The Twelve Chairs (1970)

I rented this film because it was the only Mel Brooks movie I hadn't seen. I had enjoyed all of his other movies and thought,"Why not see 'em all?" I thought since I hadn't heard of it it would be stupid. And, Man, was I wrong. This movie could be described as hilarious. I loved it. And it's not exactly like all other Mel Brooks movies. If you like Mel Brooks I recommend this film to you. Dom DeLuise is hilarious in this. Now go watch it with your family.

Fmovies: It was hard to expect too much out of this apparently low-budget production filmed in 1970 Yugoslavia. The script is loosely based on a novel in Russian which originally did not center on treasure hunt but rather on the picturesque characters surrounding the three losers who could not fit in the new life.

I decided to watch this as the only Mel Brooks film never seen before. Unfortunately I had nearly memorized the novel... and in my eyes the movie only reflected about 2% of the potential laughs, while I believe about 40% could be funny if it could make it in the script. The original material was not without flaws but it was mostly satire and drama, which was totally left out of this film.

Seeing Dom DeLuise and Frank Langella 40 years younger was a surprise! They actually account for 50% of the fun, while the remaining half belongs to the brilliant acting by Andréas Voutsinas in the two minutes of screen time! Mel Brooks wrote the title song for the film, and the score is OK, but the scenery is out of place and dress designer had no clue about any Russian clothes.

So, it's far from an average Mel Brooks film. Overall, I would still give it 5 out of 10, mostly for Andréas Voutsinas.

THE TWELVE CHAIRS is a different kind of Mel Brooks comedy. Its story, from a Russian novel by Ilf and Petrov, will seem very tasteful and human to those who are acquainted with Brooks' usual raunchiness. This movie is a nice change. Ron Moody and Frank Langella star, with Dom DeLuise and a special appearance by Mel Brooks as Tikon.

The Twelve Chairs fmovies. The Twelve Chairs Years after the Russian Revolution in 1917, the former aristocrat Ippolit Matveevich Vorobyaninov (Ron Moody) is informed by his terminal mother-in- law that she has hidden her jewels in a the upholstery of chair from a set of twelve chairs. The Orthodox Father Fyodor (Dom DeLuise) also hears and leaves the Church to seek out the treasure. Vorobyaninov travels to his old house and meets his former servant Tikon (Mel Brooks) that adores him. He learns that the chairs had been expropriated by the new government and sent to another place. However the con artist Ostap Bender (Frank Langella) convinces Vorobyaninov to be his partner. They travel to Moscow where Ostap succeeds in luring Father Fyodor, telling that the chairs belong to the Engineer Bruns (David Lander), who has very similar chairs and lives with his wife in Siberia. Will Vorobyaninov and Ostap find the twelve chairs?

"The Twelve Chairs" is a typical Mel Brooks' comedy with the usual type of humor with a satire to the Russian Revolution. This comedy is also the debut of Frank Langella in the cinema. Fans of Mel Brooks will certainly like it, but who is not his fan may not find this comedy entertaining. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Banzé na Rússia" ("Mess in Russia")

A "serious comedy" from Mel Brooks. "The Twelve Chairs" borders on farce but is relatively restrained. This restraint is all the more remarkable in light of Dom DeLuise's manic attempts to take over. Ron Moody (who is best remember as Fagin in 'Oliver' on film and on the West End and Broadway)is superb. Frank Langella is less impressive, but he does bring the necessary character to the role. If you expect and want "Blazing Saddles" this movie is not for you. Nor is it as perfect a picture as "Young Frankenstein". But this Brooksian take on a Russian comedy of errors is well worth your attention. The belly laughs are few and far between, but the tugs on the heartstrings (along with some slapstick) suffice. If I am spare on the details, it is only because I have not seen this motion picture since its theatrical release in 1970; it's definitely one to which I have to renew my acquaintance.

Fans of Mel Brooks' 'The Producers' will find particular delight in 'The Twelve Chairs'; the two are of a distinctly different style than the more biting parodies that make up his later works.

'The Twelve Chairs' is not a new story, even by 1970 standards. The chase for treasure is an often-used hook to hang a madcap plot. Slapstick and physical humor are employed liberally, most effectively by Dom Deloise as Father Fyodor, the Russian priest who has turned on the church to join in the run for the jewels. His adventures as he is sidetracked to Siberia by the self-described 'handsome young desperado' Ostap Bender (Frank Langella) are funny and completely in character.

What makes 'The Twelve Chairs' different is its human side. The former Russian nobleman I.M. Vorobyaninov is portrayed by Ron Moody perfectly: now reduced to a file clerk, he still lives in his pre-Revolutionary past, flatly refusing to beg when he and Bender are down to their last few rubles and still in pursuit of the chairs. The audience roots for the flashy, smart Bender but also for the pitiable Vorobyaninov as his character grows through the experience.

Characters we meet along the way define other human conditions (the traveling show producer's haughtiness, his assistant's greed, the railworkers' pride). These elements make 'The Twelve Chairs' more like 'The Producers' than 'High Anxiety,' and a film worthy of a listing with Brooks' best.