Coming off of enormous hits like Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks could pretty much write his own ticket. That meant he got studio approval to create a real throwback: Silent Movie, a flick that lived up to its title.

Movie tells the tale of Mel Funn (Brooks), a once-successful director who mounts a comeback after drinking ruined him. Funn has an unusual idea: he wants to make a silent movie. A studio chief (Sid Caesar) needs to show a profit very soon or media conglomerate Engulf (Harold Gould) and Devour (Ron Carey) will take over and give him the boot.

Funn hopes the chief will embrace his silent movie as a way to save the studio, but that doesn’t occur. Funn only musters backing when he promises to enlist Hollywood’s biggest stars to appear in the flick. From there we watch as he tries to ensnare these notables and make the film. All the while he tries to avoid the traps Engulf and Devour set for him in their attempts to stop the movie and acquire the studio.

True to its title, no sound at all appears until 90 seconds into Movie. After that, we hear nothing but music – well, except for one notorious and clever word that pops up along the way. I’ll leave that instance as a surprise. Other than that, the film provides musical accompaniment and a few sound effects but no other audio.

This puts a premium on physical humor and means that slapstick rules the day. Not every gag in Movie relies on physical bits; it still manages to fit in other clever elements. The majority of the action relies on non-verbal pieces, though.

For the most part, it makes these entertaining. I’ve always preferred verbal humor to slapstick, but Movie has a lot of fun with its comedic bits. It tosses in many great moments along the way. How can I dislike a film with a high-speed wheelchair chase?

Like Brooks’ better works, Movie combines parody with homage. When he doesn’t care about a subject – or worse, dislikes the root of his spoof – Brooks’ material doesn’t succeed. Only when the director feels an affinity for the source does he provide entertainment.

That clearly happens with Movie, as it can only be described as a loving parody. Brooks gets the cinematic elements right. He takes some liberties, as Movie won’t quite pass for a product of the pre-talkie days. However, he doesn’t really intend for it to do so, so these stretches are more than acceptable.

Brooks also offers a lot of fun via the film’s many cameos. Movie packs an excellent cast in all its roles, but the brief star turns are awfully cool to see. I won’t name names, but the flick incorporates many of the Seventies’ biggest actors, and they gently mock themselves here.

A far cry from the crude comedy of Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie is a quiet, sweet effort. Charming and clever, it offers a light spoof of Hollywood’s early days. It presents plenty of good humor and thoroughly entertains.

Silent Movie appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though not a killer transfer, the image satisfied.

Only a little softness crept into the image, as some wider shots appeared a bit ill-defined. Most of the movie demonstrated good delineation and precision, though. No jagged edges or shimmering, occurred, and edge enhancement wasn’t a factor. Print flaws were a minor concern. Occasional examples of specks or marks popped up, but these remained acceptably insubstantial.

Colors seemed nice. The film used a bright, vivid palette that looked good. The hues were often vibrant and dynamic. Blacks seemed deep and tight, while shadows came across as clear and appropriately visible. All in all, this proved to be a good transfer.

While Silent Movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack didn’t dazzle, it offered fairly high quality audio. As I expected, the soundfield was restricted. Music played the main role, and the score displayed very nice stereo imaging. The smattering of effects stayed centered.

The mix earned its “B” due to the quality of the sound. The few effects were clear and accurate, while music was very strong. The score sounded lush and vibrant. Dynamic range appeared full and rich throughout the movie. Highs seemed bright and tight, while lows were deep and firm. This was a low-key but very good soundtrack.

Although the prior DVD included virtually no extras, we find a few components here. A featurette called Silent Laughter: The Reel Inspirations of Silent Movie runs 24 minutes, 45 seconds, and includes notes from writer/director/actor Mel Brooks, composer John Morris, writer Ron Clark, Sledge Hammer! producer/creator Alan Spencer, Buster Keaton Remembered author Jeffrey Vance, Broadway director/choreographer Susan Stroman, actor/Buster Keaton’s friend James Karen, writer/actor Rudy De Luca, and actors Dom DeLuise, Chuck McCann, Jack Riley, Harold Gould, and Carol Arthur.

We learn about the flick’s origins, inspirations and development, direct cinematic influences, cast and performances, some gag specifics and cut scenes, Brooks’ directorial style, and a few other tidbits. “Laughter” doesn’t substitute for a good commentary, but it adds nice notes. It’s an enjoyable, informative piece.

Next comes a subtitle commentary. Speak Up! Historical Hollywood Trivia Track provides notes about cinematic influences as well as cast, crew and production elements related to Silent Movie. Some of this material appears in the featurette, but the trivia track still adds a lot of good details. It turns into an effective way to learn more about the flick.

Finally, the disc includes theatrical trailers for Silent Movie in English, Spanish and Portuguese; all are essentially identical except for the narration. We also find promos for High Anxiety, History of the World Part I, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, To Be or Not to Be and Young Frankenstein

A sweet little homage to the olden days of Hollywood, Silent Movie offers one of Mel Brooks’ more charming efforts. He downplays the crudeness and emphasizes wacky slapstick in this clever and endearing piece. The Blu-ray offers good picture and audio along with a couple of useful supplements. I think this is a nice release for a likable movie.

Note that this version comes as part of the nine-movie “Mel Brooks Collection”. It also includes High Anxiety, Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, The Twelve Chairs, History of the World Part I, Blazing Saddles, To Be or Not to Be, and Robin Hood: Men In Tights. The “Mel Brooks Collection” packages all nine movies together with a hardcover book for a list price of $139.98.

To rate this film, visit the Mel Brooks Collection (SD) review of SILENT MOVIE