Mel Brooks, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Frank Capra Dick Cavett Show 1972

[@marieavela6627]

Dick Cavitt is 86 and Mel Brooks is 97 it is now 2023. So glad their still with us!

[@MitchClement-il6iq]

Rip Peter.

[@paulhammons7077]

Remember and share, so they all remember 😊

[@brianprager8050]

Greatest episode of the greatest talk show in history. A marvel, a treasure, an extraordinary artefact. What a blessing it is that this exists.

[@robertbruce2128]

Greatest talk show in history? You may be right. Susskind was very good, as well.

[@spockboy]

As of April 2022 Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett are still with us.

[@markblass4490]

Still here in July 2023.

[@tsedubgyatso]

@@markblass4490still here July 2024

[@patfromamboy]

Still here in November 2025

[@wighto73]

Before KZbin I had never heard of Dick Cavett. What an incredible compassionate interviewer. One of the greatest!

[@JeffRebornNow]

I'm glad you like him. This directors show was one of his best. Have you seen his two part interview with Katherine Hepburn?

[@hugh-johnfleming289]

@@JeffRebornNow Cavett listens in conversation and is prepared meticulously. He was a successful joke writer for many years, that quick wit is a formidable weapon.

[@lisashrestha5023]

The best! He’s an active listener

[@wighto73]

@@lisashrestha5023 yes I agree completely. That skill along with being impartial and not being confrontational, judgemental or forcing his opinions and agenda upon his interviewee make modern day interviewers amateurish and shambolic.

[@douglasmilton2805]

@@JeffRebornNow Nice coincidence, I came across the Hepburn interview this morning. As you know it's all very spontaneous, there's no audience apart from the camera crew (who can't believe their luck) and Hepburn is a delight. And Dick Cavett, courteous, erudite (Princeton, I think) seems to come from another, better time. Great interview, recommended.

[@nkovi7424]

So interesting that after discussing THE LAST PICTURE SHOW being in black and white, 2 years later Mel Brooks comes out with YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. What a great episode this is - one of so many provided by the wonderful Dick Cavett.

[@suzannebaily5293]

What a great collection of guests. I was lucky enough to meet Peter Bogdanovich last year via zoom. He very kindly took part in a short film my husband and I made about the great film editor Verna Fields. What a guy. So sad he is no longer with us.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Four of the leading directors of twentieth century American cinema. This should have hundreds of thousands of views.

[@1TEDSong]

I agree. WTF people, get outside. DAMN!

[@carolbradshaw6105]

They are not the leading directors of the 20th century by a long shot! Capra could be called that .... but, the the other 3 are wonderful in their own right...but Wyler, Hawks, Welles, McCarey, Milestone, Ford, and Fleming trump them. Along with Lubitsch, Sturgess, and many more. This interview was a wonderful find none the less.

[@MaurizioBunkus]

Wyler and Lubitsch above Altman? Puh-lease.

[@carolbradshaw6105]

Yes...very much so!

[@MaurizioBunkus]

There's not a single thing Lubitsch has done that in my mind you could even argue is a greater, more potent film than Altman's Nashville or McCabe and Mrs. Miller.

[@HappyinJapan358]

This is just incredible. Just fantastic to have these guys just talk about stuff. We really do not see this anymore. We lost our patience a long time ago. Lovely stuff to see this.

[@anthonybaruch9192]

Literally had my jaw dropped the whole interview, especially listening to the revered genius Capra give his two cents on what made films like Lost Horizon or Arsenic and Old work! it was great how Altman, Bogdanovich, and Brooks sat there and never once interrupted

[@jonisafreak3]

Capra was a legend people respected the people that came before them back then. Unlike today where disrespect is thrown at the old school at every direction.

[@guileniam]

This arguably one of the greatest interviews ever conducted and a piece of american history

[@johnps30]

I love Dick Cavett but the gathering of Robert Altman, Mel Brooks, Peter Bogdanavich and Frank Capra was like one of those dream sequences - if you could talk to four people living or dead for an extended conversation about the art of film making - this is exactly what it would be. Every second from the opening frame until the last was riveting with the wisdom of practitioners who are in love with their art; every facet of the business is touched on and since they're essentially all story tellers share their stories with passion, wit and warmth. Have not found a more enjoyable KZbin video than this.

