THE COMIC ART OF MEL BROOKS 6+

📕 THE COMIC ART OF MEL BROOKSBy Maurice Yacowar Mel Brooks is a mystery. On the one hand, he is notorious for his wacky public behaviour and for his zany films. On the other, some of his public pronouncements show him to be a very serious fellow. While his audiences clutch their sides in helpless laughter, Madman Mel warns us that serious things are going on amid those wild goings-on. This book is a new, updated edition of Maurice Yacowar's classic book on Brooks, first published in 1981. There is a section on Mel Brooks' background and origins, including his work on television, his early works, audio recordings, and how Brooks uses comedy. Each film directed by Brooks is analysed, with a brief plot summary to refresh the memory, a close reading of the films' major themes and strategies, and a scattering of background information about the movies. For Mel Brooks, comedy can serve a serious purpose. 'I maintain there is nothing you cannot deal with in comic terms and make a point. I proved that by spoofing Hitler in The Producers.' Brooks adds: 'I'll never do a serious picture just to make a profound statement. I can make those statements comically. You don't have to stop laughing.' With his art of energy, openness and exuberance, Brooks values freedom more than discipline, outburst more than restraint, and emotion more than abstemious craft. Energy and present outweigh control and the future. Wild, even vulgar, valour is the better part of di...