Editing The Producers (1967 film) (section)

== Reception ==
When it was first released, the film received a mixed response and garnered some exceptionally harsh reviews, while others considered it a great success. One of the mixed reviews came from [[Renata Adler]], who, writing for ''[[The New York Times]],'' stated: "''The Producers'', which opened yesterday at the Fine Arts Theater, is a violently mixed bag. Some of it is shoddy and gross and cruel; the rest is funny in an entirely unexpected way." About the acting, she writes that Mostel is "overacting grotesquely under the direction of Mel Brooks" and that, in the role of Max Bialystock, he is "as gross and unfunny as only an enormous comedian bearing down too hard on some frail, tasteless routines can be". Co-star Wilder fares better and is called "wonderful", thanks to doing "fine", despite being "forced to be as loud and as fast as Mostel" and "[g]oing through long, infinitely variegated riffs and arpeggios of neuroticism", and playing his part "as though he were [[Dustin Hoffman]] being played by [[Danny Kaye]]". She also puts the movie into the bigger context of "contemporary" comedy and that it has the same "episodic, [[revue]] quality" in the way it is "not building laughter, but stringing it together skit after skit, some vile, some boffo". Her early conclusion, at the end of the first paragraph, is also a comparison to other comedic movies of the time, it reads: "[''The Producers''] is less delicate than [[Lenny Bruce]], less funny than ''[[Dr. Strangelove]],'' but much funnier than ''[[The Loved One (film)|The Loved One]]'' or ''[[What's New Pussycat?]]''"<ref name="nyt68adler">{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/19/archives/screen-the-producers-at-fine-arts.html | title=Screen: 'The Producers' at Fine Arts| date=March 19, 1968 | author-link= Renata Adler |first=Renata |last=Alder | work= [[The New York Times]] | access-date= May 5, 2016}}</ref>

The more critical and negative reviews partly targeted the directorial style and broad ethnic humor,<ref name="hoberman">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/movies/film-when-the-nazis-became-nudniks.html?pagewanted=all| title=FILM; When The Nazis Became Nudniks| first=J. |last=Hoberman| date=April 15, 2001| work=[[The New York Times]]| access-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref> but also commonly noted the bad taste and insensitivity of devising a broad comedy about two Jews conspiring to cheat theatrical investors by devising a designed-to-fail tasteless Broadway musical about [[Hitler]] only 23 years after the end of [[World War II]].<ref name="Symons">{{cite journal|title=An audience for Mel Brooks's The Producers: the avant-garde of the masses |first=Alex |last=Symons |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-17530754_ITM |journal=Journal of Popular Film and Television |date=March 22, 2006 |volume=34 |pages=24–32 |doi=10.3200/JPFT.34.1.24-32 |s2cid=194073045 |access-date=February 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153713/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-17530754_ITM |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Among the harshest critics were [[Stanley Kauffmann]] in ''[[The New Republic]],'' who wrote that "the film bloats into sogginess" and "Springtime for Hitler&nbsp;... doesn't even rise to the level of tastelessness", [[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]] wrote ''The Producers'' "is a model of how not to make a comedy",<ref>{{cite book |title=Reverse Angle: A Decade of American Film|url=https://archive.org/details/reverseangledeca0000simo|url-access=registration|last1=Simon|first1=John |publisher=Crown Publishers Inc. |year=1982 |page=[https://archive.org/details/reverseangledeca0000simo/page/145 145]|isbn=9780517544716}}</ref> and [[Pauline Kael]] who called it "amateurishly crude" in ''[[The New Yorker]]:''

{{blockquote|''The Producers'' isn't basically unconventional; it only seems so because it's so amateurishly crude and because it revels in the kind of show-business Jewish humor that used to be considered too specialized for movies. Screenwriters used to take the Jewish out but now that television comedians exploit themselves as stereotypes, screenwriters are putting the Jewish in.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1968/03/23/o-pioneer|title=O Pioneer!|last=Kael|first=Pauline|magazine=The New Yorker|date=March 16, 1968|language=en|access-date=2020-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620115334/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1968/03/23/o-pioneer|archive-date=June 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

