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Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
EAN: 0025192843723
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Studios
Region Code: 1
Release Date: May 16, 2006
Running Time: 135 minutes
Sales Rank: 3310
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 2005
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
This remake of Mel Brooks 1968 film features Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the roles that they originated in the smash Broadway adaptation of the original film. Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Lane) is famous for his spectacular opening night flops. Leopold Bloom (Broderick) is an uptight accountant who virtually discovers gold while reviewing Max s books. When Leo realizes that you can actually make more money with a flop than with a hit the two team up and begin a search for both the worst script and the worst director they can find to ensure failure. The script selection seems easy when the duo stumble upon SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER an homage to the Fuhrer penned by Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell) a German sympathetic to the Nazi cause. Convinced that the script will incite outrage the duo needs a bad director to seal the deal. Campy director Roger DeBris (Gary Beach) and his assistant (Roger Bart) fit the bill perfectly. But when their scheme fails Max and Leo find themselves with the worst possible outcome: a hit. To make matters worse Franz is just a little peeved that Hitler was depicted disrespectfully--and he has a gun. Will Max and Leo survive the playwright s wrath? Will they go to jail for cooking the books? And will Leo ever submit to the advances of sexy Swedish receptionist/actress Ulla (Uma Thurman)? Directed by stage director Susan Stroman making her feature film directorial debut this riotous romp features lots of laughs from the major players as well as brief appearances by Jon Lovitz Michael McKean and Richard Kind. Lane and Broderick make it easy to understand why the show was an unprecedented hit on Broadway and Ferrell is a scene-stealer as Liebkind.System Requirements:Running Time 135 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 025192843723 Manufacturer No: 28437
Amazon.com:
The trend is to convert movies into stage musicals, but The Producers goes a step further: making a feature film of the smash-hit stage musical that was adapted from the 1968 film. The chief drawing card, of course, is Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprising their roles from the stage. Lane plays Max Bialystock, a legendary Broadway producer who hasn't had a hit show in a long time. Enter nebbish accountant Leo Bloom (Broderick), who tells Bialystock he could actually make more money with a flop than a hit. So the two set out to produce the worst Broadway musical of all time, one guaranteed to close on opening night, with the collaboration of an outrageous cast of characters: Will Ferrell as sieg heil-ing author Franz Liebkind, Uma Thurman as Swedish bombshell Ulla, Gary Beach as director Roger De Bris, and Roger Bart as his assistant, Carmen Ghia, among others.
As directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman (who did the same honors on Broadway) and co-written by Mel Brooks, The Producers is laugh-out-loud funny. It's also a relentlessly over-the-top, shamelessly bawdy, stereotype-ridden comedy that may turn off its audience just as much as its centerpiece, Springtime for Hitler, was intended to. But Broadway fans who are used to larger-than-life figures who play to the back row while showering the first row with spit, are likely to forgive and just enjoy the famous granny-walker dance, a supporting cast dotted with Broadway performers (playing a taxi driver is Brad Oscar, who originated the role of Liebkind on Broadway then later played Bialystock), or the mere spectacle of seeing Lane and Broderick memorializing the performances that millions never got a ticket to see. (For maximum laughs, stick around through the closing credits.) --David Horiuchi
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Even Better with Music
I have been a longtime fan of the original Mel Brooks movie starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, so it was with some interest that I went to see a summer stock version of the Broadway show here in Maine. It was at The Ogunquit PLayhouse. The two leads had been in road show versions of the play and were outstanding as was the rest of the cast. It was a total hoot.
Out of interest, I decided to purchase the movie version of the Broadway show to compare it with what I had just seen and while it is hard to top Nathan Lane in anything, as a whole I preferred seeing it as a play rather than a movie of the same.
That being said, the play is as entertaining a time as you can spend in the theater and I thought it was an improvement on the original movie. The songs are toe tappers for the most part, the expansion of the parts of the director and the author of "Springtime for Hitler" were welcome as was the expanded role of the Swedish bombshell.
Mel Brooks zany mind works as well on stage as in the movies and this is a DVD you really want to have in your archives.
PS: The out takes included with the DVD are hilarious and there is a section where the director comments throughout the movie on various aspects of what you are watching, giving inside tidbits about the scenes and the filming, which by themselves are worth the price of the DVD.
Rating:  - Nathan and Matthew Cheers
I borrowed this title from the library. I wasn't expecting much but I was laughing from start to finish. The concept of Nathan Lane as a straight man was funny in and of itself. I really enjoyed the musical numbers. I'm going to buy my own personal copy of this movie.
Rating: - I'm Sure This Plays Better As Live Theater But Who Cares?
Living far from Manhattan and relying on what is available at TKTS when I do get to see a "real" Broadway musical I appreciate this chance to see even a filmed version of Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and much of the original cast in their landmark roles in THE PRODUCERS. Sure the film often seems too "stagy" and perhaps Broderick and Lane are too theatrical and well rehearsed as Leo and Max but this is still an enjoyable opportunity to see what all the excitement was about in 2001 when this musical opened on Broadway. Will Ferrell and Uma Thurman were not in the stage production but they are fine in this film version. I've never been a big fan of Ferrell but he is very funny playing the Nazi worshiping author of "Springtime for Hitler". Beautiful Uma Thurman certainly looks the part of a Swedish bombshell and her singing and dancing do justice to the role. The deleted scenes on the DVD include some musical numbers that were cut including "King of Broadway" which I'm sure is great fun to see in person but way too over the top for the filmed version. Remember to watch this film all the way through the credits to get a last laugh from Mel Brooks himself.
Rating: - A musical romp
A musical based on the Broadway show which in turn was based on the original film which was awesome. Although derivitive it is good in its own right, especially with some of the musical numbers in it. The film never quite makes the same level of comedy that the original movie does though, mostly because this version has compressed and combined many of the characters ("LSD" does not appear at all in this version, for example) but it partially makes up for it with some scenes, dialogue and numbers which would never have made it in the original film. Well worth watching.
Rating:  - I hated it
This version of "The Producers" isn't good enough to make a patch on the original film version with Zero Mostel. Save your money, folks.
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