History of the World: Part I

Friday, June 28 - Sunday, June 30, 2013

“Brooks’ parody of the historical epic, as old-fashioned as it is anarchic: a series of comic sketches playing through scenes from Kubrick’s 2001, DeMille’s Ten Commandments, Roman sandal epics, and Louis XIV’s court immediately prior to the French Revolution. Brooks piles on the scatological humour thick and fast, including many of the world’s worst jokes… Centrepiece is a lavish Busby Berkeley-style production number, ‘The Inquisition’, a bad taste attempt to recapture the kitsch glories of ‘Springtime for Hitler’ (in The Producers). And, like the Monty Python team, Brooks knows full well that one of his best jokes is production values at least as impressive as what he’s lampooning.” – Time Out (London)

• Country USA
• Rating R
• Year 1981
• Running Time 92 minutes
• Director Mel Brooks

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.