1. History of the World: Part I (1981)
Okay, okay, I know what I said: only one Mel Brooks film, right? Well, I lied, I admit it. If you had known there was another Brooks film on the list, though, you would have been expecting it - it's called a swerve, so let's get over it. I stand by Blazing Saddles being Brooks' best work, but when it comes to a hilarious spoof, ones needs not look any further than History of the World: Part I. This is a movie that doesn't only spoof other films or genres, or pop culture, but history itself. It is the ultimate spoof and it is amazing. The bulk of the movie's plot is centered around the character Comicus, a stand-up philosopher who - along with an Ethiopian slave named Josephus and a Vestal Virgin named Miriam - must flee from Rome to avoid death at the hands of Creaser's legion. Though this is only a slice of the deliciously funny pie that is History of the World Part I, the movie is broken down into several segments including a look at the Dawn of Man, the truth about the Ten Commandments (which were originally fifteen), the French Revolution and the greatest Spanish Inquisition musical number ever committed to film. But wait there's more! Or so the end of the movie proclaims, before showing us a sneak peak of History of the World Part II, a sequel that Brooks never intended to make. Though many wish he would have, only to have seen Hitler on ice.
Like this article? Let us know in the comments section below.