Robin Hood: Men in Tights
In December 2009, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released a big Mel Brooks Collection
on Blu-ray including, among others, the comedies Robin Hood: Men in Tights, History of the World: Part I and High Anxiety. On May 11, 2010, the studio issued those movies separately, priced at $24.99 each.
Men in Tights includes the featurette “Funny Men in Tights: Three Generations of Comedy,” the HBO special on the movie “The Legend Had It Coming,” commentary by Brooks that was originally on the laserdisc version of this movie and an isolated score track.
The movie stars Cary Elwes as the legendary robber of the rich, as well as a number of comedians: Richard Lewis as the neurotia Prince John (so perfect for Lewis), Tracey Ullman (TV’s State of the Union) as the soothsayer Latrine and Dave Chappelle as a character called Achchnoo. Isaac Hayes plays Achchnoo’s counterpart Asneeze, and on the more serious side, Roger Rees is the dyslexic Sheriff of Rottingham, Amy Yasbeck is the put-upon Maid Marian and Patrick Stewart is the Scottish King Richard.
In History of the World: Part I, Brooks skewers history from the dawn of time, through the Romans to the French Revolution. Stars include Brooks, of course, Gregory Hines and Brooks-film-regulars Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman.
The extras menu lists a “Real History of the World” trivia track, isolated score track and two featurettes: “Musical Mel: Inventing The Inquisition” and “Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World.”
In High Anxiety, Brooks takes on Hitchcock’s thrillers as he plays a renowned Harvard psychiatrist who is the new head of the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very Very Nervous. Korman, Leachman and Kahn co-star.
The special features for High Anxiety are a “Don’t Get Anxious! The Trivia of Hitchcock” trivia track, isolated score track, “Am I Very, Very Nervous?” test and the featurette “Hitchcock and Mel: Spoofing the Master of Suspense.”
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