Blazing Saddles (1974) review

Crooked attorney general Hedley (not Hedy!) Lamarr (Harvey Korman) wants to empty out the town of Rock Ridge to continue building his railroad through there (and make plenty of money), so he appoints African-American convict Bart (Cleavon Little) as the town's sheriff, figuring they'll revolt against a non-Caucasian, but Bart pals up with the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder) and they work together to save the place.  I first watched this when I was in high school and, not having seen that many Westerns up to that point, couldn't quite appreciate all the references (like Madeline Kahn impersonating Marlene, the Randolph Scott mention, etc.) ... but it's clear that, close to fifty years after it was released, this is a scalding take on race relations in America that holds up remarkably well: people have complained about the frequent usage of certain no-no words, but it was none other than comedic legend Richard Pryor who co-wrote it, and he knew what he was doing.  Brooks himself is hilarious as the Governor (as well as the Yiddish-speaking Chief), Korman's a gem, Dom DeLuise has a great bit as a ticked off director and the actual wall-breaking, where they wind up on the Warner Bros. lot, is beautifully absurd.  It's also one of the most witty and quotable movies ever made: excuse me while I whip this out....