'The Mel Brooks Collection On Blu-ray Disc' Set for 12/15 Release

Best known as a creator of broad film farces and uproarious parodies, jack-of-all-trades Mel Brooks has been entertaining audiences for years with his wacky and absurdist humor. Now just in time for the holidays, the king of comedy's brilliant work is available for the first time in high definition in The Mel Brooks Collection on Blu-ray Disc, debuting December 15 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Embark on a hilarious adventure over and over again as the ultimate gift set debuts with some of Brooks' best films including Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, History Of The World Part I, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Silent Movie, Spaceballs, To Be Or Not To Be, The Twelve Chairs and Young Frankenstein.

The collection also features an exclusive book created in conjunction with Mel Brooks highlighting his remarkable life and unforgettable films. In addition to having three of his films ranked in the Top 20 on the American Film Institute's list of the Top 100 comedy films of all-time, Brooks is also a member of a short list of creative artists with the distinction of earning multiple award categories, including an Emmy®, Oscar®, Grammy® and Tony®*. Adding to that list, it was recently announced that Brooks will be receive a Kennedy Center Honor 2009 at the 32nd annual national celebration of the arts on Dec. 29.

The Mel Brooks Collection on Blu-ray Disc featuring nine hilarious and classic films will be available for the suggested retail price of $139.99 U.S. / $179.99 Canada. Prebook is November 18.

The Mel Brooks Collection on Blu-ray Disc Title Synopses:

Blazing Saddles:
Filmmaker, star and paddleball wiz Mel Brooks goes way out west and way out of his mind with a hilarious spoof set in an 1874 Old West where 1974 Hollywood is one soundstage away - and where good-old fun blast prejudices to the high comedy heavens. Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn and more join for horseplay and horselaughs, making Blazing Saddles the #6 choice on the American Film Institute's Top-100 Comedies.

High Anxiety:
In this outrageous homage to the Hitchcock thriller, Mel Brooks plays renowned Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Richard Thorndyke, a nut-job with a paralyzing fear of heights, who's just become head of the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very Very Nervous. After the jittery doc learns that his predecessor died under suspicious circumstances, he looks for help from his resentful associate (Harvey Korman) and his evil head nurse (Cloris Leachman) - who, not surprisingly, offer no help. To make matters worse, events take a murderous turn, and Thorndyke is accused of the crime. Co-starring Madeline Kahn, High Anxiety is considered one of Brooks' best.

History Of The World Part I:
Mel Brooks gives new meaning to the term "revisionist history" with this laugh-filled version of the story of mankind. This far-from-accurate romp teaches the "real" truth behind the Roman Empire (in which Brooks plays a stand-up philosopher at Caesar's Palace), the French Revolution (where he pops up as King Louis XVI), and the Spanish Inquisition (in which monks and nuns participate in a splashy song-and-dance number). Featuring an all-star cast including Brooks, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Gregory Hines and Sid Caesar, History of the World: Part I proves that nothing, including history, is sacred.

Robin Hood: Men In Tights:
The master of comedy, Mel Brooks, pulls off another serious spoof on a classic with Robin Hood: Men in Tights. The all-star cast includes: Cary Elwes as the head of the merry men, Roger Rees as the evil dyslexic Sheriff of "Rottingham," Richard Lewis as the seriously neurotic Prince John, Amy Yasbeck as the put-upon Maid Marian, Patrick Stewart as ultrrrra-Scottish King Richard, Tracey Ullman as a much-sought-after soothsayer named Latrine and Dave Chappelle and Isaac Hayes as hilarious characters named Achchoo and Asneeze.

Silent Movie:
Only Mel Brooks would tell his laugh-packed tale about a silent movie-as a silent movie-with one word of dialogue. Joining him in his outrageous, nonstop parade of sight gags are Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise, Sid Caesar, Harold Gould, Bernadette Peters and Ron Carey. As the ruthless conglomerate Engulf and Devour targets a floundering movie studio, has-been director Mel Funn (Brooks) convinces the paranoid studio chief (Caesar) to make a star-studded silent picture. Aided by his sidekicks (DeLuise and Feldman), the devious Funn actually manages to sign some of the biggest names in Hollywood: Paul Newman, Liza Minelli, Burt Reynolds, Anne Bancroft and James Caan. Filled with hilarious spoofs of just about everything that happens in tinseltown, Silent Movie is one of Brooks' funniest, most original films.

Spaceballs:
The farce is with you in this "uproarious salute to science fiction" (The Hollywood Reporter) that teams comedy legend Mel Brooks with an all-star cast of cutups including John Candy, Rick Moranis and Bill Pullman. When the evil Dark Helmet (Moranis) attempts to steal all the air from planet Druidia, a determined Druish Princess (Daphne Zuniga), a clueless rogue (Pullman) and a half-man/half-dog creature who's his own best friend (Candy) set out to stop him! But with the forces of darkness closing in on them at ludicrous speed, they'll need the help of a wise imp named Yogurt (Brooks) and the mystical power of "The Schwatrz" to bring peace - and merchandising rights - to the entire galaxy!

