From Psycho to When Harry Met Sally: Mel Brooks picks his 20 favourite movies

The legendary Mel Brooks turned 100 in June, which means he’s been alive for more of film history than nearly anyone else on the planet, so what are some of his favourite movies?

Mel Brooks Picks His Favourite Movies

American Cinematheque asked Brooks to program a series of his favourite films, and the list quickly ballooned to twenty films spanning nine decades. The oldest was released when Brooks was 5, and the newest hit theaters when he was 93.

Here is the complete lineup for Programmed by Mel Brooks: 100 Years at the Movies, as well as when they will screen and at which theater.

• Sept. 3 — City Lights (1931), Aero Theatre
• Sept. 4 — When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Aero Theatre
• Sept. 5 — I Vitelloni (1953), Aero Theatre
• Sept. 6 — The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Aero Theatre
• Sept. 9 — The Elephant Man (1980), Aero Theatre
• Sept. 19 — This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Los Feliz 3
• Sept. 20 — Shane (1953), Los Feliz 3
• Sept. 23 — The Miracle Worker (1962), Los Feliz 3
• Oct. 6 — Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Los Feliz 3
• Oct. 10 — Top Hat (1935), Aero Theatre
• Oct. 11 — Dances With Wolves (1990), Egyptian Theatre
• Oct. 16 — Jojo Rabbit (2019), Los Feliz 3
• Oct. 17 — Double Indemnity (1944), Egyptian Theatre
• Oct. 18 — Schindler’s List (1993), Egyptian Theatre
• Oct. 20 — A Night at the Opera (1935), Los Feliz 3
• Oct. 22 — Dolemite Is My Name (2019), Los Feliz 3
• Oct. 24 — Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940), Los Feliz 3
• Oct. 25 — Ed Wood (1994), Egyptian Theatre
• Oct. 31 — Psycho (1960), Egyptian Theatre
• Nov. 12 — The Twelve Chairs (1970), Egyptian Theatre

Some great films in that lineup; it would be a treat to see some of them on the big screen. A couple I’ve never seen, including When Harry Met Sally. I’m not sure why I’ve never gotten around to that one.

“The question was: How do we do something different and interesting?” Chris LeMaire, the Cinematheque’s director of programming, told the LA Times. “Then it became: What if we reached out to Mel and asked if he wanted to put his programmer hat on and take over our calendar and see what he would come up with?“

He continued, “It was really neat to see it unfold because he sent an initial list and we were like, ‘Wow, this is great.’ Then a few hours later, he thought, ‘Well, we can’t forget John Ford. We’ve got to throw in ‘The Grapes of Wrath.’ Fast-forward a few more of these cycles where he was thinking about it and that’s how it got up to 20.“

In his own statement, Brooks said, “It was wonderful compiling a list of all these marvelous movies for American Cinematheque. It reminded me about why I first fell in love with the art of film.“