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Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise, Bernadette Peters, Sid Caesar ... see more see more... , Harold Gould , Ron Carey , Carol Arthur , Fritz Feld , Patrick Campbell , Charlie Callas , Henny Youngman , Eddie Ryder , Al Hopson , Rudy De Luca , Barry Levinson , Howard Hesseman , Lee Delano , Jack Riley , Sivi Aberg , Erica Hagen , Robert Lussier , Liam Dunn , Marcel Marceau , Chuck McCann , Liza Minnelli , Harry Ritz , Arnold Soboloff , Yvonne Wilder , Anne Bancroft , James Caan , Valerie Curtin , Paul Newman , Burt Reynolds , Inga Neilsen

Silent Movie is just that: a totally nonverbal comedy, save for one single line. Director Mel Brooks stars as a once-famous comedy director, who with his faithful assistants Dom DeLuise and Marty Feld... read more read more...man return to Hollywood with plans for a comeback. Brooks wants to return to the good old days by producing a silent movie (he explains this via subtitle). Producer Sid Caesar is agreeable, provided Brooks can line up top stars. In a series of vignettes better seen than described, Brooks persuades Burt Reynolds, Liza Minelli, Paul Newman, James Caan and Anne Bancroft (Brooks' real-life wife) to star in his project. The only holdout is mime Marcel Marceau, who after a few moments of walking against the wind shouts the film's solitary line: "No!" Meanwhile, the crooked executives of the Engulf and Devour conglomerate want to take over Caesar's studio and are worried that Brooks' film might be so huge a hit that Caesar won't be interested in selling. To prevent this, the conglomerate dispatches sexy Bernadette Peters to lure Brooks into drink and ruination. The film's climax is lifted from the 1943 Olsen and Johnson film Crazy House). Featured in brief comic cameos are Harry Ritz as the man with half a suit, Charlie Callas as the blind man, Dom DeLuise's wife, Carol Arthur, as the incredibly pregnant woman, Fritz Feld as the headwaiter (whose trademarked "Pop" is conveyed on a subtitle) and Henny Youngman as the diner with a fly in his soup. Co-writers Ron Clark, Rudy DeLuca and Barry Levinson also show up on screen as three of the Engulf & Devour minions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

65% liked it

12,341 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

19 critics

PG, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: Mel Brooks

Release Date: June 16, 1976

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DVD Release Date: April 4, 2006

Stats: 609 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (609)

  • spielberg00
    September 24, 2011
    spielberg00
    Mel Brooks strikes again in his ingeniously original, fast-paced 1976 comedy SILENT MOVIE. Like the title hints (or should hint--it's not one of those misleading titles, for sure), this film is made in full silence, just like a film before the use of "talkie" technology, and it ... read moreshows a title card after a mouth or two moves (which gets a bit annoying after about an hour, but the title cards are part of what establishes the humor). It seems Mel Brooks has some talented, homaging tricks up his sleeve: a few brief years before SILENT MOVIE, he directed YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN in black-and-white; and for this, he only lets us hear the corny sound effects and cheesy music, a la that used in THE THREE STOOGES. But besides his creativity, this is somewhat a funny movie (though not quite a classic) and it was quite enjoyable.
  • ajv2688
    January 3, 2011
    ajv2688
    In case you're wonder, yes this movie is silent! Brooks brings us nostalgia of the old silents, and it is hilarious. If you like his films, I highly recommend seeing this one too.
  • moonrivers
    July 29, 2010
    moonrivers
    so bad it's good, brooks, as usual ("if it works, don't fix it") mugs his way thru this movie about the very movie yer watchin' ("a brilliant idea!!!"), the promised homage to silent films is trampled somewhere, raped in an alley and left for dead. what's left is bits and pieces... read more. the women steal the show here, bancroft and peters turning in the only valid performances. the best part is unintended, wherein "the stars" pose for cameos in the credits "as themselves" and we get to see their apparent discomfort playing that part. it was made in the seventies, and mere nostalgia prompted me give this film one more star than it deserved, and maybe a star and a half.
  • MeetMeinMontauk
    January 1, 2010
    MeetMeinMontauk
    I think the mimicking of silent era acting was funny even if the story was so so. Still, the slapstick and physical comedy made it worth it. "Ars es pecunia" was the greatest line of the whole movie, for any of you with an ounce of Latin.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 20, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    Bless you Mel Brooks. Even when your movies weren't perfect, they're still a hell of a lotta fun.
  • hypathio7
    January 15, 2010
    hypathio7
    Being a silent movie most of the jokes are visual gags. Many many good visual gags, especially the ones involving the style of silent movies. Some action is sped up to humorous effect, the sound effect selections are zany, and the title cards are used sparingly. Marty and Sid ... read moremug for the camera quite a bit, most of the time to great effect, but sometimes to lesser success. Bernadette Peters was wonderful. This combined with the couple comedies she did with Steve Martin in the late 70's and early 80's show she has great comic talent. Some of the segments with the big stars Mel is seeking are better than others. The first celebrity, Burt Reynolds, is the best at sending up his perceived personality.
  • michaelneumann
    March 13, 2007
    michaelneumann
    Shine on me luminous today, and shine on past the tops of my shoulders
    Show my feet the step ahead, stay hope on the gilded road to dawn
    All the world must forget me now, as scattering ravens its memory flown
    And bury my years in bone and ash, please spare not yesterday its tomb
    ... read moreTake me where the song needs singing, take me to the time I'm gone
    Where dust of higher things float free, and boughs of ancient forests yawn
    Of quiet excite in empty theaters, that merry shadow dance is mine
    The truth of dreams is morrow's words, a verse away from being known
    So as one concedes Imagine's game, its buoyant laughter wise and long
    I leave my eyes and better lives, embalming pulse of showers loom
    To walk this path of blinding summits, a thousand kings away from golden
  • fb100001266995067
    March 11, 2012
    fb100001266995067
    Despite the very high rating this is not my favorite Mel Brooks movie. It just wasn't the funniest think he put out there. I loved the originality, which the 2011 Oscar winner The Artist stole from it. But this movie wasn't laugh out loud funny
  • oakman67
    February 18, 2011
    oakman67
    A film completely dependent on sight gags and features Mel Brooks as Mel Funn who wants to make the first silent film in 40 years he has Dom Deluise and Marty Feldman to aid him and the film is funny and has only one spoken line. Many famous actors have cameos and the film is inv... read moreentive and creative and probaly the least offensive Mel Brooks film, with minimal inneuendo.
  • DrStrangeblog
    October 11, 2010
    DrStrangeblog
    Best gag is actually the one speaking line! Or rather, the person who says it.

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Critic Reviews

Lori Hoffman
April 20, 2007
Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly

Not Brooks' best, but still funny

Mark Bourne
September 4, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

While Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein stride across the land with seven-league boots, Silent Movie glides on tip-toe like Bugs Bunny in ballet slippers. Full Review

Christopher Null
March 30, 2006
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Mel Brooks has never known when a joke is worthy of a five-minute bit and when it's something you can flesh out into a full length feature. Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
October 6, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com

Largely a success due to some very funny sight gags, but even at a brief 87 minutes, Brooks seems to be stretching things to feature-film length in the last half-hour. Full Review

Kevin Carr
September 22, 2005
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

Low end of Mel Brooks' films.

Michael A. Smith
January 8, 2005
Michael A. Smith, Nolan's Pop Culture Review

Mel Brooks was THE comic master of the 70's

Dan Lybarger
February 27, 2004
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online

Brooks' tribute to silent cinema has its drawbacks, but his obvious affection for pre-talkies saves the day.

Ken Hanke
August 21, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Nearly everything is done in that special Mel Brooks brand of broad comedy that quickly palls for all but the faithful. Full Review

Mike McGranaghan
August 5, 2002
Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat

One of the funniest movies from my childhood.

Jeffrey Westhoff
July 26, 2002
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Far from Brooks' best work, but it's the one that makes me laugh the most.

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Silent Movie Trivia

  • What Mel Brooks movie has Mel, Dom Deluise and Marty Feldman looking for stars and a studio for his movie( hint: there's no sound)  Answer »
  • What's the title of Jay and Silent Bob's own movie?  Answer »
  • who answered the phone in the film silent movie by mel brooks.   Answer »
  • Mel Brooks made a movie whose most famous line was simply: "No." . What movie was this?  Answer »
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