YMMV / History of the World Part I

• Aluminum Christmas Trees:
  • Stand-up Philosophers aren't just this movie's Flintstone themed standup comedians. In Roman times rich people would hire philosophers to talk at parties so they looked more cultured.
  • There were slaves called "aurigas" who would whisper in victorious General's ears "Memento Mori" ("remember you are mortal"), though in their case they were reminding them not to aspire to godhood.
• Crosses the Line Twice: The Spanish Inquisition torturing and forcibly converting countless Jews, Muslims, and other "heretics"? Horrific. The Spanish Inquisition doing so in song? Hilarious.
  • Arguably, the inclusion of this scene implies that the line was never there to begin with.
• Fridge Brilliance:
  • The valet de chambre, or Piss Boy, is a dead ringer for King Louis. Given the European monarchy's reputation for sexual excesses and numerous illegitimate children running about, The Piss Boy may be the son of one of the King's father's female servants, making him and Louis half-brothers.
  • Dovetails with What Could Have Been, but John Cleese was asked to appear in the film. If he hadn't turned the offer down, he'd have had the great honor of appearing in two comedies about The Spanish Inquisition.
• Genius Bonus: Torquemada is played by Mel Brooks. At first, it might just seem like comedic irony to have a man who led a major persecution of the Jews to be played by a Jewish actor... unless you know that Torquemada was himself ethnically Jewish.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: A TV series sequel was announced shortly after the Jewish William Shatner actually went into space.
• Ho Yay: DeMonet and Bearnaise.
• Memetic Mutation: It's good to be the king!
• One-Scene Wonder: Bea Arthur as the snarky unemployment clerk in the Roman Empire sequence. "Did you bullshit last week?"
• Special Effect Failure:
  • The synchronized swimmers emerging from the water with lit sparklers on their heads was achieved by filming them going down into the water and playing it backwards. It works... until you see the smoke from the sparklers go back into them.
  • When the Roman soldiers lying on the ground, stoned from the giant blunt that Josephus lit to slow them down, the cloud of marijuana smoke is rather obviously sped-up stock footage of clouds superimposed over them.
  • Invoked in the King Louis segment. The king's impersonator tries to escape down a hallway from the French commoners' revolt, only to get stuck in the narrow end of the set's forced perspective.
• Watch It for the Meme: Some people watched the movie just to see the Spanish Inquisition. We guess people really can expect the Spanish Inquisition.

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