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'Silent Movie' is director Mel Brooks's comic tribute to the golden days of the silent screen. A movie within a movie, 'Silent Movie' stars Brooks as Mel Funn, a filmmaker who has seen better days. When his best friends (Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise) rescue him from despair and convince him to make another movie, Mel comes up with an idea a silent picture. Alas, it is the 1970s and in order to get backing from wacky, frazzled studio chief Sid Caesar, the three pals have to get lots of celebrities to agree to be in their silent picture. 'Silent Movie' is, in fact, silent... and all the celebrities Mel and his friends try to win over play themselves (or parodies of themselves). Funny, warm, and packed with sight gags galore, the film evokes the days of Chaplin, Keaton, Pickford and Fairbanks while remaining oddly, and wondrously, contemporary.
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