Netflix's Milestone Movies - The Anniversary Collection : Blazing Saddles (1974) and TV's Black Bart

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Calaroga Shark Media. Welcome back to
TV in the Basement. Today, we

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have a cinematic gem that's not just
a classic, but a cultural milestone.

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We're delving into Netflix's Milestone Movies,
the Anniversary Collection, and our spotlight is

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on the legendary nineteen seventy four film
Blazing Saddles. Before we saddle up and

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dive into the wild and wacky world
of Blazing Saddles, let's set the stage

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by exploring the significance of the year
nineteen seventy four in cinema history. This

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year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the
film industry, and Hollywood was determined to

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celebrate in style. In nineteen seventy
four, Hollywood unleashed a creative whirlwind that

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produced some of the most memory and
iconic films of all time. It was

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a time when classic movies were being
churned out with extraordinary regularity. The Milestone

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Movies the Anniversary Collection on Netflix brings
together fourteen of these cinematic treasures, and

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Blazing Saddles shines as one of the
brightest stars in that constellation. But what

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makes Blazing Saddles so special, Well, my friends, that's what we're here

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to explore. Blazing Saddles is not
your typical Western. It's a Western comedy,

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a genre bending masterpiece that shattered conventions
and had audiences rolling in the aisles.

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And at the helm of this comedic
juggernaut was none other than the brilliant

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mel Brooks, who co wrote the
screenplay and directed the film. Blazing Saddles

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is a riotous satire that takes aim
at racism, stereotypes, and the Western

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genre itself. The story unfolds in
the fictional town of rock Ridge, which

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is about to face its doom at
the hands of a corrupt railroad developer.

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To hasten the destruction, the devious
Attorney General head Lamar, played by the

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impeccable Harvey Korman, concocts a plan
to appoint a black Sheriff Bart, portrayed

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by the incomparable Cleven Little. The
idea is to create chaos and drive the

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townsfolk away from the moment Sheriff Bart
sets foot in rock Ridge. The humor

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is relentless. The film uses sharp
wit, slapstick comedy, and clever wordplay

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to skewer prejudice and bigotry. What's
remarkable about Blazing Saddles is its audacious approach

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to tackling sensitive topics head on.
Rather than tiptoeing around them, it boldly

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confronts them with humor that forces us
to examine our own biases. Cleven Little

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stars as Sheriff Bart. Cleven's portrayal
of the charming and quick witted Sheriff Bart

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is nothing short of brilliant. His
comedic timing and charisma made Bart an iconic

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character. Gene Wilder is Jim the
Waco Kid. Gene Wilder's portrayal of the

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drunken and gunslinging Waco Kid is a
masterclass in comedic acting. His chemistry with

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Clevan Little's Bart is electric. The
remainder of this great cast includes Harvey Corman

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as Attorney General Hedley Lamar. Harvey
Corman's performance as the scheming and conniving Lamar

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adds depth to the film's villainous character. Slim Pickens as Taggart. Slim Pickens's

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portrayal of the dim witted and bigoted
Taggart provides many memorable moments in the film.

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Madelein Khan as Lilly von Stup.
Madelein Khan's sultry and hilarious performance as

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the German cabaret singer Ley is a
standout. Her musical number is a comedic

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highlight. Mel Brooks himself makes an
appearance as the eccentric and flatulent Governor,

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delivering some of the film's most memorable
lines. Now, let's delve into the

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heart of the film's plot, exploring
its hilarious twists and turns, memorable moments,

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and enduring impact. The story begins
with the construction of the first transcontinental

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railroad and were introduced to Attorney General
Hedley Lamar. Lamar hatches a nefarious plan

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to root the new railroad through the
peaceful town of rock Ridge, displacing its

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residents. To execute his plan,
Lamar appoints Bart, a black railroad worker

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falsely accused of assaulting a white man, as the new sheriff of rock Ridge.

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The idea is to create chaos and
force the townspeople to abandon their homes.

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However, Bart is no ordinary sheriff. His intelligence, wit and charisma

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quickly went over the townsfolk despite initial
resistance. As Bart settles into his role,

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he forms an unlikely friendship with Jim, known as the Waco Kid,

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the town's former alcoholic gunslinger. Together, they work to save rock Ridge from

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destruction. Meanwhile, Lamar enlists the
help of the brutish Taggart to terrorize the

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town and drive Bart out. However, Bart and Jim, with the support

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of the townspeople, devis a daring
plan to defend Rockridge. The film culminates

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in a spectacular and uproarious showdown,
where Bart, Jim, and the residence

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of Rockridge face off against Lamar and
his henchmen in a classic Western showdown that

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takes hilarity to a whole new level. Blazing Saddles is a riotous roller coaster

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ride filled with unforgettable moments such as
the infamous campfire scene, the classic beans

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scene, and the uproarious mango sequence. It's a film that leaves no comedic

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stone unturned. Blazing Saddles received three
OSCAR nominations. It was nominated for Best

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Film Editing, Best Original Song for
Blazing Saddles, and Best Actress in a

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Supporting Role for Madeline Kahn's memorable performance
as Lilly von Stupp. The film also

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received a nomination for the WGA Award
for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.

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Mel Brooks and his co writers were
recognized for their sharp and clever screenplay.

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In two thousand and six, the
film was selected for preservation in the

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United States National Film Registry by the
Library of Congress. It was deemed culturally,

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historically, or esthetically significant. Black
Bart was a sitcom concept that served

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as a pseudo spinoff of the iconic
film Blaze Saddles. There's an intriguing tale

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associated with it. It's alleged that
an entire four seasons of the show were

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filmed but remain unreleased, possibly in
unedited and incomplete form to this day.

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The backstory to this unusual situation traces
back to mel Brooks's clever legal maneuvering.

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When negotiating the distribution contract with Warner
Brothers for Blazing Saddles, Brooks included a

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clause that prevented the studio from gaining
control of the Blazing Saddle's intellectual property for

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sequels, spin offs, and more
unless they acted within six months of the

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movie's release. The intention behind this
clause was somewhat absurd. It was challenging

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to create a TV show or sequel
within such a tight time frame. However,

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Warner Brothers accepted the challenge and rushed
to produce a TV series based on

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Blazing Saddles to retain the rights.
The result was Black Bart, a Western

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spoof featuring a black sheriff and his
fast drawing sidekick fighting corruption and bigotry in

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the Old West. While the pilot
episode did a many more episodes were filmed

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but never made it to television screens. The reason behind this intriguing situation lies

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in a contractual loophole. The studio
was indeed contractually obligated to create more episodes

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to maintain the rights to Blazing Saddles. Still, they found a way to

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avoid actually airing them, thus keeping
the rights without having to release the full

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series. Mel Brooks himself has shared
insights into this unique situation, recounting how

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his lawyers devised the brilliant clause in
the contract. They anticipated that making a

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sequel in six months would be nearly
impossible, and the film was considered too

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vulgar to become a TV show.
However, in nineteen seventy seven, three

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years after the film's release, Warner
Brothers approached mel Brooks with the idea of

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making another Blazing Saddles project. Brooks
initially rejected the proposal, stating that they

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didn't have the right to do so
Warner Brothers countered by revealing that they had

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secretly been producing a TV series based
on the film and still maintain control over

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the rights. Mel Brooks was shown
three episodes of the series and the rest,

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as they say, is history.
I'll be taking a look at more

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films in this exciting Netflix feature.
Until next time, stay warm and hit

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that follow button as we all watch
TV in the basement.