Judd Apatow wowed the crowd at last week’s Golden Globe Awards. “I’m very honored to be asked to present the Best Director award, because I’m sure it means the Globes think I’m one of the best directors, too.”

But Apatow is more comfortable behind the camera, directing comedies like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and documentaries about idols like comedians Garry Shandling and George Carlin.

His latest theme needs no introduction.

When asked why he wanted to make a documentary about Mel Brooks, Apatow said: “Mel is the reason most of us went into comedy. You know, when I was a kid (I was born in 1967), all these Mel Brooks movies came out when I was little, trying to figure out what the world meant and who I was. And here came this cheerful little Jewish guy who was really loud and cocky and confident and looked like the coolest guy in the world. I think I and a lot of people thought, “Oh, that’s the job you want.”

This week, “Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man” will be available on HBO Max. Co-directed by Michael Bonfiglio, the film tells the surprising personal origin story of the comedy legend, a Brooklyn kid raised by a single mother whose four sons went to war.

In the documentary, Brooks described his war experience:

Brooks: “I went from a rural tenement house in Brooklyn to the 1104th Engineer Combat Battalion in France.”
Apatow: “So the Germans had just left France?”
Brooks: “Yeah.”
Apatow: “So your job was to make sure they didn’t leave any booby traps?”
Brooks: Yeah, you go through the dirt with a bayonet at a 45-degree angle, find it, find it, find it. dink dink. Oh, oh! ”

“I said to him, ‘Have you ever thought you were going to die?’ And he said, ‘Just every second of every day.'”

Brooks returned from the war but never actually stopped fighting the Nazis, satirizing them in The Producers, To Be or Not to Be, and A History of the World Part I.

Asked why Nazis are such a frequent target of Brooks, Apatow said, “It’s the fear of it happening again. And if we don’t keep pointing out how horrible this is, there can be a gradual backlash. That’s what we’re seeing right now.”

And Brooks was similarly fearless against racism. His 1974 film Blazing Saddles tells the story of a black sheriff in a racist town. Critics were divided on this bawdy comedy, but it was a huge hit with moviegoers. And just a few months later, he delivered another monster hit, Young Frankenstein.

What did releasing two big hits in the same year do to Brooks’ status? “He just became Beyoncé for a little while,” Apatow said. “I mean, he was a real sensation, and it was kind of shocking that two of the greatest comedies of all time were coming out in the same year. We didn’t talk about this in the documentary, but Blazing Saddles. was so bold that there was a sense that maybe he was going to make another movie, so if they were really interested in him with Blazing Saddles, he already had another movie to show.

It wasn’t just for laughs. Mel Brooks also produced dramas like David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man,” but he refused to put his name on it and did it quietly. “He thought it was a distraction. He would think the movie was ridiculous because his name was in it,” Apatow said. “It still said Brooks Film on it, so I think people understood that. I think they should put his name on it.”

No history of Mel Brooks’ life would be complete without mentioning his close friend, comedy giant Carl Reiner. “This is one of the greatest friendships of all time. They’ve been friends for, I mean, 70 years? Maybe even more?” Apatow said. “You know, some people are just like magic when they’re together. They’re a perfect fit. And they adored each other like I’ve never seen two people adore and respect each other. I asked him, ‘You know, what’s the crux of this?’ and he said, ‘He’s my father.’ ”

Although Reiner was actually only four years older, Brooks respected him and in later years, both widowed, they relied on each other. [Brooks’ wife, Anne Bancroft, died in 2005; Estelle Reiner died in 2008.]

Apatow said that Bancroft’s death was extremely difficult for Brooks, adding: “He was famous for going to Carl Reiner’s house for dinner and going to the movies. He did that for years. And they supported each other. So we got through it. And then after Carl passed away, Mel went to his house to eat dinner and watch a movie. And I asked him why, and he said, “There it is.”

Brooks, who turns 100 in June, has won two Oscars, four Emmys and won 12 Tonys for the Broadway version of his hit film “The Producers,” a record that still stands. He also won three Grammy Awards and achieved rare EGOT status.

Plus, he’s lived long enough to see how his work lives on in his films and the countless comedians he’s influenced.

When asked what Brooks thought his legacy was, Apatow said, “He said he believed he was put on this earth to make people laugh, and that’s what he did.”

“What are you going to do? you What do you think Mel Brooks’ legacy is? ” I asked.

“The lead character is probably the funniest person of all time, the creator of one of the greatest movies of all time, the greatest Broadway musical of all time, a man who had the courage to make comedies about both the unimportant things and the most important things, and who did it longer than anyone else,” Apatow said.

Click on the video player below to watch the trailer for the documentary “Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!”

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Story produced by John D’Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler.

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