This weekend marked Mel Brooks’ 100th birthday, and to celebrate we ran a poll here at JoBlo asking readers to vote for their favorite Mel Brooks movie. While Spaceballs pulled off a surprise victory (my vote went to Blazing Saddles), 1974’s Young Frankenstein came in a close second.
There’s just one problem: if you want to watch it, good luck.
Despite being widely regarded as one of the greatest comedies ever made, Young Frankenstein isn’t streaming anywhere, and the only physical edition currently available is a Blu-ray released back in 2008—thankfully still in print.
Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, a surprising number of classics from the studio’s library have become difficult—or even impossible—to watch. Films like The Hot Rock, Ron Howard’s Cocoon, the Thanksgiving favorite Dutch, Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days, and many others have largely disappeared from both streaming and modern physical media.
The absence of Young Frankenstein is especially baffling.
For its 50th anniversary, the film received a beautiful 4K restoration and enjoyed a successful run of revival screenings across North America. Here in Montreal, every showing at Cinema Moderne sold out. With renewed interest in the film—and an upcoming FX television spinoff—you’d think Disney would have followed up with a 4K Blu-ray or at least made the movie widely available digitally.
Instead… nothing.
Disney has largely stepped away from releasing deep-catalog titles on physical media, reserving 4K releases for marquee franchises like Die Hard, Predator, Speed and the Alien series (and even Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection are still waiting for 4K releases).
Brooks is enjoying a well-earned renaissance. HBO’s recent documentary introduced his work to a new generation, and interest in his films has rarely been higher.
Yet many of his best movies remain frustratingly unavailable.
Beyond Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie is also absent from streaming, while Brooks’ underrated remake of To Be or Not to Be—which he has often cited as one of his most personal films because it co-starred his late wife Anne Bancroft—is also difficult to find.
This situation is especially frustrating because Disney has a straightforward solution.
Studios like Warner Bros., Universal and Paramount have embraced licensing classic titles to boutique labels such as Arrow Video, Kino Lorber, Shout! Studios and Vinegar Syndrome, allowing film lovers to enjoy beautifully restored editions of older movies.
Why not do the same with Fox’s incredible library?
A company like Criterion would almost certainly jump at the chance to release Young Frankenstein, while Arrow or Kino Lorber would likely produce a definitive collector’s edition overnight.
At least the Blu-ray remains in print—for now. But it’s disappointing that one of the greatest comedies ever made has become so difficult to watch in 2026. If there’s any reminder of why physical media still matters, this is it.
What other classic movies have become surprisingly difficult to watch? Let us know in the comments.