On the other hand, others considered the film to be a great success. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's reviewers wrote that the film was "hilariously funny" but pointed out that "the film is burdened with the kind of plot that demands resolution" but unfortunately "ends in a whimper of sentimentality". Although they labelled it "disjointed and inconsistent", they also praised it as "a wildly funny joy ride", and concluded by saying that "despite its bad moments, [it] is some of the funniest American cinema comedy in years".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837773-1,00.html |title=The Producers (review) |date=January 26, 1968 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=February 2, 2007 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703055433/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837773-1,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The film industry trade paper ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "The film is unmatched in the scenes featuring Mostel and Wilder alone together, and several episodes with other actors are truly rare."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/the-producers-4-1200421497/|title=The Producers (review)|date=December 31, 1967|author=<!--Not stated-->|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref>

Over the years, the film has gained in stature. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 74 reviews with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A hilarious satire of the business side of Hollywood, ''The Producers'' is one of Mel Brooks's finest, as well as funniest films, featuring standout performances by Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016819_producers|title=The Producers (1967)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=1 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115081211/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016819-producers|archive-date=15 January 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film received a score of 96 based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-producers-1968|title=The Producers (1967)|work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=1 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701074523/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-producers-1968|archive-date=1 July 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> In his review decades later, [[Roger Ebert]] claimed, "this is one of the funniest movies ever made".<ref>{{cite news| title= Great Movie: The Producers| url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-producers-1968| date= July 23, 2000| author-link= Roger Ebert| first= Roger| last= Ebert| work= RogerEbert.com| publisher= Ebert Digital LLC| access-date= February 21, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130427000012/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-producers-1968| archive-date= April 27, 2013| url-status= live}}</ref> Ebert wrote, "I remember finding myself in an elevator with Brooks and his wife, actress [[Anne Bancroft]], in New York City a few months after ''The Producers'' was released. A woman got onto the elevator, recognized him and said, 'I have to tell you, Mr. Brooks, that your movie is vulgar.' Brooks smiled benevolently. 'Lady,' he said, 'it rose below vulgarity.{{'"}}

The film was a [[sleeper hit]] at the U.S. box office;<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 15, 1968|page=17|title=Glazier-Brooks Re-Team}}</ref> But Embassy Pictures deemed its initial theatrical run a flop -- considering the additional costs to market and distribute, it barely broke even at the box-office.

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[41st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Gene Wilder]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969 |title=The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |date=December 21, 2014 |access-date=August 25, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| [[Mel Brooks]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[26th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| [[Zero Mostel]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://goldenglobes.com/film/producers-the-1967/ |title=The Producers (1967) |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=October 29, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| Mel Brooks
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[7th Golden Satellite Awards|Satellite Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Satellite Award for Best DVD Extras|Best DVD Extras]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2003.shtml |title=International Press Academy website – 2003 7th Annual SATELLITE Awards |publisher=[[International Press Academy]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201175700/http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2003.shtml |archive-date=February 1, 2008}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[21st Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy|Best Written American Comedy]]
| rowspan="2"| Mel Brooks
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America Awards]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref>
|-
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Written American Original Screenplay]]
| {{won}}
|}

In 1996, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Stern|first1=Christopher|date=1996-12-03|title=National Film Registry taps 25 more pix|url=https://variety.com/1996/scene/vpage/national-film-registry-taps-25-more-pix-1117466310/|access-date=2020-08-04|website=Variety|language=en}}</ref>

The film is recognized by [[American Film Institute]] in these lists:
* 2000: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] – #11<ref>{{cite web |work=[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] |title=America's Funniest Movies |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |date=2002 |access-date=July 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316140859/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |archive-date=March 16, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 2004: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs]]:
** "[[Springtime for Hitler (song)|Springtime for Hitler]]" – #80<ref>{{cite web |work=[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs]] |title=America's Greatest Music in the Movies |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/songs100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |date=2002 |access-date=July 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313151657/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/songs100.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>