[@ofthedifference]

> johnps30 Yes, these gentlemen found their calling in life. They were blessed, because so many people feel their calling but never fulfill it due to circumstances that get them sidetracked along the way; sadly. I heard a very old lady say, "Think back to your childhood and remember what you said you wanted to be when you grow up - that was the Universe telling you early on you had that dream because that was your calling in life. It is tragic that most people don't heed that dream from childhood because they write it off as being "childhood silliness" - when it really was a message about pursuing their calling in life."

[@palmelaveech-favors195]

I love Mr Dick Cavett ! His show ! I am 72 and never had the chance to watch when I was young . Thankyou lord for this time of my life…❤

[@brucejackson6451]

What a gathering! And at the dawn of the fantastic 1970s, Brooks had yet to make "Blazing Saddles," Altman had yet to make "Nashville," it sounds like "Last Picture Show" was just out, and the only one with his masterpieces behind him was Capra. Listening to these four guys makes me long for the days when you'd turn on your TV and see something like this (or Sinatra, Martin, and Rickles with Carson on the Tonight Show), and they were given the whole hour to go at it. Dick Cavett is an American treasure.

[@hotsox9117]

Bruce Jackson ...I agree with you 100%.

[@mperhaps]

Very well said

[@deckofcards87]

Mel is easily a national treasure

[@rosefranksinatrmarra2565]

Bruce Jackson ())8

[@AshleyPomeroy]

I saw this in the sidebar and thought "you don't get lineups like that nowadays". Three massive icons of the 1970s and Frank Capra!

[@beckyhicks5889]

I first knew of Dick Cavett in the Summer of 81 on HBO. He narrarated the show "Dick Cavett Remembers" and talked about the different decades up until the 80s with the use of film clips and animation. Really a cool series. I love these KZbin clips of his talk show!

[@javiersalinas5642]

This is just PURE gold. We are so lucky to able to have this. thanks you!

[@lowen4231]

Have always loved Dick Cavett, enjoy the intelligent conversation. Really liked listening to Frank Capra, going to check out more about him.

[@Nebuchadnezzar31]

22:00 Bogdanovich and Cavett talk about how no one makes black and white films. Mel Brooks must have been paying attention.

[@blacquesjacques7239]

And no said anything about silent films and he was listening then too

[@clockwork9827]

Right. Like, it was a real conversation

[@Nebuchadnezzar31]

@Josiah Ronin random but ok

[@cindycasal-zack5335]

Loved the Cavett show! Never missed it!

[@lonestar6709]

What a line up of directors. Particularly Robert Altman. One of the absolute best.

[@charold3]

Yes, Altman is great, but not greater than Capra.

[@ambientrelaxingandhealingm7552]

@@charold3 agreed. LEGENDARY.

[@portland9880]

@@charold3 subjective of course but I believe Altman to be the "best" American director

[@charold3]

@@portland9880 I’m a huge Altman fan, and on most days I’d rather watch, say, McCabe and Mrs Miller than You Can’t Take It with You, but as you surely know, he’s very different than Capra. I wonder what they’ll say about Altman fifty years from now. I’ll be long gone. Maybe the critical consensus will judge him as having “surpassed” Capra, but I doubt it.

[@deckofcards87]

Never thought I'd see Capra and Altman in the same room together. Two cinematic masters who couldn't be more different.

[@WildDieWoodard]

An absolutely AMAZING hour of television here. Thank you for sharing.

[@adelebz7]

On an annual trip to NYC, my Mom and I were at Bergdorf Goodman. We were on the elevator and moved to the back. The next floor Peter Bogdanavich gets on and stands next to my Mom. I elbowed her, and mouthed, "Peter Bogdanovich." I got his attention and said "Hello, and this is my Mom. He put his hand out and shook her hand and then mine. He told us to enjoy our stay at NYC. This not only made our day, but the whole week of staying in NYC, we could not stop "beaming."

