Mel Brooks' memorable year of comedy dominance turns 40

Mel Brooks

I was lucky enough to catch a very special episode of Conan in which the host (my personal favorite in late night) dedicated his entire show to the late comedy legend Sid Caesar. To pay tribute to Caesar, Conan O'Brien enlisted the legendary filmmaker Mel Brooks, who got his first huge break by serving as a writer on Caesar's landmark sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows.

Brooks, at 87, is still as sharp and funny as ever. He has such a warm, engaging personality and it was such a treat to hear him tell stories about what Caesar meant to him and how his sense of humor was influenced by his early work in television.

While watching his interview it dawned on me that Brooks' peak as a comedy director took place exactly forty years ago -- 1974 -- a year in which he pulled off an incredible feat, co-writing and directing two of the biggest comedy hits of the decade, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles.

Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles

They were very different films, with the significant exception that they both star Gene Wilder, and yet they both really connected with their target audience.

The movies are unabashedly nuts and especially in the case of Saddles, unafraid to push the boundaries of good taste.

And that's what makes them so fantastic.

Brooks will always be remembered for his creation of The Producers (on film and Broadway) and for his enviable forty-plus year marriage to the gorgeous Anne Bancroft (who sadly passed away in 2005). But for me, his signature achievement is these two madcap comedies.

Blazing Saddles was a movie I fell in love with almost instantly, probably if for no other reason than because it was a rare mainstream comedy film from my favorite film era (the 70s) to feature a black lead who wasn't Richard Pryor.

Don't get me wrong, I am obsessed with Pryor's work -- and the role of Sheriff Bart in this western spoof was originally conceived for him (and he did co-write the screenplay) -- but Cleavon Little is charm personified. His byplay with Gene Wilder heavily influenced me as a kid and his fearlessness in the face of the white racists that populate the film was inspirational to me.

Brooks had the balls to portray an old fashioned Western town more authentically than the straight westerns that it was lampooning. The townspeople are unapologetically bigoted and the humor of the film often derives from just how awful these people are.

Obviously with any Brooks film it's the gags that everyone remembers: the campfire farting scene, Madeline Kahn's German singer Lili Von Shtupp, Brooks' roles as the governor and a Native American chieftain, the defeat of Mongo ("Mongo pawn in game of life.") -- I could go on and on. The end of the movie descends into pure chaos which I can only describe as infectious for the uninitiated.

They don't make comedies this daring anymore.

Young Frankenstein, is the more cinematically sound film (although it's my second favorite of the two). Brooks and his collaborators (again Kahn and Wilder, joined by Peter Boyle, Teri Garr and Marty Feldman) crafted a loving homage to the classic Frankenstein films.

It's amazing that this black-and-white, period comedy was such a huge hit. I can't imagine modern audiences embracing something so out of left field.

When Wilder's character's creation (Boyle) puts on a tux and tails and performs "Putting on the Ritz" it is impossible not to crack up. It's an ingenious scene. There are so many jokes packed into this film ranging from the ridiculously silly (Igor pronounces his name Eye-gore) to the truly odd (virtually every scene).

Brooks' post 1974 output was more hit or miss for me (although History of the World Part I, Spaceballs, Silent Movie and Robin Hood: Men in Tights all have their moments). But that year a short, balding, middle aged comic with roots in TV dominated Hollywood and that's really cool.

Mel Brooks deserves a lot more credit that he deserves, for making mainstream comedy edgier and for introducing a little inspired mayhem into the movies.

1974 Flashback: My top 10 from 40 years ago

1974 was an incredibly fascinating year in America and at the movies. It was the year Richard Nixon finally resigned from office after the prolonged Watergate debacle and an air of cynicism and paranoia had seeped into even the most mainstream Hollywood productions.

The 1970s are my favorite film era for a myriad of reasons -- among them the dark and often subversive content, which reflected the political climate of the times.

