For as long as I can remember, Mel Brooks has been a part of my life. When the family TV wasn’t displaying Muppets or horror movies, my parents loved to leave films from Brooks’s extensive library playing in the background. My folks were never strict about having the TV on during dinner time either, so there were plenty of times when I watched Spaceballs, Young Frankenstein, or History of the World: Part 1 while consuming chicken cutlets with a side of broccoli au gratin. That was a long time ago, and Mel Brooks is still kicking! He’s 99, in fact! Wild! To celebrate this legendary comedian, HBO is releasing the two-part documentary Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man, and today, we’ve got a trailer for the upcoming presentation.
Who’s directing the Mel Brooks documentary?
The upcoming two-part documentary, directed by award-winning filmmakers Judd Apatow (The Zen Diaries of Gary Shandling) and Michael Bonfiglio (George Carlin’s American Dream), debuts on Thursday, January 22 (8:00-9:45 p.m. ET/PT), followed by part two on Friday, January 23, on HBO. Both parts will be available to stream beginning Thursday, January 22, on HBO Max.
Here’s the official synopsis for Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man, courtesy of HBO Max:
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man explores the life, career, friendships, and loves of legendary writer, director, producer, and performer, Mel Brooks. One of Hollywood’s most daring satirists from the early years of television sketch comedy through his film and stage hits, Brooks has held a funhouse mirror up to the human condition and used laughter as a path to resilience, connection, and joy for nearly a century.
Anchored by Apatow’s candid conversations with Brooks and rare archival footage of his performances and television appearances over decades, the two-part film chronicles his early sketches, landmark films and Broadway hits, such as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, and The Producers, and highlights how he turned personal pain, postwar trauma, and the absurdities of life into bold, hilarious satire that subverted norms and reshaped American comedy.
Who participates in the two-part doc?
The film features new interviews with Brooks himself, as well as the comedians he has inspired including Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Nick Kroll, Patton Oswalt, Dave Chappelle, Conan O’Brien, Josh Gad, Jimmy Kimmel, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, and Tracey Ullman; filmmakers Rob Reiner, Robert Townsend, Peter Farrelly, Jerry & David Zucker, Barry Levinson, and David Lynch; actors Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Cary Elwes, Matthew Broderick, and Nathan Lane; Brooks’ children Stefanie, Nicolas, Eddie, and Max; and granddaughter Samantha.
HBO shares details for both parts of the documentary:
Part One
Debut date: THURSDAY, JANUARY 22 (8:00-9:45 p.m. ET/PT)
Part one chronicles the early experiences that shaped Brooks’ comedic voice, from his childhood in Brooklyn, to his combat service in WWII, and the highs and lows of working in the Borscht Belt and the dawning era of television where, alongside Sid Caesar, Neil Simon, Larry Gelbert, and Carl Reiner, he laid the foundation for modern sketch comedy and created his indelible character “The 2000 Year Old Man.” Using a fear of failure to energize his creativity and turning to therapy at a time of personal challenges, he also drew upon his Jewish heritage and the prejudices that surrounded it to emerge as one of Hollywood’s most brazen satirists, writing and directing “The Producers” (1967), “The Twelve Chairs” (1970) and “Blazing Saddles” (1974). Following the dissolution of his first marriage, he married movie star Anne Bancroft, who buoyed him through the lean years and the frequent vitriol of critics, but an Academy Award for “The Producers” and a huge box office for “Blazing Saddles” established Brooks as an anarchic comedic force.
Part Two
Debut date: FRIDAY, JANUARY 23 (8:00-9:50 p.m. ET/PT)
Part two charts Brooks’ rise to superstardom and the enduring impact of his work on audiences and future generations of comedic writers and performers, while exploring his deep friendship with Carl Reiner, his creative relationships with Gene Wilder and others, his marriage of 41 years to Anne Bancroft and his family life with four children, illustrated by decades of personal archive. Inspired by his love of classic cinema and lavish Hollywood musicals, he wrote and directed “Young Frankenstein,” “Silent Movie,” “High Anxiety,” and “History of the World, Part 1,” continuing to use laughter as commentary on the absurdity of the human condition. As a producer, Brooks branched out into drama with “The Elephant Man” and other acclaimed films, while still creating comedy classics like “Spaceballs” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” In his seventies, Brooks set Broadway alight with the stage production of “The Producers,” winning a record-shattering 12 Tony awards. Brooks’ story is a masterclass in turning humor into courage, satire into empathy, and creativity into enduring influence.
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Source:
HBO Max
