History of the World: Part I

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History of the World: Part I

R

1981

1h 33m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

61%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Human history is traced through a series of vignettes, beginning with cavemen awestruck by their own magnificence. Then Moses (Mel Brooks) receives the tablets containing the "15" commandments, and Emperor Nero (Dom DeLuise) presides over a madcap Rome with his wife, Nympho (Madeline Kahn). Jumping ahead, the Spanish Inquisition softens repression with song and dance, and a few centuries later Madame Defarge (Cloris Leachman) is fomenting revolution in France.

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Critics Consensus

History of the World: Part I may not have enough comedic inspiration to merit a Part II, but the sporadic cleverness of these anachronistic skits are still a testament to Mel Brooks' gift for farce.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/12/2023

It’s Brooks’s audacity -- his treating cruelty and pain as a crazy joke, and doing it in a low-comedy context -- that gives History the kick that was missing from his last few films.

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Matthew Rozsa

Salon.com

06/14/2021

4/4

"History of the World, Part 1" is one of the all-time great spoof comedies. Its genius can be seen right there in its title.

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David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

12/31/2019

What [Brooks] takes to be the glorious folk humor that modern people have repressed looks to many of us like the tired jokes that were yawned off the burlesque stage 50 years ago.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

07/20/2024

5/10

As with many of the writer/director/producer’s works, not every gag lands (a couple actually fall quite flat), with a few portions meandering a touch, but several definitely stand out, sure to endure.

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JoAnn Rhetts

Charlotte Observer

05/03/2023

History of the World: Part I is Mel Brooks at his most appealing since The Producers and Young Frankenstein... This is just the sort of harmless, frequently hilarious summer movie that will appeal to adolescents of all ages.

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Larry Vitacco

Philadelphia Gay News

05/26/2020

2/4

As written and directed by Brooks, the movie's overreliance on sex, scat and Semitic jokes wears painfully thin halfway through the picture.

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A Z

@KPYRggeMqz 2h

The humor hasn't aged well. It's like one hammed up gag to the next.

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Benjamin L.

@PizzaPocketPartner 7h

Watched the original with my dad as a kid. Great memories of hearing that old man laugh. It just brings that all back. Get high and watch this other 80s kids.

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Trav N

@I_hate_corporations 8h

I am not a bot. This is not a review bomb. History of the world I is genuinely funny. Its got a ton of great actors and great writing. I don't love singing and dancing but they kept that to a minimum. The Rome story is better than the Paris story but both are good. I wish it had more love from the critics. I guess they were expecting another Frankenstein and just couldn't enjoy this on its own merits. I will agree Brooks starting going downhill after this.

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The Wandering D

Feb 5

It was ok. I honestly wasn't the biggest fan of this movie and I think that Mel Brooks has done many better movies.

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Vincent S.

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies Jan 14

This Mel Brooks comedy hasn’t aged well but there are still some brilliantly funny moments and a raunchy energy that is pure Mel Brooks. Some great dialogue too.

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Mitch B

Jul 1

The Stone Age was the highlight for me and I wish the movie had stayed in it a bit longer. It was the most fun sketch of the film if you ask me. The Old Testament and the Roman Empire and the Spanish Inquisition were all done well, but the French Revolution causes the film's charm to taper off a bit.

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Mel Brooks

Director

Mel Brooks

Moses

Dom DeLuise

Emperor Nero

Madeline Kahn

Empress Nympho

Harvey Korman

Count de Monet

Cloris Leachman

Madame Defarge

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33%

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Synopsis

Human history is traced through a series of vignettes, beginning with cavemen awestruck by their own magnificence. Then Moses (Mel Brooks) receives the tablets containing the "15" commandments, and Emperor Nero (Dom DeLuise) presides over a madcap Rome with his wife, Nympho (Madeline Kahn). Jumping ahead, the Spanish Inquisition softens repression with song and dance, and a few centuries later Madame Defarge (Cloris Leachman) is fomenting revolution in France.

Director: Mel Brooks
Producer: Mel Brooks
Screenwriter: Mel Brooks
Production Co: Brooksfilms
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 12, 1981, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 24, 2020
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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