The Producers (2005)

Even Better with Music

I have been a longtime fan of the original Mel Brooks movie starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, so it was with some interest that I went to see a summer stock version of the Broadway show here in Maine. It was at The Ogunquit PLayhouse. The two leads had been in road show versions of the play and were outstanding as was the rest of the cast. It was a total hoot.

Out of interest, I decided to purchase the movie version of the Broadway show to compare it with what I had just seen and while it is hard to top Nathan Lane in anything, as a whole I preferred seeing it as a play rather than a movie of the same.

That being said, the play is as entertaining a time as you can spend in the theater and I thought it was an improvement on the original movie. The songs are toe tappers for the most part, the expansion of the parts of the director and the author of "Springtime for Hitler" were welcome as was the expanded role of the Swedish bombshell.

Mel Brooks zany mind works as well on stage as in the movies and this is a DVD you really want to have in your archives.

PS: The out takes included with the DVD are hilarious and there is a section where the director comments throughout the movie on various aspects of what you are watching, giving inside tidbits about the scenes and the filming, which by themselves are worth the price of the DVD. September 30, 2008

Nathan and Matthew Cheers

I borrowed this title from the library. I wasn't expecting much but I was laughing from start to finish. The concept of Nathan Lane as a straight man was funny in and of itself. I really enjoyed the musical numbers. I'm going to buy my own personal copy of this movie. August 18, 2008

I'm Sure This Plays Better As Live Theater But Who Cares?

Living far from Manhattan and relying on what is available at TKTS when I do get to see a "real" Broadway musical I appreciate this chance to see even a filmed version of Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and much of the original cast in their landmark roles in THE PRODUCERS. Sure the film often seems too "stagy" and perhaps Broderick and Lane are too theatrical and well rehearsed as Leo and Max but this is still an enjoyable opportunity to see what all the excitement was about in 2001 when this musical opened on Broadway. Will Ferrell and Uma Thurman were not in the stage production but they are fine in this film version. I've never been a big fan of Ferrell but he is very funny playing the Nazi worshiping author of "Springtime for Hitler". Beautiful Uma Thurman certainly looks the part of a Swedish bombshell and her singing and dancing do justice to the role. The deleted scenes on the DVD include some musical numbers that were cut including "King of Broadway" which I'm sure is great fun to see in person but way too over the top for the filmed version. Remember to watch this film all the way through the credits to get a last laugh from Mel Brooks himself. March 15, 2008

A musical romp

A musical based on the Broadway show which in turn was based on the original film which was awesome. Although derivitive it is good in its own right, especially with some of the musical numbers in it. The film never quite makes the same level of comedy that the original movie does though, mostly because this version has compressed and combined many of the characters ("LSD" does not appear at all in this version, for example) but it partially makes up for it with some scenes, dialogue and numbers which would never have made it in the original film. Well worth watching. February 22, 2008

I hated it

This version of "The Producers" isn't good enough to make a patch on the original film version with Zero Mostel. Save your money, folks. February 9, 2008

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