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I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

High Anxiety (1977) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Dr. Richard Thorndyke (Mel Brooks) shows up at a psychiatric hospital where he soon begins to realize that things aren't quite what they seem.HIGH ANXIETY, I think, is the first Brooks film that really wasn't a success. He had a string of successful pictures but I think that luck ran out here. This film is basically a spoof of various Alfred Hitchcock movies like THE BIRDS, PSYCHO, VERTIGO and NORTH BY NORTHWEST but the problem with the film is the fact that Brooks just spoofs scenes instead of making a film of his own. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN paid homage to earlier films while being its own thing. HIGH ANXIETY can't really say that.I think the biggest problem with this film is that there aren't enough laughs to carry the movie. Some of the jokes work but to me the majority of them doesn't and that includes the gag with THE BIRDS where Brooks is running away while getting pooped on. The VERTIGO stuff is a spoof but it isn't funny. The same is true for the PSYCHO shower scene. In fact, I guess you could argue that all of the Hitchcock jokes simply don't work because they're just not that creative or funny.To me the scenes that work the best are the ones that have Brooks doing something that isn't a homage. To me the funniest moment in the movie is when Brooks is questioning a character who is scared of werewolves and Harvey Korman tries to show that the man is crazy. The way this sequence plays out is downright hilarious and not only is it the best scene in the film but it's also one of the best from the director's career.Brooks is fine in the lead role and Korman offers fine support but the screenplay just isn't there. Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn are basically re-playing previous roles so the script does them no favors either. With all of that said, HIGH ANXIETY has enough funny moments to make it worth sitting through but it's certainly not the director's high point.

Mel Brooks writes, directs & stars in this 1977 comedy that co-stars Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman. This is a send-up of Alfred Hitchcock films, mainly "Vertigo," "Psycho" and "The Birds" and Brooks plays Richard Thorndyke, a psychiatrist who has a fear of heights, "High Anxiety." He helps woman, Victoria Brisbane (Kahn) search for her father, but in the process he's falsely accused of murder and tries to overcome his phobia. Korman (Blazing Saddles) plays Dr. Charles Montague and Leachman (Young Frankenstein) plays Nurse Diesel who set Richard up. This is a good spoof, Brooks is great as usual, the rest of the cast is good as well as John Morris' score. If you enjoys comedies, check this one out.

Mel Brooks is a well known name in comedy and since I also know Alfred Hitchcock movies I thought it would be a good idea to watch this one. It ended up not as great as I expected, but it is still not a bad movie. Unfortunately most of the time I didn't find it too funny. I am not sure if this was like that back when it came out as well or if the humor has changed in the mast few decades.I definitely enjoyed the parody scenes. Mainly the one in the shower, that one was hilarious. The one where the birds are after him is also pretty good. As well when he comes out of the airport in the beginning.Otherwise it wasn't that great. But I really did like the character of Nurse Diesel. This was a great one.A wonderful job by Cloris Leachman. Actually the best scenes in the movie that didn't involve Hitchcock's parody were the ones with her and Harvey Korman. I believe if they wouldn't be in it I would see this movie as below average.

Mel Brooks takes on Hitchcock movies like "Vertigo" and "Spellbound "with a dash of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" thrown in. This is an excuse to get the whole Brooks' gang dealing with mental institutions and mental illness. Of course, it is utter zaniness as Brooks as the hospital director is in a madhouse (no pun intended). The patients have nothing on the doctors when it comes to outrageous behavior. The problem here is that Brooks never knows when to quit. With really well done comedies like "Young Frankenstein" and "The Producers" we see his genius with good scripting and characters filling out the fabric of the film. Here it's almost anything for a joke, including a casual reference to Jack Benny and highly dramatic music in one scene which turns out to be a concert band going by in a bus. These are fun, but some of the stuff isn't and draws attention outward.