It was also a period when my favorite generation of A-list actors (Nicholson, Hoffman, Beatty, Redford, Pacino, Hackman and De Niro) did some of their best, most iconic work.

I am continuing my top 10 series which started with 2004 and then 1994 and 1984. I don't know if I'm capable of coming up with a top 10 list from 50 years ago, so this may be the last one of these 10-year intervals.

10) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - From the opening shots, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre creates an unsettling and uncomfortably realistic feel. An unrelenting horror classic that inspired many subpar imitators, there is also a very odd and eccentric strain of humor throughout this grisly enterprise and despite its title, the scares are genuine not gore-induced.

9) Young Frankenstein - One of two home runs from Mel Brooks in 1974. He assembled a comedy dream team, including Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and Madeleine Kahn, to pay homage to the great horror classics of the 1930s. Very stylish looking and unabashedly silly -- this is a spoof that has a lot of genuine affection for its source material, which is part of why it succeeds.

8) Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - I didn't love this one at first, but I've come to realize that Sam Peckinpah films are something of an acquired taste. A fascinating and deeply strange melodrama about a hard-drinking loser (played by the brilliant Warren Oates) who takes on a brutal mission for some chump change and ends up going to hell and back. Not for the squeamish -- but if you like your character studies dark (and I do) it's a keeper.

7) Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - After his Mean Streets breakthrough, Scorsese decided to stretch and show he could make a film about women. Ellen Burstyn won the Academy Award for the titular role in this bittersweet comedy-drama about a recently widowed mom who has to fend for herself for the first time. Scorsese infuses the material with some of his signature, flashy camera moves but it is at its core a simple story with a lot of heart.

6) Death Wish - A morally reprehensible revenge fantasy -- but also an incredibly potent and entertaining one. Charles Bronson is one of my all-time favorite action stars -- and this is his most iconic role. He is completely believable as a soft-spoken but stern businessman who becomes a vigilante in the wake of a brutal attack on his wife and daughter. The politics of the film will always be hotly debated but the creepy last shot suggests director Michael Winner was at least a little ambivalent about his protagonist.

The creepy last shot in question from Death Wish

5) The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 - Walter Matthau as action hero? It's not as ridiculous as it sounds in this very New York style thriller set in the subways. The remake can't hold a candle to this gritty and clever caper film. Not only does it have genuine thrills but the movie boasts a wonderfully comic sarcasm that pays off time and time again. Also, Robert Shaw cements his status as one of the best bad guys of the decade (see The Sting).

4) The Conversation - Arguably Gene Hackman's second best performance of the decade, this is a master-class in restrained understatement. He plays Harry Caul, a deeply paranoid and lonely surveillance expert who stumbles upon a potential conspiracy to commit murder. It's much more sophisticated than it sounds, and more concerned with a character study of Caul than its thriller plot. Coppola's most overlooked 1970s masterpiece.

3) Blazing Saddles - One of the funniest and most politically incorrect movies of all time. This uproarious western spoof had some really witty things to say about race that will remind some viewers of Django Unchained. Mel Brooks' greatest achievement and a career high mark for Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little, who plays a role originally intended for Richard Pryor to perfection.

2) Chinatown - This neo-noir lives up to all the hype. Not only is it Roman Polanski's best film, it's arguably Faye Dunaway's and quite possibly Jack Nicholson's.  A pitch-black classic with one of the all-time most shocking twists in movie history. A movie that captures a mood, look and lingo of the golden age of Hollywood. The plot is infamously labyrinthian -- something to do with the water supply and corrupt politicos. Nevermind all that, just sit back and watch what happens to "nosy fellows."

1) The Godfather Part II - As I've said before, this is my favorite of the legendary Godfather films. It's a powerful, sprawling epic that shows the full reach of organized crime in just 3 hours. Al Pacino is phenomenal as the increasingly psychotic Michael Corleone and John Cazale is unforgettable as his pathetic (and ultimately tragic) brother Fredo. No movie better captured the dark spirit of 1974 America and the movie's bleak vision remains even more potent 40 years later.

