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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62%

37 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

50,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

37 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

Sep 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

Jun 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

Dec 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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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Mar 19, 2026

3/5

1981 ‘…there’s enough smart and occasionally profound moments to make this worth a revival…’

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Jul 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

May 3, 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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Abraham L

Mar 11, 2019

Somewhat funny sketches of major moments in history. Over the top, silly and even funny at times! Some parts made me cringe.

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Feb 1, 2019

The best comedy movie ever made! With the best movie quote ever spoken: "It's good to be the king!"

Hermione S

Jan 29, 2019

Of course, when directed by Mel Brooks, the comedic genius, you have to expect whimsically, broadway, and some history content in the music and film. After watching this, you will find that, "it's good to be the king!"

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Ron M

Jan 28, 2019

My second favorite comedy. God just may just never forgive me now, but it's hella funny. This movie can baste in its own "treasure bath" after its 38+ years of pure adult comedy gold.

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Harry M

Dec 27, 2018

They don't make films like this anymore.

Han P

Feb 12, 2018

Watching History of the World Part 1 reminds one of the better Mel Brooks movies that preceded and followed it. It's a sequence of shorter stories loosely connected by the historical theme. Modern viewers have to cringe when the depraved King Louise orders a pile on a woman playing the queen in a living game of chess and continues to grope women with impunity. "It's good to be the King" but it sucks to be anyone else. It's funny and crass with lots of great moments but the whole is a bit wanting. The Roman sequence in the middle of the movie is probably the funniest altogether. Three and a half stars out of five.

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Mel Brooks

Director

Mel Brooks

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Dom DeLuise

Emperor Nero

Madeline Kahn

Empress Nympho

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Cloris Leachman

Madame Defarge

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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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