Irreverent and absurd, offensive and affable, juvenile and foul-mouthed, segmented and streamlined (via a constant flow of insanity), John Landis's The Kentucky Fried Movie is one of the funniest movies ever made. Its humor is often so lowbrow and dumb that it becomes the work of genius.
Released in the summer of 1977 as a collaboration between Landis, the Zucker Brothers (David and Jerry), and Jim Abrahams, The Kentucky Fried Movie takes the form of a local television network's evening programming. There are news segments, talk shows, commercials for random products, movie trailers, and even, in the film's longest gag, a "movie of the week" resembling Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon.
In the world of this particular television station (and, by proxy, Landis's film), everything is slightly off its rocker and yet played straight for our deranged amusement.
The grainy 8mm footage above is gold for fans of the anthology comedy (antholo-com?), emphasizing the relaxed, dare I say "fun" nature apparent on set. It also highlights the painstaking process it takes to get a film like this, with set upon set, gag after, just right.
For those of you who haven't seen the film yet, the BTS footage above is primarily concerned with two specific segments that can be watched in their entirety here and here. Elaborate soundstages and outdoor stunts are all the rage in these two segments, and the BTS footage shows that the hard work required to pull it off was truly a group effort.
To watch The Kentucky Fried Movie, you can order it here (and you should).
