Brooks, Allen given nod with film series

Kirk Baird

Friday, April 13, 2001 | 9 a.m.

One went for the funny bone at all cost, assaulting audiences with slapstick comedy, verbal puns, clever gags, setups and anything else to get a laugh.

The other preferred to take a slightly higher road, deftly mixing more sophisticated physical hijinks with cerebral observations -- all with a biting satirical edge.

Such is the case for the early comedies of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen.

Both writers/directors are being recognized beginning Tuesday at the Charleston Heights Arts Center with a four-week, four-film series, "Early Woody and Mel."

"I think they're two of America's greatest comedic directors of all time, right up there with Chaplin and the Marx Brothers," said Robert Benedetto, a UNLV film professor who put together the series. "I think to do a tribute to both of them is something that needs to be done."

But there's more to it than that, Benedetto said.

The film series, which is in its 20th year, is sponsored by the City of Las Vegas. In the three years Bendedetto has been in charge of it, the subject matter has been decidedly more select in its audience appeal, such as last year's tribute to Chinese director Zhang Yimou and later to Latin cinema.

This year however, Benedetto said he wanted to try something different -- something for everyone.

"America hasn't been that well represented in the series. I could have picked American independent films, but decided to go with films that, for the sake of variety and programming, have a broader appeal," he said. "I think Woody and Mel do."

The series opens with one of Brooks' best-known films, "Young Frankenstein," a comedic homage to the 1931 James Whale classic. So determined was Brooks to emulate both the look and feel of the original movie that he filmed "Young Frankenstein" in black and white -- something unheard of for a comedy made in 1974.

"You have the typical Mel Brooks-type of comedy woven throughout the film, but is also very artsy in its own right, in terms of the way it was shot and lit," he said.

The other Brooks' film in the series, 1970's "Twelve Chairs," scheduled to be shown May 1, is one of the director's best, yet least-known, movies, Benedetto said.

"It's a satire on the greedy materialism of post-Revolutionary Russia. (Which is) a real irony since Russia is supposed to be a socialist state, but here they are as greedy capitalists," he said. "I think of all the Mel Brooks movies, this is the most intellectual."

Allen is represented with "Love and Death" on April 24 and "Sleeper" on May 8. Both films are high-water cinematic marks for Allen, Benedetto said, that showcase a tremendous amount of intellect behind the humor.

"In 'Love and Death,' for example, there are numerous references to Russian literature as well as Russian film directors, such as Sergei Eisenstein ('Battleship Potemkin,')," he said.

"With 'Sleeper,' Woody really established himself as a great filmmaker. Yet it still retained the Woody Allen edge. It was a satire of America in an Orwellian future."

Despite the critical acclaim given both Brooks and Allen, particularly in their early work, neither generally receives the overall recognition of their dramatic film brethren, if only because of their movies' lighter subject matter, Benedetto said.

"I think that's unfortunate," he said. "It takes tremendous skill to be a comedian.

"There's a great quote from (the movie) 'My Favorite Year': 'Death is hard; comedy is harder.' There's a helluva lot of truth to that."