The Producers

This movie, the tale of two con men trying to make money with an intentional Broadway flop, was once considered one of the funniest movies ever made. Now, with the smash musical adaptation still running on Broadway, and the film version of the musical in theatres, the original film seems more like a quaint curiosity. It was Mel Brooks's first film and Gene Wilder's breakout role, and one can see both of them finding their rhythms in the slapstick on display. No doubt at one point Zero Mostel's hammy and lecherous Broadway producer was once the height of hilarity. The homoeroticism during his seduction of Wilder's character is still amusing, but otherwise he seems as dated as Jack Benny, or Benny Hill, for that matter. The same can be said for Kenneth Mars as the Nazi-sympathising playwright, who's about as funny as Hogan's Heroes. Tellingly, it's the musical sequences that carry the film's reputation: not just the title song from Springtime for Hitler, but also the audition song for future flaming Hitler, Lorenzo St. Dubois (aka LSD), who sings "Love Power" in thigh-high fur boots with a Warhol-ian soup can at the end of his necklace. As iconic as this is, the remake is likely better. Extras on this two-disc set include a documentary that's almost as long as the film, a trailer for the remake, and one deleted scene. (MGM)