RIP Gene Wilder: The five greatest roles of a comedic genius

Gene Wilder is one of those great comic actors who so many of us really associate with our childhoods. When I was first really getting into comedy, developing my own voice and my own taste -- Wilder was a big touchstone for me. So it is with a heavy heart that I write this amid the news that he has passed away at age 83.

Wilder never made that many movies, and he has been largely missing from the Hollywood landscape for the last several decades. But for a brief period, largely during the 1970s, he was one of the most popular comedy stars in the world -- and his frizzy haired, manic persona is unlike any other in movie history.

As sad as the news of his death is, at the very least, it provides an opportunity for film buffs to reassess his career and for younger audiences -- who may either only know him for his iconic role as Willy Wonka, or don't know him at all -- it's a chance to rediscover a truly unique talent.

There's a lot people may not realize about Wilder. He was a great comedy writer (he was behind many of the best jokes in Young Frankenstein, for instance), he was an ideal comedy partner (although he and Richard Pryor reportedly never got along in real life -- they had exceptional chemistry) and he had a big heart -- as evidenced by his exemplary love for Gilda Radner, who battled and eventually succumbed to cancer while married to him.

I will always have a soft spot for Wilder. Here are his five greatest film performance (with one honorable mention):

Honorable mention: Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

A very young Gene Wilder has a small but pivotal cameo role in this classic gangster movie. He plays one half of a fairly bougie middle class couple who have their car stolen by outlaw bank robbers while they're in it. At first they befriend the crooks, and get a cheap thrill out of mingling with them, but when Wilder reveals his profession -- undertaker -- the scene gets deadly serious. His role in The Producers (which came out the following year) may be more famous, but this one holds up better.

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

This will probably be the part for which Wilder is best remembered, and it's easy to see why. It's a real tour de force that has yet to be topped (cough, Johnny Depp, cough). He is by turns menacing, mirthful and magical -- perfectly capturing the mercurial character created by Roald Dahl in his book. Wilder's lovely singing voice imbues the musical numbers with real whimsy, and his sarcastic line readings make this children's film sublime for adults.

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Wilder is one of the highlights of this raucous, political incorrect Western parody. Curiously, he was not the first choice for his role as a former gunfighter gone to seed, but he is perfect in it. Some of his off the wall lines are delivered with such a sly touch that "The Waco Kid" winds up being the least dated thing about this blockbuster comedy. His monologue about facing down a would-be gunman who turns out to be a child is still one of my all-time favorites.



Young Frankenstein (1974)

Wilder was the star of the show in his other big, Mel Brooks-directed hit of 1974. Despite being deliriously over-the-top throughout, Wilder's brilliance in this film is borne out of his commitment to taking himself and the material seriously, no matter how silly it is. As Dr. Frankenstein (emphasis on the steen) he is marvelous and he motivates career best work out of dream cast, which includes Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn and Teri Garr.

Silver Streak (1976)

A fast-paced who-done-it with lots of homages to Alfred Hitchcock, features Wilder in an against-type romantic role. It also eventually becomes his first pairing with his unlikely comedy soul mate, Richard Pryor. This film breaks cliches by making their partnership an equal one, with each actor pushing the other outside of their comfort zone in funny and surprising ways. Meanwhile, the movie itself is a real throwback mystery that is a lot fun from start to finish.

Stir Crazy (1980)

Wilder's second pairing with Richard Pryor (directed by Sidney Poitier) is still my favorite. He and Pryor play too lovable losers who get imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit -- and despite that set-up, laughs ensue. Endless comedies have ripped off their opposites attract, mixed race dynamic, but few captured the genuine affection and bemusement these two could convey on screen. In a strange way, their on-screen friendship was groundbreaking, and man were they hilarious together.

