AFI Declares Blazing Saddles as the Funniest Film Ever in Celebration of Mel Brooks' 100th Birthday

      The American Film Institute has declared Blazing Saddles the funniest film ever in celebration of Mel Brooks’ 100th birthday.

      Previously, AFI had named Some Like It Hot as the funniest movie. Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, a socially aware Western satire featuring Clevon Little and Gene Wilder, was once ranked No. 6 on the list.

      In 2016, Brooks expressed that AFI was mistaken about their choice.

      “I adore Some Like It Hot, but we have the funniest movie ever made,” Brooks told Vanity Fair in 2016.

      In recognition of Brooks’ centennial celebration this Sunday, AFI president and CEO Bob Gazzale concurred with Brooks’ assessment.

      “He’s correct!” Gazzale informed The Associated Press. “We’re pleased to correct this oversight as Mel celebrates his birthday. It’s great to be the king, and may he reach the age of a 2,000-year-old man. Happy birthday, Mel!”

      In addition to Blazing Saddles, Brooks is renowned for comedy classics like The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and Spaceballs. Notably, both Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein were released in the same year, 1974. (Here are all 11 Mel Brooks films ranked.)

      Brooks once mentioned in an interview with Playboy that he never expected Blazing Saddles to achieve such broad acclaim:

      “It was intended as a niche film. We wrote it for two eccentrics in the balcony,” he noted. “For radicals, film enthusiasts, guys who doodle on restroom walls — my kind of people.”

      For the 40th anniversary Blu-ray release of the film in 2014, Brooks revealed that Warner Bros. was hesitant to release the film due to its crude humor.

      “When we screened it for executives, there were few laughs,” Brooks stated in the Blu-ray release. He recounted that Warner Bros. executives suggested, “It’s simply too vulgar for the American public. Let’s discard it and accept a loss.” However, Brooks explained that studio president John Calley opted to launch it in three cities — New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago — as a test, leading to “it becoming the studio’s highest-grossing film that summer.” Brooks, who was born 100 years and one day ago in Brooklyn, continues to thrive: he is currently producing Spaceball 2, the long-awaited sequel to his Star Wars parody, which is set to be released in theaters next year.

      The actor-writer-director-producer — who began his career on Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows in the 1950s — became widely recognized that decade with his 2,000 Year Old Man comedy routine, created alongside his longtime friend Carl Reiner.

      Leading up to his 100th birthday, Brooks has been receiving well-deserved accolades, including features in Judd Apatow’s recent HBO documentary, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!

      Main image: Mel Brooks and Robyn Hilton in Blazing Saddles. Warner Bros.

      Editor's Note: Link correction made.