted, there are obvious clues alluding to the final installment, and the special effects are dazzling. But one leaves the theater breathless and disoriented as if one ate a rich meal too quickly. Especially exasperating considering we had to sit through 20 minutes of TV commercials and coming attractions--I would've paid extra to see another 20 minutes of movie instead.
Reviews
2 Reviews
History of the World: Part I
(1981)
Vaudeville on screen
12 April 2006
Every so often, HOTW:Part One is shown on a TV station and I endeavor to watch it through, just to see if my initial assessment was a result of a bad hair day. Not so. There are funny scenes and funny moments, but the better portion of the movie plays out like a series of outdated Vaudeville acts. Out of all the Mel Brooks movies, this one most suggests having a drummer stationed in a corner, following up the punchlines with a pa-DUM-pum-crash on a snare drum and cymbal. (THAT might actually help, come to think of it.) I find the scene in the Roman Forum amusing; Madeline Kahn makes the most of the very short scene that features her; and the Spanish Inquisition is memorable--but it's no match for Monty Python's TV skit and its absurd incongruities. With the exception of "Young Frankenstein", the opening 20 minutes of "The Producers" (especially the original, 1968 version) and, grudgingly, "Blazing Saddles", HOTW is like every other Mel Brooks movie: same stereotypical references, same uneven pacing--as though the actors are pausing for the laugh from a live audience--and not much that's truly fresh and original. Watch it once, just so you can reference it as needed, and judge for yourself.
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