After 30 years, I finally got to see the entirety of Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I and I gotta say, I found most of it funny though I can understand why many critics were offended by much of it. There are quite a few scatological jokes from Dom DeLuise burping and farting in the Roman sequence to Harvey Korman's peeing in the French Revolution segment. And then there's Mel Brooks, who not only produced and directed this, but also single-handedly wrote it and stars in most of the sketches. Seeing him doing the Spanish Inquisition as a Busby Berkeley-Esther Williams number was perhaps the most irreverent thing he ever did especially when the nuns doff their uniforms to reveal their one-piece swimsuits and bathing caps! Gregory Hines made his film debut here and is a hoot whether doing his dance steps in order to keep him from trouble or making a giant joint to distract the Roman guards! Madeline Kahn and Cloris Leachman also contribute their funny selves to good effect and then there's longtime Brooks associate Sid Ceasar playing a cave man in the Stone Age segment also being his usual funny self. Really, all I'll say now is if you are a die-hard Brooks fan, I highly recommend History of the World, Part I.

Mel Brooks hams it up big time. He's starring, writing, and directing this crazy Brooks version of history. It's a big hit and miss constant stream of broad jokes. At a lot of times, this feels dated like a vaudeville act from an age long gone.

The biggest and best laughs have to be Madeline Kahn as Empress Nympho during Roman times. No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes. You've gotta love it.

Although Gregory Hines is fine, I can't help but wonder what if Richard Pryor could be in this. It's a disappointment. And that's a big part of the disappointment in this movie. There is a lack of up and comer new comedians. This is mostly a reunion of old timers. With the rise of SNL and that comedic scene, the times are passing it by.

Parodying creation, the caveman film, the biblical epic, the crusades and the French Revolution, Mel Brooks got most of it right. There are only a few groaners, a few eye raisers and many genuine laughs, a few of them worthy of a Danny Thomas spit take.

Utilizing humor styles perfected the year earlier with "Airplane!" while utilizing his familiar style of delicious bad taste, Brooks uses much of his regular crew of funny people. With dry narration by Orson Welles, Brooks goes all out to satirize the genre of phony Hollywood history. The highlights are the Roman Empire sequence with a delightfully hysterical performance by Madeline Kahn as an unnamed Roman empress, with a deliberately grotesque performance by Dom De Luise as the Emperor. Historical timing would show it as Tiberius as the scene moved to Judea on the night of the last supper. Ironically, John Hurt who played Caligula in TV's "I Claudius" plays Jesus in a cameo.

The inquisition sequence is a parody just like "Springtime For Hitler" to show the atrocities against the Jewish population. It is semi- successful as long as you realize the point Brooks was making and the real history behind it.

Some great art direction makes the French Revolution sequence better than it actually is although the cameos by several familiar faces is also of help. With Cloris Leachman standing out as the Dickens character Madam De Farce, that segment is raised a notch, just as the Roman Empire sequence was with its cameo by Bea Arthur.

As for the coming attractions at the end, it now seems pointless, not only because there never was a sequel, but because it really isn't funny. So a in all a mixed bag, but middle of the road Brooks is certainly better than no Brooks.