Greatest Mel Brooks film ever........

....is Young Frankenstein.

I'm sure it's been said before, but I think, hands down, Young Frankenstein should be counted as Brooks' crowning achievement.

The rest are great, don't get me wrong. The Producers was a fabulous "first outing" and Blazing Saddles is truly classic, but Young Frankenstein tops them all.

The humor of Young Frankenstein can be outlandish and subtle at the same time. The jokes and timing are great, without going too far into craziness like in Blazing Saddles where the final fight spilled out into the studio backlot, or in Spaceballs where the troopers captured the stunt doubles by mistake. Much of the humor in YF was intelligent and well delivered.

True, the "Puttin' on the Ritz" scene was over the top, but it managed to stay within the film. Hard to describe, but that's the best way I can word it.

Young Frankenstein also had the greatest casting. Everybody from Gene Wilder to Marty Feldman completely owned their roles. Nobody else could do them better.

You could also tell that this film was a labor of love. A true homage to the old Universal Frankenstein pictures. I had seen Young Frankenstein long before I had seen the original Boris Karloff films, and I was amazed at how many gags that I thought were so outlandish in YF actually appeared in the original films (like the Brain Stealing scene and the Inspector's prosthetic arm). Even the original lab equipment was used, sparks and all.

Finally, I liked it because Brooks gave his all into directing and didn't have a substantial acting role in the film. He's a fine comedic actor like in Blazing Saddles and Spaceballs, but I really think he has better talent behind the camera than in front of it. He's better when he devotes his time to directing.

I think this is the film that Brooks should be remembered for above all else.