My top 10 female comic performances (off the top of my head)

Teri Garr in Tootsie

The completely silly uproar over the all-female cast of the new Ghostbusters, which opens today, has had me thinking about my favorite female comedic performances.

First off, there are too few outright comedic roles for women. In fact, I am sad to say that in most of my favorite movies in the genre, women are either marginalized completely or have thankless girlfriend/wife roles, which serve simply to either advance the plot or provide the male lead(s) with some extra motivation. These characters are usually sweet and implausibly patient, but rarely if ever get to deliver a funny line, let alone be at the center of the action.

Still, some pretty glorious female comedy has managed to break through in the 100-plus years of Hollywood. Here are 10 great gems that popped into my head, although I reserve the right to either expand this list or revisit this topic at a later date.

10) Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment (1983) - While this performance is arguably a dramatic one, it's so full of excellent, light comedic touches I could not keep it off my list. The eccentric MacLaine plays the rare domineering mother who elicits sympathy from an audience and watching her find love with an irascible Jack Nicholson when she least expects it is a real delight. An Oscar winning performance that is rich with different shadings both funny and heartwarming.

9) Winona Ryder in Heathers (1988) - Before she moved on to more generic leading lady roles, Ryder was the ideal surrogate for sardonic iconoclasts everywhere. In this film and in Beetlejuice, she is the witty cynic, standing apart from the action commenting on the absurdity around her. But while in Beetlejuice she is playing a type, here she is a more fully fleshed out person who at least sees some of the seductive appeal of the popular high school crowd, before she destroys it in the most macabre way.

8) Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin (1980) - By the time this movie rolled around Hawn had already perfected playing sweet, somewhat dimwitted but still adorable heroines. But her character here is a bit of a departure. She plays a bratty daddy's girl who discovers her inner grit and desire not to be tied down in the most unlikely place -- the military. Hawn's performance in this film has been oft-imitated, but this still feels fresh.

7) Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby (1938) - I still remember the first time I saw Hepburn's speed demon performance in this screwball comedy back when I was studying film in undergrad. I was stunned with how liberated she was and how modern her presence felt in a movie that came out of Hollywood's golden age, which didn't exactly provide a lot of opportunities for women to demonstrate their range. Here Cary Grant is her straight man foil, and she gets the biggest laughs.

Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles

6) Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles (1974) - This incredibly talented comic actress was a favorite of director Mel Brooks, and it was hard to choose between her work here and in Young Frankenstein, they're essentially interchangeably brilliant. But this western spoof has her show-stopping number "I'm Tired" (she scored an Oscar nom for the performance) which is a tour-de-force in crude comedy. Kahn has sadly been consistently overlooked and underrated.

5) Reese Witherspoon in Election (1999) - A breakthrough for director Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt) and its star. Witherspoon is famous for her more mainstream comedies like Legally Blonde, but she actually gave one of the best performances of her career as the overachieving nutjob Tracy Flick, who wages a figurative holy war to win a race for class president in her high school to the chagrin of one of her teachers (a note perfect Matthew Broderick) in this unsung black comedy.

4) Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids (2011) - Melissa McCarthy scored the Oscar nod and had the showier role, but in a film packed with funny women, for me, Kristen Wiig was the standout. She gave the most nuanced performance as someone struggling to come to grips with the reality that her best friend is entering a new phase of her life, marriage, ostensibly without her. The drunken airplane meltdown is one of the most hilarious moments in movie history.



3) Renee Zellweger in Nurse Betty (2000) - Before her career got somewhat derailed, Zellweger was a fresh and interesting new face. Her best role is in this little seen masterpiece about memory loss and mistaken identity, where she plays a plucky waitress at a diner who inadvertently gets plunged into a dangerous bit of criminal intrigue. Zellweger gives an exceptionally endearing performance, but also shows off some great comedic timing too.

