The TCM film review of Blazing Saddles written by Emily Soares declares that “…whatever the opinion, Blazing Saddles has staked its claim in film history as a one-of-a-kind take on the American West.” The Philip Auter and Donald Davis research article titled “When Characters Speak Directly to Viewers: Breaking the Fourth Wall in Television” states that viewers of Blazing Saddles loved it all the more for its fourth wall breaks. However, the TCM review of the film communicates that although the vast majority of audiences adored Blazing Saddles, some critics did not care for the movie. The review touched on both possible views of the film, including a brief, succinct overview of the movie. Mel Brooks can be recognized as an influential auteur, thanks to his original and recurring methods and style of films.

Blazing Saddles was an ingenious film, which showcased the talent writers were capable of when they could let go and write everything they had always wanted to. In the 2014 Entertainment Weekly interview with Mel Brooks by Jeff Labrecque, Brooks reportedly said to the writers of the script: “’Look, fellas, don’t worry, this movie will never get released. Never. [Warner Bros.] will see it and they’ll say, ‘Let’s bury it.’ So let’s go nuts. Let’s write things that we never would dare write.’” Their belief that executives would never let the film see the light of day allowed a masterpiece of humor to occur.

Most films follow predetermined paths of story and style, which audiences have enjoyed time and time again. However, doing so prevents new ideas from being accepted into the industry, creating a continuous vortex that keeps circling the same storylines and way of doing things. Through writing a screenplay uninhibited by social and political constraints, Mel Brooks and those who helped him create Blazing Saddles opened the proverbial door to new and different films. Blazing Saddles is the perfect example of an auteur at work, from the fourth wall breaks to the gay chorus set at the end of the film. The scene where Cleavon Little as Black Bart delivers a candygram to Mongo, expresses the merging of two completely different genres in one scene. This was one of many instances, which displays Mel Brooks’ unusual yet incredibly funny style.

Blazing Saddles is an unconventional film. It went against social, political, and stylistic beliefs and practices at the time, rebelling against mainstream movies. The majority of society at the time the film was released was ready for a movie like Blazing Saddles, they just did not know it yet. Moreover, politically speaking, most everyone high up at the studio believed the film would be political suicide. Few directors at the time were expressing the kind of plotline and stylistic views, which Mel Brooks was known for. His decided status as a Hollywood auteur was certainly clear as day when it came to Blazing Saddles. The movie’s storyline, though similar in some ways to a “normal” Hollywood western, nonetheless managed at the same time to be completely different from anything audiences had yet seen.