[@r.brookswilliams7476]

Frank Capra is absolutely fascinating here. He conducted a film seminar on a late-night talk-show. Brilliant.

[@ThespianSeries]

What an incredible interview! God, I miss those days. I was just a little kid but voices like these, and their wisdom and brilliance mesmerized me.

[@joebrokenstrang7537]

I tell you, every day that passes, I am so grateful to have this amazing thing called the internet at my fingertips. I have a thought...a fleeting little thought about Mel Brooks and the time he appeared on Dick Cavett with a bunch of other film makers, none of whom I could remember, because I was too young to have seen the episode and only heard the episode _existed_ via Wikipedia. So, not only can I instantly find out who else was on with Mel, some generous person has the whole instalment uploaded on YT! I can sit on a train in Australia in 2017 and watch an episode of The Dick Cavett Show from 1972. Thank you!

[@bookwoman53]

It’s a very unique idea to have great people in the same field having an in depth discussion. It makes you forget that you’re watching a talk show.

[@deckofcards87]

bookwoman53 THR do this still, to some degree, on their yearly directors/actors roundtable. But of course it's more controlled, not quite as open.

[@WTSTF378]

Brilliant TV! 200 stations and there is nothing close to this! Today's talk show hacks just PLUG. They can't...don't know HOW to ask an intelligent question...let alone WAIT for the entire answer

[@unfortunatebeam]

On mainstream TV that's true, but there's quite a few great interviewers on the internet, which is where it's at anyway. TV is an irrelevant anachronism, even if there may be a few good shows still on....which you can find on the internet anyway lol.

[@dnice4335]

the guests seem so real an authentic.........no agenda,no propaganda just the passion the bring to their ART

[@vinista256]

Radio is a better medium for good interviews.

[@scorpnov13]

Oh how the times have changed , I was 21 when this was first broadcast.

[@michaeladamo1188]

I was 1 when this first aired

[@leekosmin8788]

"You're one of the best looking short people I've ever seen". Thanks for all the laughs, Mel.

[@freddylubin]

It was great being a cinephile in the 60s, when so much was happening and changing, from New Wave to New Hollywood, while so many old classic figures were still alive. Some, like Wilder and Hitchcock, were even working.

[@Attmay]

*The Last Picture Show* is older now than *Citizen Kane* was then.

[@letmetellyousomething123]

Dick cavett had a genuine interest in the culture of his time and the guests he had on his show reflect that. Love watching these throwbacks. One can learn so much from them.

[@graxjpg]

Absolutely. From the kids that played Woodstock to Alfred Hitchcock. Love cavett

[@stephenstephen1505]

Excellent. The people who present and run today's chat shows should look and learn

[@linengray]

This was brilliant television. I wish there was a 'Dick Cavett' today who could handle such famous egos with humour and intellect. There is nothing today that comes close to this.

[@graxjpg]

I don’t know of any truly inspiring intellectuals who are in the public eye, or who are even accepted by society at large as such.

[@OlYables]

"Inside the Actors' Studio" came somewhat close - but that show did often succumb to slavish worship of the artist.

[@foothillelement]

I watched and enjoyed most every evening Dick Cavett was on the air, especially when Gore Vidal was dripping with sarcasm! Priceless!

[@ericthered760]

This is truly a "dream team" interview with legendary directors. They don't make stuff like this now. And Bogdanovich lighting up on camera @ 23:15 ! My - times have changed !

[@victoriousrufus6747]

Mel Brooks! One of the most talented performers Hollywood ever had!

[@brianwhittig4206]

Yes… Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the world, High Anxiety, Producers, Spaceballs… just an amazing resume, & the best comedy movies of all time.

[@RussMcClay]

Now this is a talk show! What an assemblage of talent and genius. Each of them including Cavett. I feel privileged to have grown up watching the show first run. So great to see these again. Thank you, Archy!

[@steerpike66]

What a gentle, listening man. It's amazing to me that this intense courtesy was allowed on network TV in the 70's and 80's but his guests must have adored him and championed him. And quiet wit! He makes a joke with Burton about the pride of miners 'looking down from underground' and Burton jumps with intellectual pleasure.

