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Nice effects though.

I wanted to but couldn't!

good back-story, and good acting

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

We've all known that Mel Brooks is a Comedy Genius. His crazy movies such as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs have earned him his own sub-genre in the world of comedy films. However, before those films, there was this one; his second outing as a Director. I actually never heard of this film until a few years ago. I purchased "The Mel Brooks Collection" which was a collection of nine of his films on Blu-Ray. The Twelve Chairs was the first film in the collection. I was pleasantly surprised when I watched it. The humor is much more subtle than his other films. It's also different in that it's based on an earlier novel instead of coming directly from Mr. Brooks. However, what he did with this film is a testament to his artistic sense. The interaction between characters is very well choreographed. The comedic timing is excellent, especially with Dom Deluise. You're laughing almost immediately after he first appears in the story. A great deal of his story is separate from the other two characters as he makes his own search for the chairs. However, it's still a fine performance and much of what you expect from him for those familiar with his work. The interaction between Ron Moody and Frank Langella is fantastic. Moody does an excellent portrayal of the inept former aristocrat turned clerk and Langella is also excellent as the dashing and intelligent rogue. The two make a great odd couple, yet work very well together. Of course, there are the standard Mel Brooks trademarks such as the director's cameo and doubling as song-writer for the film's soundtrack. As usual he performs both roles very well. Finally what really makes this film a work of art is the cinematography. Mel Brooks certainly knows how to frame a picture and with Russia serving as the backdrop, we are really treated to some great imagery. The travel montage at 1 hour, 17 minutes in is definitely the best as Moody and Langella's characters make a long 3000 mile trek across the Soviet Union and back to Moscow. Highly recommend seeing this film. It's probably best to just do what I did and purchase The Mel Brooks Collection and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

In 1920s Soviet Russia, a fallen aristocrat, a priest and a con artist search for a treasure of jewels hidden inside one of twelve dining chairs, lost during the revolution.I honestly don't even know if I heard of this movie before I picked up a copy of Mel Brooks' blu-ray box set. I think I can safely say it is his most obscure full-length feature film. And even more odd, it was based on a novel and has been made in multiple film versions... I was not aware of any of this.That aside, this was actually pretty funny. A bit subtle, but I think it worked that way. And Dom DeLuise. Wow. I never knew he was actually somewhat thin once upon a time (though still bald). He was excellent. And Frank Langella looks so young, too! I'm more used to seeing him as Dracula.

Russian revolution. Yes. Mel Brooks. Yes. This man is a comedic genius. I laughed throughout most of this film. Dom DeLuise is hilarious. And at times Frank Langella reminded me of Kaa from Jungle Book. Ron Moody gives an outstanding performance that is also rather cringe worthy at times, but portrays the desperation of this era. This is a poignant film that also doesn't take itself seriously. You can't escape the struggle of class, (and if you're like me) will be laughing out loud along the way. This is brilliant, clever, silly humour and I recommend to those with half a brain.

By the Nineties what you expected from a Mel Brooks movie was a satire of film genres, whether it was horror, western, science fiction, the backstage show business story, the fertile mind of Mel Brooks somehow skewered them all. He did one remake of a classic comedy from the studio era with To Be Or Not To Be. But most of his work was his own original take on a film genre. The Twelve Chairs stands out as an odd fish among his work.Although it has some very funny moments it doesn't quite come off as well as The Producers or Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein. Perhaps it was because Brooks was not creating his own original work, but was filming a play from another source, a novel The Twelve Chairs by Soviet Union authors Ilyiu and Petrova.Former aristocrat Ron Moody who was quite lucky to be alive after the Russian Revolution hears a death bed confession from his mother that the family fortune is in jewels that the Bolesheviks didn't get, but was hidden in one of twelve parlor chairs the family owned. The Soviets confiscated the furniture and sold it to benefit the new government.Moody teams up with young gentleman thief Frank Langella to try and find the one chair with the loot. They have a rival in fake Russian Orthodox priest Dom DeLuise also looking for the chair with the swag.Moody steals the show in this one, thinking about the lost life he once had and that the chair will gain it back for him in some measure, he becomes positively more manic as the film continues. His performance is a whole lot like Zero Mostel's in The Producers.Still The Twelve Chairs is not what I've come to expect from Mel Brooks. He'd do so much better in his next film, Blazing Saddles.