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4.5
"The Twelve Chairs" is a curious choice for Mel Brooks' second directorial feature film. After the manic & controversial "The Producers", Brooks tells the story (sort of) of an old Russian folk tale about a woman revealing to a humble clerk (Ron Moody, walking the fine line between pathos & hysteria in this one) on her deathbed that the family fortune of jewels has been sewn into one of the dining room chairs. The catch: Since the Russian regime has turned into the Soviet Union, that dining room set has been scattered across the country. The plot thickens when a tall, dark & handsome young opportunist (Frank Langella) learns of the secret & forces the clerk into a partnership to find the chairs. Dom DeLuise--wonderfully funny, as usual--is a priest who becomes a direct rival in finding the fortune.Brooks obviously had a soft spot for this old story, which doesn't go in for wild sight gags or profanity; it's humor rests on the modest simplicity of life in the Old Country. But this is a comedy, and Brooks sprinkles touches of the trademark slapstick & skill with funny dialogue everywhere. After an exhaustive race to find the fortune, the film concludes with an inevitable lesson: Life is full of disappointments; just be happy you're alive (guess I kind of spoiled the ending!). Chronologically sandwiched between the joyous hysteria of "The Producers" & the uproarious satire of "Blazing Saddles", "The Twelve Chairs" is a more modest but sweet & amusing little gem.This is a lesser known Mel Brooks Film, his second. Mel Brooks makes a terrific cameo appearance as Tikon, servant of Vorevyaninov. who is played by Ron Moody. Ron Moody has a knack for playing characters who suffer great amounts of angst. Dom Deluise is totally obnoxious as the priest who overhears during confession from the dying mother-in-law of Vorevyaninov that she put all the family jewels in one of twelve chairs. All of the characters go in search of the chairs in this study of human greed and avarice. What benefits a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Frank Langella of "Dracula" fame was only 32 when this comedy was made. The Twelve Chairs is not a characteristic film of Mel Brooks but it is outrageously hilarious!Love Mel Brooks films.Some say that 'Twelve Chairs" isn't one of Mel Brooks greatest, which it can hardly be as it was his second film. Personally though, I liked it. There were plenty of funny bits and even the plot-line itself is funny - a former aristocrat and a young con artist teaming up together, traveling all over Russia looking for 12 Chairs, one of which is filled with priceless jewels, but they don't know which one! And if that weren't enough, there's also a Russian priest turned treasure hunter who's just as determined as they are! What more could you ask for? On a side note, Mel Brooks playing a still-loyal servant is HILARIOUS!!! Watch it and you'll see!Mel Brooks is a great comic - writer, producer, actor, director. This was the last Brooks movie to get added to my collection. It was not the funniest. Nuff said.Runs a little slow to start, some very funny parts just few and far between.I saw parts of this movie years ago and was curious to see the whole movie, excellent acting by all, I believe based on a true story, it was hilarious and had a real outline to the story, check this one out, one of Mel Brooks early films, you won't be disappointedEverybody knows about Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. But The Twelve Chairs? This is Brooks' 2nd feature film and his least known. It was not a box office success (neither was The Producers). But the script is pure Mel Btooks, the acting is wonderful (especially Dom DeLuise and Ron Moody). It is a madcap romp through post revolution Russia as the search is on to find the 12 chairs and the treasures contained within. I'm scheduling a showing of the film to some friends and calling it the Mel Brooks film no one knows about.A wonderful comedy of Mel Brooks! Based on a Russian story, a faithless priest uses a deathbed confession to hunt for a treasure in one of 12 dining room chairs that have been replaced in a posh home after the Russian revolution. The marvelous cast promises you a laugh quite often. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and the wonderful Ron Moody (who played Scrooge in the musical version of Oliver) and the hilarious antics of Dom deLuise will entertain you anytime you watch this movie!The description includes English and Russian languages, so we thought it would be audio in Russian and subtitles in English, but there is only English.My husband thinks this version is not as good as Russian video version.