[@paulcolbourne9112]

He was the more intellectual corner of t.v. His ratings weren't as good as Carson's but he managed to stay on in opposition for several years while everything else tanked so he had a lot of viewers. He's getting even more popularity today too.

[@robertamarcon7462]

The last story Peter B. tells... I never heard it before, that's a wonderful, wonderful story! Check it out 57:05 Love Frank Capra and Frank Capra's movies, my favorite director!! You can sure see his love for movies and movie making. Wonderful man... wonderful director! (how many times did I use the word "wonderful"? Coincidence??) You made us dream, Mr. Capra. Thank you ever so much!!

[@RayRay-ot5xd]

Just a remarkable group of creators. Thanks for this fantastic upload. I'll be watching this over and over.....

[@pattichambley2779]

I used to skip school so I could stay home and watch Dick Cavett

[@utubeDaveutube]

Getting ready to watch this now. What a lineup, from a BRILLIANT talk-show-host/interviewer!!!!

[@anthonybooth1952]

Dick Cavett is the greatest talk show host of all time no matter the generation.

[@FirstPlace97]

Yes. Just look at him assembling these 4 legends on one show!

[@joebyrne182]

Wonderful line up

[@jackgustafsson5936]

Definitely

[@davidfreel1451]

It takes a while but yes, slowly it dawns on you, this is how it should be done. Charm kindness and cheek in just the right proportions.

[@kolesnipes3375]

Johnny did a pretty good job also

[@juancpgo]

The 70s was the last decade abundant in cinema masterpieces. Since then good movies became an exception.

[@525Lines]

It also marked the beginning of the blockbuster with Star Wars. Now, all movies have to be blockbusters.

[@juancpgo]

Yeah, it's crazy! It was the begining of the sequel movies... Rambo 1, 2, 3.. Jaws 1, 2, 3.. and also in music, the 70s were the beginning of the insanely rich pop stars with the selling of records, both cinema and music became astronomic-profitable businesses. With too much money in it, the big budgets productions became increasingly formulaic because investors don't like risks, and as consequence people's tastes and appetites for art in general got narrowed and too immediate. A film or a song to be “successful” has to attract the attention of EVERYONE and also INSTANTANEOUSLY. Then started the independent movements, which only managed to get a smaller share, but they became the ones taking risks, making most of the interesting things since then. Stuff that you might not get at the first experience, but that grows on you and heightens your awareness. I feel the 90s were the last (reasonably) rich decade in music and cinema-there was an awakening in both cinema (Pulp Fiction, Matrix, Toy Story) and in music (grunge rock, techno, hip hop), I think because of the digital/internet culture that created with the spread of personal computers. But it soon stopped... since then we're mostly in repeat mode. We just change a bit the packaging, but nothing truly exciting has happened. But I think that right now we're facing another revolution, with the new technology that's coming, like Virtual Reality, and the decrease in cost-film and music production are becoming truly democratic, and even distribution through things like KZbin and Facebook. Now the only thing getting in the way of creativity is procrastination, the compulsive and superficial behaviour that the computer creates.

[@525Lines]

The movie experience was the exact analog of what TV became later. Movie theaters gave you news, cartoons, documentaries and commercials before showing you TWO movies. Saturday mornings, they showed just kid stuff for kids all morning. (the first Mickey Mouse Clubs were for these Saturday theater lineups.) Several movie franchises put out several movies and they never used roman numerals. Blondie, Ma and Pa Kettle, East Side Kids.

[@juancpgo]

That is just awesome, beautiful to hear... definitely there is this magic that is created in some eras and it totally gets lost. Also, during the 70s, drugs got spread, the streets started getting violent-all of a sudden you're afraid of walking in certain areas, and you can't leave your door open anymore. Whole lotta stuff driven by a few greedy souls screwed up the world. Then we think of the rise and growth of many criminal groups, the ever growing monopolies putting food, media, entertainment, fashion, all in the hands of really a handful of people. I think today every major industry has about 6 folks who own like 90%. It's not balanced at all. In the 90s there was a hope because the internet WAS democratic and decentralized in its beginning, democratic by design. But it was soon taken over by companies like Google and Facebook-that hope is lost. Incredible how the world can get chaotic over a few decades, even over a single decade.

