Recent from talks
History of the World, Part I
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
History of the World, Part I
History of the World, Part I is a 1981 American anthology comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks also stars in the film, playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King Louis XVI, and Jacques, le garçon de pisse. The large ensemble cast also features Sid Caesar, Shecky Greene, Gregory Hines (in his film debut), Charlie Callas, and Brooks regulars Ron Carey, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Andreas Voutsinas, and Spike Milligan.
The film also has cameo appearances by Royce D. Applegate, Bea Arthur, Nigel Hawthorne, Hugh Hefner, John Hurt, Phil Leeds, Barry Levinson, Jackie Mason, Paul Mazursky, Andrew Sachs and Henny Youngman, among others. Orson Welles narrates each story.
Despite carrying the numeration Part I, there were originally no plans for a sequel. The title is a play on The History of the World by Sir Walter Raleigh, which was intended to be published in several volumes but only the first was completed because Raleigh was arrested and executed in 1618. However, four decades later, Hulu announced the miniseries History of the World, Part II, which premiered on March 6, 2023.
The film is a parody of the epic film genre, including the sword and sandal epic and the period costume drama subgenres. The four main segments consist of stories set during the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. Other intermediate skits include reenactments of the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Last Supper.
Cavemen (including Sid Caesar) depict the invention of fire, the first artist (which in turn gives rise to the first critic), the first marriages (heterosexual and then homosexual), primitive weapons (particularly spears), and the first funerals. Also depicted are early attempts at comedy and music, by smashing each other's feet with rocks and thus creating an orchestra of howls.
Moses (Mel Brooks) comes down from Mount Sinai carrying three stone tablets, having received the Law from God (the voice of an uncredited Carl Reiner). As Moses announces the giving of the Law to the people, he accidentally drops one of the tablets, which shatters, and he "corrects" his proclamation from 15 Commandments to 10.
Comicus (Brooks) is a "stand-up philosopher", dispensing wisdom in the style of a stand-up comedian. He is notified by his agent Swiftus (Ron Carey) that he has landed a gig at Caesar's palace. En route, he meets and falls in love with a Vestal Virgin named Miriam (Mary-Margaret Humes) and befriends an Ethiopian slave named Josephus (Gregory Hines).
Josephus is conscripted into the service of the Empress Nympho (Madeline Kahn). Comicus performs for Emperor Nero (Dom DeLuise), unwisely joking about the emperor's weight and corruption. Josephus absentmindedly pours a jug of wine into Nero's lap, and they are ordered to perform a gladiatorial fight to the death. They instead fight their way out of the palace, assisted by Miriam and Empress Nympho.
Hub AI
History of the World, Part I AI simulator
(@History of the World, Part I_simulator)
History of the World, Part I
History of the World, Part I is a 1981 American anthology comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks also stars in the film, playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King Louis XVI, and Jacques, le garçon de pisse. The large ensemble cast also features Sid Caesar, Shecky Greene, Gregory Hines (in his film debut), Charlie Callas, and Brooks regulars Ron Carey, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Andreas Voutsinas, and Spike Milligan.
The film also has cameo appearances by Royce D. Applegate, Bea Arthur, Nigel Hawthorne, Hugh Hefner, John Hurt, Phil Leeds, Barry Levinson, Jackie Mason, Paul Mazursky, Andrew Sachs and Henny Youngman, among others. Orson Welles narrates each story.
Despite carrying the numeration Part I, there were originally no plans for a sequel. The title is a play on The History of the World by Sir Walter Raleigh, which was intended to be published in several volumes but only the first was completed because Raleigh was arrested and executed in 1618. However, four decades later, Hulu announced the miniseries History of the World, Part II, which premiered on March 6, 2023.
The film is a parody of the epic film genre, including the sword and sandal epic and the period costume drama subgenres. The four main segments consist of stories set during the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. Other intermediate skits include reenactments of the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Last Supper.
Cavemen (including Sid Caesar) depict the invention of fire, the first artist (which in turn gives rise to the first critic), the first marriages (heterosexual and then homosexual), primitive weapons (particularly spears), and the first funerals. Also depicted are early attempts at comedy and music, by smashing each other's feet with rocks and thus creating an orchestra of howls.
Moses (Mel Brooks) comes down from Mount Sinai carrying three stone tablets, having received the Law from God (the voice of an uncredited Carl Reiner). As Moses announces the giving of the Law to the people, he accidentally drops one of the tablets, which shatters, and he "corrects" his proclamation from 15 Commandments to 10.
Comicus (Brooks) is a "stand-up philosopher", dispensing wisdom in the style of a stand-up comedian. He is notified by his agent Swiftus (Ron Carey) that he has landed a gig at Caesar's palace. En route, he meets and falls in love with a Vestal Virgin named Miriam (Mary-Margaret Humes) and befriends an Ethiopian slave named Josephus (Gregory Hines).
Josephus is conscripted into the service of the Empress Nympho (Madeline Kahn). Comicus performs for Emperor Nero (Dom DeLuise), unwisely joking about the emperor's weight and corruption. Josephus absentmindedly pours a jug of wine into Nero's lap, and they are ordered to perform a gladiatorial fight to the death. They instead fight their way out of the palace, assisted by Miriam and Empress Nympho.