2) Teri Garr in Tootsie (1982) - In what could have been a one-note role, Garr nearly steals this classic movie playing Dustin Hoffman's friend who briefly becomes his pseudo girlfriend. She plays  a wonderfully vivid, insecure, emotional and energetic actress -- whose reaction to the central reveal of the movie (that Hoffman has won a role she sought by dressing up like a woman) is a thing of beauty. Honorable mention goes to Garr's bizarro (in a good way) cameo appearance in Martin Scorsese's After Hours.

1) Diane Keaton in Annie Hall (1977) - Woody Allen has written a lot of great comedic roles women (including most recently Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine), but he may never top this one -- which won Keaton the Oscar. Although Keaton has been pretty much playing versions of this same character throughout her career, I have little quibble with this, especially since Annie Hall is such a nuanced and neurotic personality. This romantic comedy works only because her character grows on you, and by the final scenes you come to realize that you fell in love with her too.

Obligatory Valentine's post: My favorite on-screen couples

Obviously, Valentine's Day is just another day, although the powers that be won't allow most of us to think that. And I'm no different -- buying gifts, posting mushy Instagrams about my wife -- and here I am with the obligatory annual Valentine's Day post.

This idea kind of just popped in there (think Dan Aykroyd at the end of Ghostbusters) and it was: off the top of my head, who are my favorite movie couples.... this is by no means a complete list, but I just rattled these off and I will the briefly give me thoughts about all of them.

Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant in North By Northwest - This may be the most sensuous of all Alfred Hitchcock's parings. Like many of his icy blondes, Eva Marie Saint is a very sexually aware woman, and her chemistry is white hot opposite a handsome, aging Grant. Their train make-out is as hot as anything I've seen in a movie.

Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase in Foul Play - These two are at the peak of the 1970s cuteness, and they have a loopy, lovable vibe as a couple in this comedic Hitchcock homage (which fares much better than Mel Brooks' High Anxiety if you ask me). He's all deadpan one liners and pratfalls and she has just about the cutest grin in movie history. What's not to love?

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally - The quintessential couple in one may be the benchmark for all romantic comedies since its release 30 years ago! They are an odd match physically, but when you watch him make her laugh or when he's aghast at her famous fake orgasm, it and they make perfect sense on-screen.

Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly in Bound - In the Wachowskis' Bound, these two rose about the inherent salacious nature of the material, to deliver utterly convincing performances of two women desperately in love with each other with a particularly toxic man in their way.

Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep in The Bridges of Madison County - I am sure fans of the book and movie fans in general thought it was bizarre when tough guy Clint adapted and cast himself in a best-selling weepie about a brief but heartbreakingly romantic affair. But it turned out to be one of his loveliest movies and one his most touching performances. Despite its hokey, old-fashioned narrative wrapper, this is still one of my favorite romances.

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in Smokey and the Bandit - These two were a couple in real life and it really shows. There's real love in their eyes amid the goofy chaos of this movie, in which she's a barefoot, runaway bride and he's an ace bootlegger ... or something. This is the height of '70s throwaway joy, totally inconsequential but wonderfully charming at the same time.

Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in the Star Wars trilogy - This was probably the first on-screen romance I was consistently exposed to and as I came of age, and understood that their grumpy banter was in actuality 'flirting' I became much more impressed with their doomed love affair over the course of the original trilogy. I say doomed because by the time of The Force Awakens they're estranged. I like that their relationship is left always unresolved since everything about their lives is fleeting.

Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Adam's Rib - When people namecheck legendary on-screen couples Tracy and Hepburn always runs off the tongue, even with people who've never seen their movies. This one is a great place to start when it comes to their on-screen work together. The premise is absurd -- they play a married couple representing opposite sides in a contentious divorce case. Tracy, as in all their films, ends up getting put in his place by Hepburn, and you will swoon.

Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudury in Mississippi Masala - I dare you find a sexier on-screen couple than these two in this criminally under-seen culture clash romance that should earn a lot of points for being woke to some compelling racial dynamics and themes well before there was anything resembling a national conversation about these issues.

Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon in Harold and Maude - I was a late convert to this one, but after a few viewings I understand the hype. It's a great tribute to misfits and iconoclasts. Ruth Gordon's Maude is the kind of person we all aspire to be -- self assured, irrepressible and honest -- whereas But Cort is the sad sack we all kind of. Somehow they meet in the middle and change each others lives. A hugely influential pairing.

Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis in Witness - My man is on this list twice because he's just that good. A wonderful film about a big city cop who must embed himself in the amish community in order protect a child witness to a murder and his mother, also provides space for a beautifully observed romance between Ford and McGillis as the cop and Amish woman. This is a classic, old-fashioned story that never manages to feel too dated because of the richness of the emotion.

George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight - Their career paths couldn't have been more different -- but back in 1998, George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez were budding, hungry stars looking to make their mark as movie stars and this cult classic Steven Soderbergh film was the perfect vehicle for both of them to strut their stuff. Clooney would go on to have great chemistry with several future leading ladies (think Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air), but this may been his best on-screen romance.

Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie Hall - Before Woody Allen had the ick factor all over him, he was genuinely likable and even a little cute in this iconic Best Picture winner. He and Diane Keaton make beautiful neurotic music together and their relationship still resonates as realistic after several decades of social upheaval. Woody Allen's legacy will likely forever be tarnished, but this pairing's power is undeniable.

Adam Sandler and Emily Watson in Punch-Drunk Love - No film has brought more of Adam Sandler's talents and charisma to bear than this P.T. Anderson romance. And although Watson is almost angelically serene and patient with Sandler's manic depressive bruiser, her disposition lends the whole movie an even more whimsical, fable-like flair. No one saw this movie coming and unfortunately Sandler never made another one quite like it.

Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Speaking of failing to live up one's early promise -- Jim Carrey, much? -- this film cast an against type Jim Carrey as an emotionally stunted recluse who discovers his inner romantic when he links up with manic pixie dreamgirl Kate Winslet. This film may not hold up as well for some people as it does for me, but I still think it's one of the best films about breaking up I've ever seen, and Winslet and Carrey are something to behold on-screen together.

'Bamboozled' holds up better than I expected it to

For a while, it felt like Bamboozled was the last great Spike Lee movie. There were occasional flare-ups of his old genius -- think 2006's Inside Man -- but it really wasn't until his Oscar-nominated BlacKkKlansman that he seemed to fully hit his stride again.

In some ways, Bamboozled contains all the excesses and eccentricities that plagued much of his later work.

And as much as it meant to me when I first saw it, I was worried that it would be a painful re-watch when I got my new Criterion blu ray of the film.

I'm happy to say that it still feels very fresh and funny. It's about a subtle as a heart attack and the violent turn of the last act undermines the strong satirical tone that is the movie's strength -- but it's a delightfully provocative movie, which draws it's inspiration from other classic media critiques like Network (which it openly cribs from) and A Face in the Crowd.

The premise is a howler. Damon Wayans (affecting an annoying, over the top accent) plays a self-hating black TV executive who pitches a revival of blackface and minstrel shows to his ignorant boss (played hilariously by Michael Rappaport) in order to get out of a contract and instead gets caught up in a hit cultural phenomenon.

Lee says he had Mel Brooks' The Producers in mind when he conceived the plot, although Wayans' motivations never feel fully convincing. In a way, the set-up doesn't matter, what's most compelling is the way in which Lee demonstrates how we are all often guilty in indulging hatred, especially when we think it's at someone else's expense.

There's a wonderful moment early in the film when the blackfaced stars of Wayans' show (played by Tommy Morrison and Savion Glover) first appear on a stage to perform their racist routines. The audience (which is diverse) initial sits silently, in shock.

But slowly some of the black audience members start to laugh and applaud and when white audience members see this, they feel they have a license to guffaw wth impunity.