[@525Lines]

In the 70s, the insane asylums let out most of their people and they were given prescriptions and told to stay on their meds. That was part of it.

[@stephaniestanley8041]

Brooks gave me joy in this interview.

[@davidlalor9464]

What a great INTERVIEW with Great Film makers . Pure Gold .

[@freddylubin]

I wish we could have seen Bogdanovich's face when hearing that Capra burned two film reels.

[@mt_gox]

I had no idea Robert Altman was so shy.

[@guydavidknollcomedy]

Very sad to see most people on this panel have now passed on, May their memories be a blessing

[@dl7281]

Mr. Dick Cavett. The best interview host, ever. Happy birthday (in one week!).

[@robanderson1470]

Dick Cavett in his short tenure produced more informative talk show moments then any one else in his time.

[@sitbone3]

Before lapel mikes and small radio packs. One boom operator had to cover 4 guys.

[@loupasternak]

I saw him walking into the studio one day. He was quite a small man . With a big brain

[@ambientrelaxingandhealingm7552]

So cool and wonderful how Cavett asks Mel Brooks if he were willing to make a film and black-and-white and that was prescient… In that, of course, he did make Young Frankenstein, indeed, in B & W :-)

[@lawoftheuniverse8089]

Holy Fuck...!!! These four Directors all at once,.... Only Cavett could do that...Wow...!!!

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

"Back in the hands of creative people" - Frank Capra ...well, yes 🎬🎥

[@stevenmccormack4673]

Robert Altman, true to form in creating a film “to experience that defies description”, soon to be realized with his masterpiece “Three Women”.

[@hushmoney2058]

I Concur .....

[@xenduvall]

yesss i was thinking that as well! Three Woman is my fave film of his not just cuz Shelley Duvall but also just how experimental and dreamy it is.

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

Thank you for posting this bit of film history!

[@freddylubin]

I really, really, miss the Cavett show.

[@andrewwilliams9599]

"There was nothing to do. There was no fun. Tito had the car." I about DIED laughing!

[@padraiglyons3709]

Me as well, hilarious.

[@graxjpg]

I’m not sure if I get it.

[@CastlesForEyes]

I feel like I should get that reference

[@robertrishel3685]

Wow! Just wow. It’s hard to imagine this was tv…. Mel Brooks is genius, so sharp, so irreverent. Brilliant. After watching this I find Robert Altman and Frank Capra so much more interesting and likable…what a remarkable collection of men!

[@lukeconzo]

Four influential directors. Mel Brooks: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Producers, Spaceballs Robert Altman: Nashville, MASH, The Player, Short Cuts, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye, 3 Women, Gosford Park Peter Bogdanovich: The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon, What’s Up, Doc? Frank Capra: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It Happened One Night, You Can’t Take It With You, It’s a Wonderful Life

[@apexxxx10]

*Thanks*

[@edcampion3998]

Loved every second of this thanks for posting

[@mjau65]

The chairs! The suits! The colours!

[@Offmedication]

Remember when T.V. talk shows had intelligent conversation? I cannot think of one today.

[@elizabethferrari3647]

I know. Every now and then The Real News / Paul Jay puts events like this together but on the net not on the tube. I miss smart people talking. It's such a relief to find something like this discussion.

[@yakk13]

Today’s shows are too busy letting their boobs pop out or punching and humping. Neanderthal mentality today.

[@saymynameice-zen-berg511]

Agreed. I think It’s because Intelligent conversation is considered boring today. The result no doubt of Years of dumbing down of society.

[@jamespykonen4017]

not only intelligent talk but one could light up and smoke!

[@sonicgrub]

Four GREAT directors and amazing amazing stories.

[@TomBacchus]

"There was no fun. Tito had the car."

[@JeffRebornNow]

Mel Brooks was so quick witted and funny, and told the best stories.