To Be Or Not To Be:
Mel Brooks lets the Nazis have it with both barrels in this hilarious remake of Ernst Lubitsch's classic comedy. Brooks stars as Frederick Bronski, the great Polish actor an amazing amount of people have never heard of. Anne Bancroft co-stars as his actress wife, with whom he fights an eternal tug-of-war for center stage. He should only know about her backstage meetings with a handsome fighter pilot...But all that is put aside when the Nazis invade Poland and the entire troupe gets involved in a frenzy of murder, mistaken identities and maniacal improvising to thwart the Gestapo and save the Polish underground. Co-starring Charles Durning as the SS colonel who stands in their way, To Be Or Not To Be will have you on your feet, yelling encore!

The Twelve Chairs:
Set in Russia in 1927, this much-loved, hilarious Mel Brooks comedy classic is the tale of a former aristocrat (Ron Moody) who is now a Russian clerk under the new Soviet regime. When he learns that his dying mother-in-law sewed a fortune of family jewels into one of the twelve dining room chairs, he sets off across Russia to find it-with an opportunist (Frank Langella), a priest (Dom DeLuise) and his former servant (Mel Brooks) all in equal pursuit.

Young Frankenstein:
Mel Brooks' hilarious tribute to Mary Shelley's classic makes fun of not just the legend, but also every other Frankenstein movie! Summoned by his late grandfather's will to a castle in Transylvania, young Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) discovers a step-by-step manual on how to bring a corpse to life. With help from Igor (Marty Feldman), the hunchback who gets upset when people mispronounce his name, and sweet, curvaceous Inga (Teri Garr), Frankenstein makes a creature (Peter Boyle) with a monstrous lust for life - and love! Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars and Gene Hackman co-star in this inspired vision of lunacy.

Blu-Ray Disc Bonus Features:
Disc One:
 Blazing Saddles - feature film
 Additional Scenes
 Scene-Specific Commentary by Mel Brooks
 2 Documentaries
 Back in the Saddle
 Intimate Portrait: Madeline Kahn (Excerpt)
 Black Bart: 1975 Pilot Episode Of The Proposed TV Series Spinoff
 Theatrical Trailer

Disc Two:
 Spaceballs - feature film
 Commentary by Mel Brooks
 Spaceballs: The Documentary
 In Conversation: Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan
 John Candy: Comic Spirit
 Watch the movie in Ludicrous Speed
 Still Galleries
 Film Flubs
 Storyboards-to-Film Comparison

Disc Three:
 Young Frankenstein - feature film
Commentary by Mel Brooks
 Inside The Lab: Secret Formulas in the Making of Young Frankenstein
 Deleted Scenes
 It's Alive! Creating A Monster Classic
 Making FrankenSense of Young Frankenstein
 Transylvanian Lullaby: The Music of John Morris
 The Franken-Track: A Monstrous Conglomeration of Trivia - Trivia Track
 Blucher Button
 Outtakes
 Isolated Score Track (DTS MA)

Disc Four:
 High Anxiety - feature film
 Hitchcock and Mel: Spoofing the Master of Suspense
 The "Am I Very, Very Nervous?" Test
 Dr. Thorndyke's Ink Blot Test
 How Anxious Am I?
 Don't Get Anxious! The Trivia of Hitchcock - Trivia Track
 Isolated Score Track (DTS MA)

Disc Five:
 History of the World Part 1 - feature film
 Musical Mel: Inventing "The Inquisition"
 Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World
 The Real History of the World - Trivia Track
 Isolated Score Track (DTS MA)

Disc Six:
Robin Hood: Men In Tights - feature film
 Funny Men In Tights: Three Generations of Comedy
 HBO Special: Robin Hood: Men In Tights - "The Legend Had It Coming"
LaserDisc Commentary by Mel Brooks
 Isolated Score Track (DTS MA)

Disc Seven:
Silent Movie - feature film
Silent Laughter: The Reel Inspirations of Silent Movie
Speak Up! Historical Hollywood - Trivia Track

Disc Eight:
 To Be Or Not To Be - feature film
 Brooks and Bancroft: A Perfect Pair
 How Serious Can Mel Brooks Really Get?
 Profiles of Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning
 To Be Or Not To Be: That Is The Trivia! - Trivia Track
 Isolated Score Track (DTS MA)

Disc Nine:
Twelve Chairs - feature film

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*Academy Award - Best Screenplay, The Producers, 1968
Emmy Award - Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy Series, "Mad About You," 1997, 1998, 1999
Grammy Award - Best Long Form Music Video, Recording 'The Producers': A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks, 2001
Tony Award - Best Musical, Best Book (Musical), Best Original Musical Score, The Producers, 2001

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.