In this satirical take on Westerns, crafty railroad worker Bart (Cleavon Little) becomes the first black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the people of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new leader. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend (Gene Wilder) are the only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population.
Chalk up Blazing Saddles as only a lampoon of Hollywood westerns and you miss the point by a Texas mile.... Its humor is the palliative that lets Brooks mock prejudices and, with gloves off, prejudiced people.
-Mark Bourne DVDJournal.com
Stands next to Young Frankenstein as Brooks' best movie, and, of course, boasts the god of all fart gags.