[@NasserRabadi]

I dont get it

[@PP266]

@@NasserRabadi As Mel Brooks decided to make The Twelve Chairs in Yugoslavia he chose Avala Film from Beograd and they were mostly shooting it in inner Serbia which at the times was quite boring for an American. When he was at Dick Cavett alone, he described how they moved around, mostly without cars. So as Tito was the dictator, the joke is that he had the car for himself.

[@hotsox9117]

Excellent interview, i feel like I've just completed a course in Film School. I've enjoyed films from all these great directors.

[@jack_barr]

It's insane to think that out of these 4, Brooks is still alive

[@DavidFrancis24824]

That was beautiful, amazing, funny, and just freakin awesome.

[@fenwayify]

I believe there have been at least a few comparably effective interviewers/hosts to Cavett, though perhaps without this kind of blockbuster gathering of talent on one show. Tom Snyder and Phil Donahue had their moments in offering in depth interviews, featuring guests like John Lennon and Ayn Rand, as did Bob Costas with his show "Later." I remember Costas interviewing Anthony Quinn, who opened up about the death of his son because Costas had been so respectful with his questions. It really was quite moving. I long for those opportunities to hear informed conversation in general. I think David Letterman gradually moved in that direction toward the end of his network run, especially after his scandal and heart surgery. He is also doing much more serious and thoughtful interviews now on Net Flix. PBS also delivers some excellent interviews...

[@rustycalvera977]

great show......thanks for posting.......love black and white

[@oldtimer7635]

Thank you for this amazing upload! : )

[@jackietreehorn4430]

It's amazing to see the golden age of Hollywood (Capra) with 3 from the golden age of cinema during the beginnings of the golden age of cinema (that ended around Jaws/Star Wars). You can really see the businessman director versus the auteur. If Orson Welles had only been born a little later who knows what he would of accomplished even more than he already did.

[@poetcomic1]

A half dozen classic Hollywood stories I have never heard before and Mel Brooks about filming in Yugoslavia, "No fun, nothing to do at night. Tito had the car.".

[@sonicgrub]

At 14.16 Brooks' impression of Bogart in The Caine Mutiny is marvelous.

[@andrewwilliams9599]

Ask him about the strawberries.

[@apexxxx10]

*Next time try* 14:16

[@sonicgrub]

my colon doesn't work but it might on you.@@apexxxx10

[@BettyBeige]

My colon doesn't work but it might on you.@@apexxxx10

[@elizabethhestevold1340]

Film or T.V. ,. Serie. Loved M.AS.H., did large painting in it's honor at Santa Monica State Park, from Bone Trail Down Canyon. Hiked up with friend. Took 6 hours. Is where M.AS.H. was filmed over time.C.A .Interesting, he has similar hands to face moment as Capote, and insomnia. Is it a creative energy..aka ..Robert Altman. Love idea, black and white picture . Peter Bogdanavich , Agree with Mel Brook.🤔🇺🇸🇩🇰🙏🌅💕" Chinemera Chirascuro", one off my favorite black an white films, sort off gives the early love off Film making. What a great Bow tie story.!!🎬📽️💙

[@rberka555]

Nice line-up. The Lost Horizon preview story by Capra at 45:03 is priceless

[@marlenehodgdon8463]

incredible..hve to watch it again

[@depaola63]

I am now 55 and remember this show well......when Ali and Frazier were on in 75' was great too !

[@JeffRebornNow]

I think this show with the directors and his interview with Katherine Hepburn (this same year) were two of his best shows.

[@michaeltnewyorknights8413]

Interesting to see Bogdanavich before he became the "character" with the glasses, ascot etc..but wow, what a line up!

[@jamesdrynan]

During the sixties and seventies, Cavett was the go-to guy for the best interviews on TV. Carson was OK with his five minute segments featuring Hollywood types. Cavett had the cream of the crop in long and insightful segments with Marlon Brando and others who wouldn't go on the other talk shows.

[@JiiAm123]

This is legend! - It´s wonderful to see how all those legends honor Capra´s entering like little boys.

[@pissoffu9095]

Natural entertainer Mel Brooks

[@zoperxplex]

It is strange to think that more time has transpired from this episode's first telecast to it being uploaded on KZbin than what it took to get from the premiere of "It Happened One Night" to Frank Capra's appearance on this program.

