Who are we to disagree? In honor of Mel Brooks’ 100th birthday, the American Film Institute has officially proclaimed the brutally funny Blazing Saddles the funniest film of all time.
The announcement, made Sunday, June 28, 2026, gives the 1974 comedy its “rightful place” atop AFI’s signature 100 Years…100 Laughs list. The move is an honorary reorganization of the list, bumping Blazing Saddles from its long-held spot at No. 6 to No. 1.
The change also acknowledges something Brooks himself has apparently long argued: that Blazing Saddles is far funnier than Some Like It Hot, which previously held the top spot.
“He’s right!,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “We’re happy to right this wrong as Mel celebrates his centennial. It’s good to be the king, and may he live to be a 2,000-year-old man. Happy birthday, Mel!”
Directed by Brooks and co-written by Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor and Alan Uger, Blazing Saddles remains one of the most fearless and influential comedies ever made. A savage parody of the Western genre, the film used outrageous humor, fourth-wall-breaking chaos, and razor-sharp satire to take aim at racism, Hollywood mythmaking, and American hypocrisy.
The film starred Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart, Gene Wilder as the Waco Kid, Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp, Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr, Slim Pickens as Taggart, and Brooks himself in multiple roles.
Brooks is also the only filmmaker with three films in the top 15 of AFI’s comedy list. In addition to Blazing Saddles at No. 1, The Producers sits at No. 11 and Young Frankenstein at No. 13.
The proclamation arrives as Brooks reaches his centennial, giving AFI another reason to celebrate one of American comedy’s defining voices. Brooks, an AFI Life Achievement Award honoree, has spent decades reshaping film, television and stage comedy with a body of work that includes The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
But for many fans, Blazing Saddles remains the peak: a comedy so wild, sharp and defiantly inappropriate that it still feels impossible to imagine a studio making it today.
With this honorary reshuffling, AFI is not just celebrating a film. It is celebrating Brooks’ lifelong ability to make audiences laugh at power, prejudice, fear, and themselves.
And on this one, we’re with AFI.
Hrumph! Hrumph! Hey, you better give us a Hrumph!
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director, and screenwriting instructor.
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