Published on March 26, 2026
The monumental success of *Torrente Presidente* has brought back to the forefront of cinematic attention the genre of coarse, rambunctious, and scatological comedy, reminiscent of the times when films and the Zucker brothers, along with Jim Abrahams, dominated the box office. This revival presents a fantastic opportunity to revisit some classics in this genre, particularly two titles from the 1970s: *They Call Me Trinity* (1970) and *Blazing Saddles* (1974). Both films are parodies of Western cinema, reliant on humor that centers around dirt, farts, and burps.
*They Call Me Trinity* is an Italian production directed by E.B. Clucher that parodied the spaghetti Western genre, which was inaugurated Leone just six years earlier in Almería. The film starred Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, who, although they had collaborated previously, truly found their artistic synergy with this film, launching one of the most famous duos of the 1970s and early 1980s. This movie laid the groundwork for the slapstick comedies and naïve humor that characterized many of their subsequent films, such as *A Friend Is a Treasure*, *Two Supercops*, and several more. Additionally, *They Call Me Trinity* produced a legendary song that even made its way into Quentin Tarantino’s *Django Unchained*. Naturally, such a hit warranted a sequel: *Trinity Is Still My Name*.
Conversely, *Blazing Saddles*, the brainchild of parody king Mel Brooks, is a U.S. production that, interestingly, didn’t turn out as rounded as others such as *Young Frankenstein*, *History of the World, Part I*, or *Spaceballs*. However, it still features memorable scenes, like a Black sheriff taking himself hostage and a group of cowboys breaking wind while dining around a campfire. While it is amusing and entertaining, it undeniably does not hold the iconic status of the Hill-Spencer collaboration.
Both films represent a bold era in comedy that, even with their crude humor, managed to evoke laughter and captured the spirit of their respective periods, offering audiences a delightful escape from reality.
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