[@tomhamilton5261]

One of the best interviewers ever. Funny, sharp, articulate and erudite and comes across as genuinely interested in his guests and allows them to speak but is more than clued up on his guests work.

[@lisaakinlabi]

Iconic show and guests!

[@Digibeatle09]

One of the many "take-aways" from this great gathering is Capra on adapting (or having to adapt) a play for the screen - very different mediums the stage and the screen and Capra understood so well the pitfalls (and how to avoid them) of sticking too close to the play's original text.

[@foto21]

Capra directed pretty much the greatest films ever made I believe. Meet John Doe is one of his films less known, but a real masterpiece of American cinema and ABOUT America, warts and all. Capra needs to do the entire interview. Mel Brooks needs a muzzle here, though he's a great star. We really needed this to go on for hours. Capra is so sharp here. THis episode opens like something out of Letterman. I thought Letterman pioneered this style of showing off frame, but apparently not.

[@farnumbp]

was tv ever really this good?

[@tomripsin730]

Hardly ever. Cavett kept getting cancelled. Most people preferred crap, even back then.

[@stanwbaker]

ABC was trying to counter program Carson with something intellectual and effete. Within five years they would be the Three's Company and Charlie's Angels network. OTOH, the Monday after Cavett's show was cancelled he was the "first guest" on NBC's Tonight Show.

[@blacquesjacques7239]

farnumbp no

[@timmcinnes2594]

Sometimes. There was about the same percentage of crap in those days, too. Maybe more because you only had the three networks. There's good tv today, but you usually have to pay extra for it.

[@juliafitch5515]

Best opening :) he is beyond adorable

[@unfortunatebeam]

So when did you discover the Dick Cavett Show? If that's you in the profile pic, then it looks like you were born way after the show was on the air. I ask because I too am a late discoverer of the greatness that is the Dick Cavett Show.

[@truck9moon100]

Mr. Capra's book is a fantastic read. You will not be sorry.

[@etsneroj]

Funny that Cavett asks Brooks if he'd ever consider doing a film in black & white. Two years later he did (Young Frankenstein).

[@bbbart77]

Didn't know that Capra had directed It happened one night. What a legend!

[@tmrezzek5728]

Bogdanovich is correct about John Simon--he was one of the most ill-willed critics ever to write reviews. Read any of his books of collected reviews and Simon comes across as nothing but a frustrated artist who decided to vent his rancor on practically every director in the business.

[@sonicgrub]

His unfair criticism of Star Wars is classic cluelessness.

[@mattcarpenter318]

I brought up John Simon in a class once and the instructor said “I prefer film critics who actually like cinema.”

[@EroSonogSvijeta]

funny that they are both connected to pre-war Yugoslavia

[@BrandenBrazil]

The talk show, as opposed to the chat show, needs to come back. Cavett and Parkinson were brilliant.

[@davidcarroll9995]

My favorite part: Frank Capra on "Lost Horizon"and throwing out two reels.

[@peterbreughel4440]

Four great and very different film makers and four fascinating men.

[@anthonybutchelli]

Mel Brooks' Bogey was amazing!

[@timmcinnes2594]

You should see him do Sinatra on another Cavett show.

[@mihaelatudor2417]

In 2020.....Mel Brooks reigns !!!! The test of time .....

[@GavinKing22]

Frank Capra, what a seemingly genuine man.

[@erniellerena]

First time watcher. I can't believe he had goat cheese in his pocket. That's awesome.

[@losttango]

And "Capra" is actually Italian for "goat". What are the chances...?

[@erniellerena]

@@losttango Really? Lol

[@jeffdawson2786]

Will never see a lineup like this. Maybe Lynch, Tarantino, Scorsese, Spielberg, Coppela.

[@technodroog]

the boom mic operator was having a rough day

[@DanLoFat]

"...atch the boom shadows...?", awesome. Funny,. yet true respect. We are seeing the mic in the shot because what we are watching is the full frame video signal tat one would see on a studio montior - not quite 4:3 ratio btw.