Twelve Chairs (1970)

One of Mel's best

I had no idea this charming and heartwarming film existed until I listened to Mel's commentary during "Blazing Saddles." I love this film because one gets an early glimpse into Mel's love of puns and parody, as well as the excellent casting and performances of Frank Langella, Ron Moody, and Dom DeLuise. It's a hilarious romp through the newly post-revolution Soviet Union where these three men are all hot on the trail for a fortune in priceless jewels hidden in one of twelve chairs left behind in a noble family's mansion after being forced out by Bolsheviks. Dom is superb as a greedy and crooked priest who abuses the sanctity of the confessional. This film is a must-see for die-hard Mel fans. His song that opens the credits, "Hope for the Best (Expect the Worst)" is brilliant, sad, and beautiful and sets the tone for the movie marvelously. October 10, 2008

Shamefully poor adaptation of brilliant material

Mel Brook's "Twelve Chairs" is an incredibly bad and un-funny adaptation of a famous book by Ilf and Petrov.

I didn't find myself having one laugh or at least a chuckle throughout the entire film. The original material is almost unrecognizable, the characters are just a bunch of screaming idiots and Ostap Bender, one of the most charming, charismatic and hilarious literary criminals, is completely un-appealing.

Costumes are over the top, acting is way over the top (with the exception of Ron Moody, who is good at times).

There was no need to make fun out all things Russian in this film. The book itself was written as a great satire on the early Soviet Russia, so either filmmakers missed the point or they were forced to follow a typical pattern of all Hollywood films of the "Cold War" era.

I give this film 1 star and it hardly deserves that. If you are interested in the story and the real humor of it, read the book or check out the 1977 mini-series, directed by Mark Zakharov.
April 23, 2008

Essential Mel

A little unusual--after all, it is his first comedy. But, what can I say--zany Mel does it again! If you collect Mel (and now I have them all, even hard to find High Anxiety), you must get the beginning to see his evolution. Little dark material--and of course, Mel in a supporting role. Zany fun, side-splitting laughs, but like I said, somewhat dark material matter. April 6, 2008

THE TWELVE CHAIRS BEST MEL BROOKS MOVIE

I remember in the 70's when my mom and I would wait up for the CBS late late show waiting for this movie to come on. I fell asleep but mom would wait up. This movie Dom Delouise is his best work. "C'mon God" my favorite and playing priest trying to get the jewels for himself. What characters in this movie. But it today! November 18, 2007

Confused with a few good scenes

I really expected to enjoy this movie more than I did, but it seemed confused. With only a handful of really amusing scenes, a strange relationship between the main characters, and a thin plot, the movie seemed confused: not a spoof, not really a satire of Soviet life, not quite a buddy picture. The humor bounced between understated to the point of boredom, mild satire, and slapstick which frequently stumbled past funny to merely manic.

On the plus side, Dom Delouise produced some good laughs as the greedy priest. Mel Brooks was funny as Tikon the ex-servant who fawns over his old master. Also a young Frank Langella looks great for the ladies.

Overall, not Brooks' best movie. April 28, 2007

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