Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Blazing Saddles 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

They went literal with this one.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 17, 2024

Offering alongside the standard 4K edition celebrating the film's 50th anniversary, Warner Bros.' new 4K Steelbook edition of Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles offers a variant packaging alternative for die-hard fans and collectors alike. All on-disc content is exactly the same as that standard release, which makes this Steelbook a cosmetic upgrade only. ("Upgrade" is certainly debatable in this case, as both covers are nothing to write home about.)

For a synopsis and appreciation of the film, please see Casey Broadwater's review of the 2006 Blu-ray. I'll certainly agree that Blazing Saddles is a highly influential satire that pushed a lot of boundaries upon its original release and still holds up pretty well today. We should be thankful that Warner Bros. actually had the good sense to continue its legacy on the UHD format even though they've held off on other "sensitive" catalog titles like Gone With the Wind, which incidentally celebrated its 85th anniversary this year without so much as a peep from the studio.

Blazing Saddles 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These slightly compressed screenshots are sourced from the new 4K disc but downscaled to 1080p/SDR; therefore, they should not be considered a 100% accurate representation of this release's video quality.

For my thoughts on Blazing Saddles' fairly impressive but not necessarily revelatory new 2160p/HDR10 transfer, please see my recent review of Warner Bros.' standard 4K edition.

Blazing Saddles 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For my thoughts on the inarguably great audio options (which yes, finally includes the original theatrical mono mix in lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio), please likewise see my review of the standard 4K edition.

Blazing Saddles 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in perhaps the most literally crafted Steelbook in recent memory and somehow looks even worse than the new cover for the standard 4K edition, proving that Warner Bros. is allergic to original poster artwork. As seen above, an actual blazing saddle adorns the front and eerily floats above a desolate landscape, whereas every other part of the release features scenes front the film including that nice interior spread where the 4K disc sits on a hub on the right side. If WB needs a designer for future Steelbook covers, I work cheap. Final verdict: meh.

The fairly well-rounded bonus features listed below are mostly sourced from previous releases including both Blu-rays and are all detailed in my recent review of the standard 4K edition.

• Audio Commentary

• Inappropriate Inspiration: The Blazing Saddles Effect (21:09)

• Blaze of Glory: Mel Brooks' Wild Wild West (29:41)

• Back in the Saddle (28:21)

• Additional Scenes (9:41)

Blazing Saddles 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Blazing Saddles was only Mel Brooks' third film and a huge hit back in 1974, scoring big at the box office and even earning three Academy Award nominations. (The same can be said for Young Frankenstein, released later that same year and also performing well with fans and critics.) Blazing Saddles considerable legacy has survived five full decades of increasingly sensitive social mores; in other words it still plays like gangbusters, which means that fans and first-timers alike should have no problem enjoying WB's welcome new 4K edition. I'll be honest in that this Steelbook variant is one of the worst-looking in recent memory, so my recommendation is to stick with the regular version instead.