High Anxiety
Mel Brooks' renowned spoof of the most famous Hitchcockian classics-"Vertigo," "The Birds," "Psycho" and "Spellbound"-is one of his most outrageous comedy classics. After a Harvard psychiatrist (Brooks) takes over the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, he realizes his predecessor died under suspicious circumstances. When events take a murderous turn, he is accused of the crime and left with a full blown case of High Anxiety. Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman co-star in this hilarious parody.
An affectionate homage more than a spoof of Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, Mel Brooks's hilarious movie is one of the funniest modern comedies around. Brooks plays a psychiatrist with a severe fear of heights who moves to the Bay Area to take over a psychiatric hospital after its former head mysteriously disappears. He must contend with the resident psychiatrist (Harvey Korman) and the twisted resident nurse (Cloris Leachman) as they plot against him, eventually framing him for murder. While on the run, Brooks teams up with the alluring daughter (Madeline Kahn) of the missing doctor to solve the mystery and confront his own fears. Containing some classic sequences and cowritten by Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Wag the Dog), who appears briefly as a too-touchy bellhop in a Psycho-shower-scene takeoff, High Anxiety is a thoroughly enjoyable romp from one of the masters of comedy today. --Robert Lane
High Anxiety Accessories
 Young Frankenstein
Silent Movie
To Be or Not to Be
Robin Hood - Men in Tights
Twelve Chairs
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
The Producers (Deluxe Edition)
Dracula - Dead and Loving It
Spaceballs
Airplane! (Don't Call Me Shirley! Edition)
High Anxiety Reviews
The take-off on Psycho is one of the best scenes in the film. One of the funniest Mel Brooks movies ever. My copy arrived quickly and in good order so I am totally pleased with everything.
If it doesn't, you are TOO serious. This movie will make you laugh over and over. From beginning to the end, the Hitchock spoofs were hilarious. after watching this movie, i find it ridiculously hard to believe anyone couldn't find this movie funny. From the suspenseful background movie music thats actually a orchestra passing in a bus to the patient at the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous with the werewolf nightmares. So many funny little odities in the movie make it worth watching over and over, just because you find other funny things each time.
If it makes you feel any better, I think Sir Alfred is waaay. Sorry, Mel. Loved The Producers, though (1968 original version). overrated. Very little that is funny or works here. I know, comedy is tough to do.
If they don't know Alfred's work, they just don't get it. I frequently give this movie as a gift.That's the case this time. If people have seen "The Birds", "North by Northwest" or "Vertigo" they get it and are rolling in the aisles.
Now 30 years old, this movie didn't make me laugh as much this time as it did when I first saw it so many years ago. The women, especially Cloris Leachman as the evil head nurse and Madeline Kahn as the love interest, steal the show. Of course, Alfred Hitchcock deserves some credit, too. And this movie is still one of Mel Brooks' best.
|
