Search - The Producers [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Adult Situations Movie Release: 1968 DVD Release: 12/03/2002 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan - Closed Captioned Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 30 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Comedy, Farce, Showbiz Comedy See Also: The Producers, The Producers [Deluxe Edition]

Theatrical producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) was once the toast of Broadway. Now he lives in his seedy office, cadging cash contributions from wealthy old ladies in exchange for sexual favors. Even worse, he's reduced to wearing a cardboard belt. Max's new accountant, Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), the soul of honesty, suggests that Max produce a hit to try to recoup his losses, but Max knows that it's too late for that. Offhandedly, Leo muses that, if Max found investors for a flop, he could legally keep all the extra money. Suddenly, Max's eyes light up -- and in that moment, Leo Bloom is gloriously corruptible. "I want everything I've ever seen in the movies!" cries Leo as Max embraces him. Together, Max and Leo conspire to select the worst play, the worst playwright, the worst director, and the worst actor to collaborate on their guaranteed flop. That play is Springtime for Hitler, "a delightful romp...with Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun." The playwright is Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), an unreconstructed Nazi who, in drunken delirium, insists that Hitler was a better painter than Churchill -- "He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon, two coats!" The director is pompous transvestite Roger De Bris (Christopher Hewett), who is preparing to go to a costume party garbed as Marie Antoinette when Max and Leo come calling ("Max, Max, he's wearing a dress"). And the star, selected after extensive auditions, is hippie-freak Lorenzo St. DuBois (Dick Shawn) -- "L.S.D." for short.

At the end of several weeks, Max has sold 25,000 percent of the show; and, as a finishing touch, Max bribes the opening-night critics for a favorable review, knowing full well that such a gesture is the kiss of death. The curtains part, and Springtime for Hitler opens with perhaps the most tasteless production number in the history of films. At the end of this extravaganza, the audience sits in dumbfounded silence. Gleefully, Max and Leo repair to a corner bar to celebrate their failure. But then.... The first directorial effort of Mel Brooks, The Producers didn't do so well on its first release, but since that time it has taken its place as one of the all-time great movie comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Zero Mostel - Max Bialystock
Gene Wilder - Leo Bloom
Kenneth Mars - Franz Liebkind
Estelle Winwood - Old Lady
Renée Taylor - Eva Braun

The Producers, Mel Brooks time-honored comedy classic comes to DVD as a special edition. The main supplement, a 63-minute documentary put together by Laurent Bouzereau, is the high point of the bonus materials. Brooks, Gene Wilder, Lee Meredith, and assorted crew members reminisce about the making of the film, including some behind-the-scene photos and brief talk about the enormously successful musical on Broadway. The remaining extras don't hold up as well, but are certainly welcome. Also included is one deleted scene that is only mildly amusing, the original short statement from Peter Sellers about his love of this film (read by Paul Mazursky), and some productions photos and design art. Rounding things out are trailers for this film and some other MGM titles such as The Princess Bride. If it wasn't for the wonderful documentary, this disc would be fairly weak. Where it also excels, though, is the image. Presented on the same side of the disc in anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen and full-frame, it is a pleasure to watch. Granted, some deficiencies show, but there is no question this film has never looked so good on home video. Colors are well represented while the darker shots stand up nicely. The sound, which uses either a new 5.1 track, or the original mono version, is good enough for this kind of film. It's questionable that a 5.1 track was even necessary for such a film, but it does have a slight vibrancy that the mono track lacks. While there are certainly pluses with this special edition, it's really the film that stands on it's own, making the movie itself far more valuable than the DVD content. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide