This week’s throwback Thursday post is dedicated to director Mel Brooks! He is one of many directors interviewed in The Director Within: Storytellers of Stage and Screen by Rose Eichenbaum. The photograph of Brooks, below, is one of many images from the book.
To honor Brooks and his ongoing ability to make us laugh long and hard, we picked a clip from his movie Spaceballs (1987).
Mel Brooks is a master of comedy. From film to theatrical productions, his work has earned him the highest honors bestowed on an entertainer: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award—to name a few. As Brooks fans know, the filmmaker loves to spoof historic events, popular culture, books, and other films. Such parodies include Young Frankenstein, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs.
When asked why he’s chosen to create so many parodies, Brooks responded:
“All I’m doing is reliving the movies I loved as a little boy. With Young Frankenstein I was reviving the gorgeous films by James Whale, Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). High Anxiety is a tribute to Hitchcock. Spaceballs I made for my son, Max Brooks, who loved Star Trek and Star Wars. I dolled them up, of course, with a lot of different themes and feelings.”
Directors featured in the book The Director Within include:
| • Michael Apted • Robert Benton • Peter Bogdanovich • James L. Brooks • Mel Brooks • James Burrows • John Carpenter |
• Joseph Cedar • Richard Donner • Jonathan Frakes • Lesli Linka Glatter • Taylor Hackford • Walter Hill • Arthur Hiller |
• Reginald Hudlin • Doug Hughes • Lawrence Kasdan • John Landis • Barry Levinson • Rod Lurie • Emily Mann |
• Kathleen Marshall • Rob Marshall • Michael Mayer • Paul Mazursky • Mira Nair • Hal Prince • Brett Ratner |
• Gary Ross • Mark Rydell • Jay Sandrich • Susan Stroman • Julie Taymor • Robert Towne • Tim Van Patten |
Rose Eichenbaum will be signing copies of her books, The Director Within and The Dancer Within at Chavelier’s Books in Los Angeles this Saturday. She will be joined by performer-authors Zippora Karz and Victoria Tennant. Read more about the event and participants here.
