It all begins with the rise of man in what starts with an almost 2001: A Space Odyssey style, narrated by none other than Orson Welles, but quickly devolves as man discovers that it is much more pleasurable to beat below the chest. Sid Caesar plays the part of the head caveman, inventing the spear, music and art. Brooks also uses the cavemen to make a jab at art critics.
From here, we move to Moses receiving the fifteen command -- um, make that ten commandments... and then we're off to Rome, where the largest part of the film takes place. Our story finds Comicus (Mel Brooks) in a bad spot; he's out of work and waiting for his vnemployment check from the dry-witted vnemployment office clerk (Bea Arthur) when his agent, Swiftus (Ron Carey) informs him that he got him a gig playing Caesar's Palace. (Yes, that would be Caesar's actual palace, in this case.) Before the performance, however, he helps a slave, Josephus (Gregory Hines), escape and meets and falls for a beautiful vestal virgin, Miriam (Mary-Margaret Humes). Miriam points out a horse named Miracle, who she says was retired from racing, which at the time, seemed a bit out of place. Comicus manages to come off as insulting to Emperor Nero (Dom Deluise) and his wife, Empress Nympho (Madeline Kahn) in his big performance, and soon he and all of his friends are being hunted down by imperial guards. To escape, they'd need... that's right... a Miracle (the horse). They take Miracle and the wagon he's pulling to make their escape. They finally escape the pursuing chariots by the clever usage of drug humor; Josephus rolls a four or five foot joint, lights it and trails the smoke behind them, causing the Roman soldiers to become more interested in how groovy life is than capturing them. They reach the sea, but how to get across? No problem, Moses is there and, compliments of the Universal back-lot, he parts the water and they ride through unscathed. Once in Judea, all seek jobs to sustain themselves, and Comicus ends up waiting tables. Specifically, he ends up waiting on Jesus and his disciples at the last supper. After Comicus asks too many questions and annoys everyone, Leonardo Da Vinci arrives to paint their portrait, having them all move to one side of the table. Riiiiight.
Next, we find ourselves in the Spanish Inquisition, for a song-and-dance number that takes place in a large dungeon (complete with a large swimming pool - for the synchronized swimming nuns, of course), three water-wheel / rack devices which make up a slot machine, a xylophone-like series of stocks and an iron maiden, amongst other torture devices. Mel Brooks plays the notorious Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada, and sings about trying to make the Jews convert and confess. There is a bridge in this musical piece that features two Jews (one of which is Jewish comedian Jackie Mason) singing about how poorly they were treated when taken. This piece ends, predictably, with several Catholic nuns diving into a pool and performing a Busby Berkeley/Esther Williams-styled water ballet and then rising up out of the water atop a giant menorah. Okay, well, perhaps not predictably, but that's what you get.
The French Revolution was a desperate time. There were apple core vendors (Sidney Lassick), rat vendors (Jack Carter)... even Nothing vendors (Jan Murray). The French peasants were revolting, so they decided to overthrow the current government. By contrast, King Louis XVI (Mel Brooks) was enjoying the good life, with the best food, his pick (who can pick?) of the women at court and all the luxuries of the day. When he learns that his peasants are revolting (as in the action - he already knew the other), he readily agrees to a plan hatched by an adviser of his, Count DeMonet (Harvey Korman), who suggests that he place the "piss-boy" (occupation... think-guy-with-bucket-as-urinal) in his stead to take the fall since they look very much alike. (No big shock, since Mel Brooks plays this part, too.) When the revolution reaches the castle, they take King piss-boy and are about to execute him when what should appear but... (any guesses) Miracle! That horse from back in Rome, along with the rest of the gang from Rome. Just in time for them to escape off into the distance, with a mountain that says "The End" in the distance. This ending is about as satisfying as the ending of Monty Python's Holy Grail, where the kooks making the film get summarily thrown into a paddy wagon, abruptly ending the story.
History of the World: Part I offered Mel Brooks a vast canvas with which to work, and he set to it, choosing the parts that he most wanted to address and working his comedic magic on them. Time changes all things, and audiences may have become more sophisticated over the years, but I find the the phrase "It's good to be the King" comes up from time to time in daily life and it's hard to get the tune from "The Inquisition" out of your head. If you're into comedy that's a bit more on the asinine, farcical side, with a touch (or so) of irreverence, then here is Mel Brooks in his playground. If you don't enjoy comedy that's "just silly," then you've read too far.
As for special features, there are two "making-of" HD featurettes, and two "track" special features, which run the length of the movie, and are to be enjoyed on a subsequent viewing. The Real History of the World is a trivia track that will pop-up interesting historical facts relevant to the current scene as the movie plays. The Isolated Score Track presents the movie visuals, with only the soundtrack audio accompanying it, to allow for better appreciation of the musical score.
If you're a Brooks fan, and you don't have History of the World: Part I already on DVD or Blu-ray, then you'll want to pick this up. However, the picture quality wasn't as good as I'd hoped it might be; granted, it is an older film. Still, for a true fan, the question isn't whether to pick up this film, but whether to pick it up alone or as part of a collection, as there is also a Mel Brooks collection on Blu-ray which has Mel Brooks' History of the World: Part I along with High Anxiety, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, To Be or Not To Be, Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie and Twelve Chairs. Depending on how big a fan you are and the current condition of your collection, you may want to invest in an upgrade to Blu-ray or merely update one or two individually.
