HBO Max adds warning to Mel Brooks’ classic comedy Blazing Saddles

Earlier this year, WarnerMedia made the choice to remove GONE WITH THE WIND from the HBO Max streaming service, a spokesperson saying the film was ” a product of its time and portrays some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have unfortunately been rife in American society.“The movie then returned to the streaming service with a new warning, and it looks like WarnerMedia has now done something similar with BLAZING SADDLES.

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Mel Brooks’ 1974 film starred Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder and is widely regarded as one of the best comedies of all time, but HBO Max has added a new intro that will play automatically before the film. ” The intro was added to make sure the film was put in the right social context,“A spokesperson for HBO Max told THR. The new introduction is provided by Jacqueline Stewart, TCM host and professor of film and media studies at the University of Chicago, who also provided the introduction for GONE WITH THE WIND. In the intro, Stewart says, “as the script indicates, the issue of race is at the center of Blazing Saddles’ preoccupations. And racist language and attitudes permeate the film. But these attitudes are adopted by characters who are described here as ignorant and explicitly small-minded bigots. The real perspective, and much more enlightened, is provided by the main characters played by Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder. »