According to Lee, those were the real reactions during the shooting of the movie, which is fascinating. The movie, ironically predated the meteoric and controversial rise of Tyler Perry, and was instead a response to the tone deaf comedies of the now defunct WB and UPN networks. Some of those references may be dated now but the spirit of that kind of commercial product certainly remains.

We are still debating representation and the trauma that hateful images can provoke but twenty years ago it felt like Lee was ripping a band-aid off int he most in your face way possible. Strangely enough, blackface continues to pop up as a divisive topic as politicians on both sides of the aisle have been pilloried for indulging in it and careless commentators like Megyn Kelly have paid a price for defending it.

Lee is more sophisticated in his take than some might suspect. While he conveys how dehumanizing blackface is, he doesn't deny the inherent talent and skill of the black performers who donned it. Nor does he set up any unassailable heroic character in the film. Jada Pinkett Smith, who plays Wayans' loyal assistant and Davidson come the close to being voices of reason, but only after they both actively participated in a nakedly racist enterprise for profit.

Meanwhile, Lee includes a savagely funny takedown of aggressively pro black culture within the community through a subplot involving Mos Def as the leader of a hip-hop collective with poorly a defined political agenda. This film is a great reminder of what a naturally funny and charismatic actor Mos Def was and can be. It'd be nice to see him return to acting.

The film itself feels very loose and experimental. It's largely shot on early digital cameras, which sometimes gives it an almost documentary like feel. Other times it has very cinematic flourishes that call attention to themselves, like his hilariously silly ad breaks for a fictional malt liquor called The Bomb and a parody of Tommy Hillfiger which doesn't pull any punches.

The movie is a bit of a mess. But it's a reminder of what an original voice Lee can be and is further evidence that his he is one of the most criminally under-appreciated directors of all time.

Say what you will about him and his undeniably uneven filmography, but he consistently interrogates issues and characters that are simply missing from most mainstream entertainment. We need voices like his, even if we don't always feel comfortable with what he's telling us.

Flashback 1987: My top 10 favorite movies from 30 years ago

The year is 1987. I'm 5 years old and in kindergarten, and probably only slightly less self aware and maybe even significantly more confident than I am right now.

Probably my idea of a great movie at that point in my life was The Chipmunk Adventure, which I remember being obsessed with and I have vague memories of dragging my father to a theater to let me see it.

It's an amazingly adorable movie. I recommend the 'chip-ette' Eleanor's song, which she sings to cheer up a sad baby penguin, to anyone in need of a good guy. And the number about the girls vs. boys "of rock n' roll" may have been oddly prescient about the gender wars writ large that our country is still fighting.

But alas, my palette has grown more refined over the years and I have consumed a lot more sophisticated fare.

1987 is an interesting year. A movie like Three Men and a Baby managed to be the year's biggest box office hit, but it was a banner year for commercial filmmaking. And it was certainly a highlight year for Michael Douglas and Cher, who both took home top acting Oscars for roles in films that year, and who also both headlined more than one iconic hit. Which leads me to ...

10) Moonstruck - An irresistibly cute romance which seems to exist in a fantasy, culturally uniform version of New York City, where the accents are broad and the stakes are farcical. What makes it work, besides the lovely score, atmosphere and cracking dialogue, is Cher and Nicolas Cage, who have unlikely chemistry as a middle aged woman coming into a late bloom sexual awakening and an eccentric, but romantic baker with a wooden prosthetic hand. This is not a deep, profound movie, but it is a lovely diversion and Cher is luminous in the lead.

9) Lethal Weapon - Before Mel Gibson alienated a lot of us with his Anti-Semitism, racism, and alleged abuse of women -- he charmed us by playing a truly unpredictable and volatile cop opposite and gruff but lovable Danny Glover. 48 Hrs. may have modernized the black-white buddy crime film, but Lethal Weapon set a new gold standard, and flipped Hollywood conventions on its head by making the white character the unstable one. The sequels got sillier, but the original was a tightly constructed, exciting and brutal action classic.

