Mel Brooks’ Early life
Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, a son of Maximilian Kaminsky and his wife Kate (née Brookman). His father’s family were German Jews from the Baltic seaport of Danzig (modern Polish port of Gdansk); his mother’s family were Russian Jews from Kiev. His father died of kidney disease when he was only 34.
Brooks was a small, sickly boy who was often bullied and picked on by his classmates. Taking on the comically aggressive job of Tummler (master entertainer) in various Catskills resorts, he gradually gained in confidence. Following high school, he attended the Virginia Military Institute and served in the United States Army as a corporal during World War II, taking part in the Battle of the Bulge.
Autuer Study Introduction
For my Autuer project for A2 Film i have decided to research the director Mel Brooks, my reason behind this is that Mel Brooks is one of my favourite directors and has made some of my favourite films and as such i would not only like to know more about him but also to see if he has trademark that he leaves on the films that he creates that would make him an autuer.
These are links to some sites that i am going to be using to study Mel Brooks:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000316/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Brooks
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2001/15_Aug—-Lost_Issue_Mel_Brooks_Interview.asp
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/full-mel-brooks-interview/6ccsp0l
http://www.tvtimemachine.com/radio_show_mel.htm
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoFourthWall
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,406268,00.html
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/5315
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/2421-Four-Lions Even though the clip has nothing to do with Mel Brooks the first couple of minutes talks about Mel Brooks ideology.
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37135 Another interview with Brooks that covers Blazing Saddles
http://www.momentmag.com/Exclusive/2010/12/Feature-Brooks.html
http://www89.homepage.villanova.edu/elana.starr/pages/auteurist_comedy_of_mel_brooks.htm
