Blaze Glory

I, too saw this when it was first released. It opened for Alice's Restaurant, and we went back the next night just so we could see Blaze Glory again. It combines stop-motion technology with live actors-done nowhere else I know of, and it has a brilliantly funny storyline. I especially enjoyed the fact that it didn't take itself seriously, like in the scene where Blaze chases down the outlaws and gets into a fist-fight. I won't spoil it, but it's one of those magic moments in film that is obviously faked, and that's a part of what makes it so funny-they aren't at all trying to convince you it's real. The red bee-hive, once you see it, will live with you forever. And that's another thing about this short. Look at all the comments that have been submitted. How often have you seen a film, especially a ten minute film, that you remember with such enthusiasm some 35 years later. Not very often. This is a stand-out film, not to be missed, if you can find it.

Saw this back in 1972 as a short before a movie. I've long since forgotten what the movie was, but this short has been with me ever since. I only saw it that one time, but I've remembered it for over 30 years. Absolutely hilarious. Mark my word, someone will re-discover the pixilation format and reproduce it someday in the future, and it'll garner a huge following. Understand these guys made another short in the early 70's about the Mounties. Sure wish I could find it out there. Keep in mind this was done prior to todays computer enhanced special effects. It's amazing what they were able to do with stop motion photography and combining it with live action effects. See it if you ever get the chance

Think Monty Python and the Holy Grail meet John Ford's "Stagecoach" and "Chicken Run" and "Blazing Saddles." All in ten minutes. Stop-animation using real people, instead of clay. The amazing thing about this movie, is how precisely thought out and original the concept is. The actual technique is good, but because the actors sometimes move around a bit, you can tell it's not stills. What a totally wacky concept. The best thing about the movie, is Blaze Glory's ten-gallon Stetson hat (Go Stetson Hatters www.stetson.edu), combined with the heroine's fluttering eyelashes. Because it's all a spoof, these features are totally over-the top exaggerations.

I too remember this film and wish I could see it again. Many friends didn't see it and cannot believe it was so great if it cannot be seen anymore. So where is it? The stagecoach crossing the desert leaving a cloud of dust behind it suggests horses hooves and coach wheels stirring up the dry desert dust. What a laugh when neither exist. And how about the hero attempting to arrest the villain who holds a gun to his head as he backs off a cliff to a almost bottomless ravine? The ending may have offended some who decided it was not fit for public consumption. There are some who suspect the artistry in Blaze Glory is forever lost to the general public because a small number of people wish to keep it from possibly being misinterpreted.

This absolutely had to be an offering from the sixties. It was the kind of stuff teens like myself loved - a spoof of the classic Western, a la Warner Brothers and Bugs Bunny. The sniveling baddie dubbed "The Pug-Nose Kid" has a bit of a Richard Widmark/Dan Duryea quality about him while Blaze reminds us of the deep voiced, sparse-worded Gary Cooper (the deep voice was supplied by Ted Cassidy - i.e. "Lurch" from the Addams Family).

The fact that the voices were (obviously) dubbed and hyperbolized made it all the more hilarious.

The stop motion "horse" riding action causes one to ponder, how'd they do it? You can almost figure it out, but not quite. This is genius filming.

Blaze's "fifty-gallon" white hat is perfectly exaggerated to symbolize the square-shouldered good cowboy in contrast to the Pug-Nose Kid's facial scar and black leather duds.

Blaze's all-American outfit is reminiscent of Evil Keneivel's outfit or perhaps, Peter Fonda's helmet from Easy Rider.

This spoof has it all - the stage-coach robbery, the damsel tied to the railroad tracks, the cliff-hanging fistfight and the ultimate hero's victory. All clichés, readily poked-fun-at and exaggerated by the brilliant script and cinematography. And, oh yeah, the score isn't bad either.

And, if I'm not mistaken, isn't there a very similar short about a motorcycle gang with similar special effects? If someone knows the name of this one, please leave a note on it.