History of the World: Part I

History of the World: Part I is a sketch comedy that runs through human history in a series of comic episodes. It begins in the Stone Age and moves on to ancient Rome, where a stand-up philosopher performs at the court of Emperor Nero, then reaches the Spanish Inquisition, staged as a musical number, and the French Revolution. Mel Brooks stars in several roles, among them Moses, the Roman comedian Comicus, the inquisitor Torquemada and King Louis XVI, with Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman and Ron Carey in the supporting cast.

Brooks directed and wrote the film, which followed Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Silent Movie and was his sixth feature as director. It was produced by 20th Century Fox and Brooksfilms on a budget of about 10 million dollars and took roughly 32 million dollars worldwide.

On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.8 from about 59,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.7 from around 950 votes. The critics' rating stands at 5.8 from 37 reviews, somewhat below the audience scores, indicating that reviewers were less persuaded than viewers. The film's title frames it as the first instalment of a larger history, a conceit the closing scenes carry further.