Blazing Saddles appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Despite some modest issues, the image held up largely well.
The movie exhibited pretty solid sharpness, as only minor softness cropped up during the film, largely in wide interior shots. Instead, it looked crisp and detailed most of the time.
I noticed no issues related to jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes failed to appear. Grain seemed light and I saw no print flaws.
I thought the colors of Saddles looked good. The film featured a bright palette, and the hues consistently came across as vivid and dynamic, with added impact given the disc’s HDR.
Black levels were acceptably deep and rich, while shadows seemed clean and appropriately opaque. HDR added punch to whites and contrast. Ultimately, Blazing Saddles offered positive visuals.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Blazing Saddles featured a Dolby Atmos soundtrack remixed from the original monaural source. The soundfield stayed limited in a way that reflected its origins.
The best parts of the mix came from the imaging for the music, which seemed nicely delineated in the various channels. Otherwise, the track displayed limited ambitions.
Some directional dialogue appeared, and a few effects also cropped up from the sides. However, the center channel dominated. Surround usage tended toward light reinforcement of the various elements but failed to add much to the presentation.
Audio quality was somewhat erratic. Speech displayed a little edginess but showed no problems related to intelligibility. For the most part, speech seemed reasonably natural, despite some roughness at times.
Effects lacked much heft, but they retained acceptable fidelity and clarity, and they demonstrated no issues related to distortion. Music sounded strong, as the songs and score were bright and rich.
They featured surprisingly positive bass response and seemed pretty dynamic considering their age. Given the movie’s age and monaural source, I thought the mix worked reasonably well.
The disc also included a DTS-HD MA monaural track that replicated the original 1974 audio. I believe this became the mono mix’s debut on DVD, BD or 4K.
Across the board, the audio held up well. Speech occasionally showed a little edginess, but the lines remained fairly natural.
Music and effects offered limited range but they also lacked notable distortion. This became a solid representation of the audio audiences heard in 1974.
Which meant I preferred the mono, though I admit this became a coin toss, mainly because the Atmos track’s score sounded so terrific. I went with this one because I lean toward original soundtracks, but between the vivacious score and the restrained nature of the Atmos version’s soundscape, it wound up as virtual draw.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the 2014 40th Anniversary BD? The UHD’s Atmos track added some breadth to music but otherwise seemed similar to the BD’s 5.1 in terms of soundscape and quality.
As for visuals, the 4K UHD offered superior colors, blacks and delineation. This turned into a nice picture quality upgrade.
As we head to extras, we start with an audio commentary from director Mel Brooks. Actually, this provides more of an audio essay from Brooks, as he chats with no direct reference to the onscreen action. It lasts until 53 minutes, 15 seconds and ends during “I’m Tired”.
Brooks starts with the origins of the project, how he became involved in it, its writing and development, casting, various anecdotes and production comments, studio tampering and the film’s reception. Brooks discusses his state when Saddles came along well and lets us know his issues with the project, and his notes about finding a cast are very good.
Things become especially interesting when we learn all the folks Brooks attempted to land for the Waco Kid role and how Wilder finagled the part for himself. We also hear cool information like the fact that Hedy Lamarr sued the production for the use of her name.
Brooks’ chat might not be a full-fledged audio commentary. Nonetheless, it delivers a brisk and informative piece that offers lots of fun notes.
After this comes a retrospective documentary entitled Back In the Saddle. It lasts 28 minutes, 23 seconds and includes notes from Brooks, writer Andrew Bergman, producer Michael Hertzberg, and actors Harvey Korman, Gene Wilder, and Burton Gilliam.
We learn about early development and the flick’s writing, its themes and racial elements, casting, the atmosphere on the set and shooting the film, cut sequences, the campfire scene, and the movie’s legacy. A lot of the information already appears in Brooks’ commentary, but some new elements pop up here. so I’d say it’s about half repeated material and half fresh.
It’s good to hear from folks other than Brooks, though, and this seems like a decent examination of the movie. The best parts come from outtakes edited into the TV version; the nonsensically altered campfire scene seems especially interesting.
Next comes Blaze of Glory, a 29-minute, 40-second program created for the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray. It mainly includes notes from Brooks; we also get some clips with Gene Wilder and Madeline Khan.
Brooks chats about the westerns he viewed as a child and their influence on Saddles. We also get thoughts about cast and performances, cinematography, various gags, locations, music, and some other reflections.
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A fair amount of this material shows up elsewhere on the disc. Nonetheless, “Glory” acts as a decent overview/update.
New to the 4K UHD, Inappropriate Inspiration goes for 21 minutes, nine seconds. It involves critic Pete Hammond, filmmaker David Stassen and actors Jeff Garlin, Ike Barinhotlz, and Stephen Kramer Glickman.
For the most part, “Inspiration” offers an appreciation for Brooks and Saddles. This means it lacks depth, and it also often feels like an ad for the 2023 Hulu series History of the World Part II.
As such, don’t expect much from it. A five-minute version would seem okay, but 21 minutes of praise gets tedious, especially since we get nuts remarks like the claim that Saddles was the first real movie comedy!
We get eight Additional Scenes that fill nine minutes, 41 seconds. Much of this material already appears in the documentary, but it’s nice to get it on its own. The segments are fun to see, though they don’t add a lot of comic treasure.
The 4K dropped some extras from prior releases, as we lose a tribute to Madeleine Kahn, a trailer and the pilot for a spinoff TV series called Black Bart. I have no idea why these failed to reappear here
Too inconsistent to really earn its status as a comedy classic, Blazing Saddles fares well at times. Many of its gags fall flat, but enough succeed to make it generally amusing and lively. The 4K UHD presents good picture audio while the extras add a few nice components to the set. Blazing Saddles earns my recommendation and the 4K becomes the best presentation of the film, even if it drops some existing bonus materials.
To rate this film, visit the 30th Anniversary Edition review of BLAZING SADDLES
