There are many reasons to appreciate Mel Brooks, but his sense of humour is perhaps the most important, and he built an entire career out of his quick wit and ability to make any subject funny. The story of how he came up with History of the World, Part I is one of the most entertaining anecdotes he has ever conveyed, with the idea of a random passerby asking him what his next project would be resulting in a quick-witted response of “the biggest film ever made”, which is obviously both unfeasible and entirely impossible, but it didn’t stop him from putting the idea into motion, since it has become one of his most beloved films and one that is extremely ambitious in its way, which is something we have always come to expect from Brooks. A series of vignettes that take place on different continents and are focused on a few key moments in human history, the film is an outrageously funny endeavour that shows how Brooks was constantly trying to reinvent himself within a genre that he helped define – modern comedy would simply not be the same without Brooks and the work he did with the likes of Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner (both of whom have uncredited appearances in this film), and many truly tremendous performers that found their way into his orbit, many of whom appear in this film. Hilarious and irreverent, the film holds up remarkably well, especially considering how many attempts to revisit this kind of humour we have found by lesser filmmakers that don’t quite understand the special qualities that govern such a narrative, which is precisely why there is still so much value in everything that Brooks does with a comparatively straightforward premise and the sheer desire to continue a streak of revolutionizing what can be done on screen in the most delightful way possible.

While his detractors may suggest that Brooks is more appropriately known for his parodies, which many consider slight and vulgar, he was not someone who always insisted on resting on his laurels, with the general consensus being that he could venture into other styles of comedy when he felt it was appropriate, which is certainly the case with History of the World, Part I, in which he sets aside the spoof genre that he had mastered (although only temporarily, he would return to it in only a few short years), and instead tries his hand at an anthology film, creating a very loose chronology of human history through a few vignettes that stretch from the prehistoric era to the heart of the French Revolution, which is a decent amount of time to cover, but something that Brooks is more than willing to do through selecting a few notable events and writing wonderfully eccentric stories around each one of them. This film is essentially anchored by two short films – one set in the Roman Empire, the other during the aforementioned French Revolution – with shorter sketches based around one or two jokes inserted in between them to create the image of a more episodic style of filmmaking. This is the first time Brooks has made such a film, but it did work quite well, especially since it gave him the chance to work with material that may not have been feasibly expanded into feature-length films since neither of the two main storylines is strong enough to hold our attention for much longer than they are on screen. Likely taking his cue from films like The Kentucky Fried Movie and various Monty Python projects (which is especially interesting considering how Brooks and the iconic British troupe are responsible for some of the funniest films of the 1970s), which were formed around small absurdist sketches that parody and lampoon common subjects, Brooks once again creates a film that is riveting and entertaining, which still being well-constructed and brilliantly produced, even at its most straightforward.

Something that is always important to remember is that Brooks started his career as a performer alongside being a writer, so it only makes sense that he would regularly put himself in his films, most of the time as the lead (although some consider The Producers and Young Frankenstein to be all the better because Brooks himself was off-camera for the most part, that’s a topic for another day), which is understandable when we realise he is someone that adores performing, and his character work is always engaging. He’s an old-fashioned showman in the sincerest sense, and his performances are often just as compelling as his work behind the camera. History of the World, Part I contains some of his funniest moments, which is primarily due to him being able to play multiple characters – whether its Roman “stand-up philosopher”, the architect of the Spanish Inquisition (in which he gives himself a song-and-dance routine that is one of the most memorable moments across all of his films) or the King of France, Brooks is hilarious throughout the film. However, he also knows that he cannot carry anything on his own, and this film employs a sprawling ensemble cast, all of which work together to create a memorable experience. Gregory Hines, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Harvey Korman and many others are perfectly cast in the film, which is all the better due to their presence. Even the brief cameos from notable actors like Beatrice Arthur and Cloris Leachman add so much nuance to an already compelling film, as does Orson Welles, whose narration essentially ties everything together and adds layers of humour onto a film that was extraordinarily outrageous and deeply funny in unexpected ways. Brooks somehow manages to get the best performances out of his actors, and whether this is a result of him writing roles tailor-made for certain people, or because he just has the instinct to cast actors who fit perfectly into his world, there is always something valuable about seeing these ensembles in action, and History of the World, Part I contains some of the very best.

The question that many have consistently asked about Brooks is quite simple: what is it that makes his style of comedy so outrageously funny? By all accounts, he is one of the last remnants of the vaudeville era and has always brought a level of eccentricity to an industry that was, at the time, far more focused on more subversive comedy – and yet not only did he avoid being labelled as an unbearable ham, but he also made a wildly successful career out of this kind of old-fashioned humour. History of the World, Part I is one of the most clear and concise examples of his style in practice, especially since he doesn’t have specific genre tropes on which he could rely, which were often the foundation of his spoof films. All that he has with this film is a good concept and a big budget, which allowed him to make a historical comedy of quite literally epic proportions, albeit in such a way that it felt meaningful, with the only excess being that of the comedy rather than the spectacle. Everything in this film feels thoroughly earned, and even when it isn’t particularly daring in the traditional sense, it still possesses a unique quality that showcases exactly why Brooks is such an icon of comedy. He has always been quite open about his creative process, but even without his candour, it is clear that Brooks and his collaborators’ process is simply to conceive of the most wild and off-the-wall ideas imaginable, and then put them into practice, avoiding content that is in exceptionally poor taste, but still pushing boundaries of decency. No one is safe from Brooks’ unique approach to comedy, and there are many moments in which he seemed to be skirting around controversy – but as an old-fashioned comedic genius, he made sure that the most provocative elements were those contained in the realm of mere implication, which is always a far funnier and more meaningful way of approaching any kind of comedy, especially one that purports to be a concise history of humanity, with the very suggestion that such a film was possible being perhaps the funniest aspect of the film as a whole.

There is an argument to be made that History of the World, Part I is Brooks’ final truly great film – after this, he would return to parodies with Spaceballs and pastiches of the Robin Hood and Dracula stories, as well as an entirely bespoke comedy in the form of Life Stinks, none of which are necessarily that strong, even if they do have many defenders. Even this film pales in comparison to the ones he had made in the previous decade, which was undeniably the height of his creativity and ambition. Yet, we cannot help but be thoroughly entertained by everything Brooks puts on screen for us – there is nothing about this film that leads us to believe that it is anything less than a wildly entertaining comedy that may not have many layers but is still captivating enough to hold our attention. It may not be particularly daring in many ways, since it does follow a common pattern, but this doesn’t distract us from feeling genuinely compelled by this film and what it represents, which is good, classical comedy that may aim for the low-hanging fruit, but does so in a way that is intelligent and endearing, rather than just going for the easy jokes. Seamlessly combining both highbrow and lowbrow humour, and formed with the genuine intention to challenge and provoke, History of the World, Part I is an engaging film that may seem simple on the surface, but has a spark of ingenuity that drives the entire narrative, and proves Brooks’ exceptional prowess when it comes to exploring a concept as enormous as a whistle-stop tour through history. It’s not always the most consistent, and some of the jokes have not aged well, but for the most part, we find that this film is hilarious, captivating and exactly the reminder we need that Brooks is one of our finest comedic minds and that everything he makes is undeniably worth watching.