The Witches of Eastwick

8) Broadcast News - A sensitive and knowing homage to the frustrations and flaws of office romance, the media business and really, how people's hard work is valued. An excellent trio of actors -- William Hurt, Holly Hunter, and Albert Brooks -- lend real pathos to journalist characters who are written as types but emerge as complex, needy people. A fascinating snapshot of the descent of television news into infotainment, as well as a touching romantic comedy.

7) Wall Street - A modest hit when it first came out, Oliver Stone's ferocious expose of insider trading and the go-go world of 80s finance has only grown in esteem and influence since its first release, for better or worse. Not unlike Scarface, far too many people have missed the anti-corporate message of this movie, and instead romanticized its villain Gordon Gekko (played unforgettably by Michael Douglas). Oh well, it's still wildly entertaining -- and showed that even Charlie Sheen could carry a picture before he devolved into self parody.

6) Fatal Attraction - Another movie that has really permeated the pop culture lexicon. People who have never even seen the film remember the "bunny scene." A movie whose sexual politics are at best debatable -- modern viewers may find Glenn Glose's 'other woman' sympathetic at first -- that really changed the way people think about affairs and obsessive romances. Douglas has a difficult balancing act here, to play a jerk who we still sort of root for. It's action packed climax is a copout but it's fun nevertheless. The rare movie for and about adults that we almost never see anymore.

5) The Witches of Eastwick - A gorgeous, stylish fable featuring a trio of glamorous stars at their best (Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michele Pfeiffer) opposite a kinetic and amped up Jack Nicholson, giving one of his most memorable star turns as the Devil himself. Director George Miller uses his Mad Max style of filmmaking on this wacky romantic comedy, which combines elements of horror with humor, eroticism and supernatural undertones. It's a lot of fun, albeit not for everyone's tastes. But if you're a Nicholson fan, this is one of his signature roles; he chews all the scenery and is having a ball.

4) Full Metal Jacket - Another Stanley Kubrick war movie masterpiece, a bookend with his classic Paths of Glory. This film takes dead aim at the dehumanization of the military. It's first, famous half, provides the most rigorous and unflinching portrait of basic training ever caught on film (with real life drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey blowing the doors off, and Vincent D'Onofrio as the victim of most of his abuse). The second half is just as stirring, as the film plunges into some truly harrowing war scenes and a kind of cold cyncism missing from some of the more romanticized Vietnam films.

3) Raising Arizona -This is one of the Coen brothers' funniest and most accessible films. They put Nicolas Cage's eccentricity to perfect effect opposite Holly Hunter as a couple that irrationally kidnaps a baby because they can't have one. The camera work is extraordinary, and the laughs are gut busting, but what makes this film so special and so fun to rewatch, is its sincerity. The leads are genuinely likable and the story has a fairy tale like quality to it. If Blood Simple announced the Coen brothers' arrival, this movie showed they were here to stay.

2) Robocop - A brilliantly realized satire of corporate greed and excess disguised under the veneer of an uber-violent sci-fi action movie. What the remake and even some viewers of the original never understood is how deeply funny this movie is. At its heart is a soulful, sympathetic performance from Peter Weller as a good cop who is horribly maimed and reconstituted as a killing machine for law enforcement. It still holds up as an iconic entry in director Paul Verhoeven's impressive filmography.

1) The Untouchables - One of the great gangster movies of its time, or any time -- Brian DePalma took what could have been a hokey remake of a television show and supercharged it with star turns from the likes of Sean Connery (who won an Oscar for it), Robert De Niro and Kevin Costner and unforgettable action sequences like a slow motion gun battle on the steps of a train station. A big, bloody  commercial breakthrough hit that is satisfying from start to finish. This was an after school staple for me growing up.