Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, it was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger. The movie was nominated for three Academy Awards, and is considered one of the great American comedies, coming in at number six on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs list.
Brooks appears in multiple supporting roles, including Governor Le Petomane and a Yiddish-speaking Indian Chief. Slim Pickens, Alex Karras, David Huddleston, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, and Harvey Korman are also featured. Musician Count Basie has a cameo as himself.
The film exposes the racism, obscured by myth-making Hollywood accounts of the American West, but in a highly satirical way; such as a racist slur said 17 times, while the film's hero is black.
