The Producers 1968

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The one aspect of the original Producers that still stuns is the roaring, over-the-top, in-your-face thereness of its two lead performances. Read more

Renata Adler, New York Times: Some of it is shoddy and gross and cruel; the rest is funny in an entirely unexpected way. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: Everything that can go wrong in an amateur film does go wrong, from the timing to the structure to the pitch of the performances. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: The film is ripe with treasures worth rediscovering. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This is one of the funniest movies ever made. Read more

TIME Magazine: The Producers has many things going for it -- notably a wild, ad-lib energy that explodes in a series of sight gags and punch lines. Read more

Time Out: Brooks' first feature, an absolutely hilarious and tasteless New York Jewish comedy about Broadway. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Mel Brooks has turned a funny idea into a slapstick film, thanks to the performers, particularly Zero Mostel. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: Brooks's magnum opus is still a ferocious gale of bulldozing Jewish mockery, dominated by Zero Mostel's comb-over juggernaut. Read more