Among the movie promos screened during the Super Bowl, there were teasers for predictable blockbusters-to-be, such as multi-million dollar toy commercials Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe, and nostalgic ’70s TV throw-back, The Land of the Lost. But there was also a teaser for a new comedy from a much rarer sub-genre, the historical comedy. The Year One, set to release in June 19, is an Apatow-produced buddy comedy starring Jack Black and Michael Cera. They play Zed and Oh, two lovable losers encountering various characters from Biblical history, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Abraham. It’s not yet clear how they can meet all these people in a single lifetime (is this a time travel movie?)

But two things are clear: One, Judd Apatow seems to be looking to change-up his formula, at least to a degree. I’m not sure how long I want to watch the aging cast of Freaks and Geeks sit around a bong and talk about sex. Even if The Year One is just Superbad with togas, he’s at least trying to keep things fresh. And two, this film marks the return of a rare breed of comedy. Until now, it looked like historical comedies reached their apex decades ago with the work of Mel Brooks and Monty Python. Now, with the comedy auteur du jour producing a movie set in the distant past, the historical comedy sub-genre could become vogue once more. Or it could just be terrible. There are precedents for both.

Here’s our list of seven notable historical comedies — some great, some utterly forgettable.

Monty Python’s The Life of Brian

There are several odd threads connecting movies that make fun of the past, and one of them is George Harrison. George Harrison formed HandMade Films in 1979 to finance The Life of Brian, when the original backers, EMI, bailed after reading the script. They were apparently scared off by the film’s biting commentary on organized religion. The film follows Brian, a lowly first century Jew born a few doors down from Jesus. Try as his might, Brian can’t avoid being mistaken for the Messiah, even to the bitter end. The Year One seems to most closely resemble this classic satire. Let’s hope Black and Cera have the comedic balls skewer sacred cows the way the old Python crew did.

History of the World, Part 1

Mel Brooks at his best. This movie is like a World History survey course taught by your crazy Jewish uncle. This film is divided into segments, jumping from the dawn of man to Old Testament times, and on to the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. The fact that Brooks plays a prominent role in each segment let’s the film keep up it’s comedic pace while taking a scattershot view of history. History of the World, Part 1 is one of the few great examples of a spoof film. The deluge of Scary Movies, Disaster Movies, and God-knows-what-else Movies have reduced spoof to the lowest common denominator of stupid jokes about last six months of popular culture. Good spoofs don’t need to be dumb, if the jokes come too fast, or the references are too obscure, watch it again.

Kung Fu Hustle

Set in 1930s Shanghai, Stephen Chow’s martial arts comedy walks a fine line: It’s an effective parody of Kung Fu cinema, it has great action sequences, and it’s really funny. Even for viewers unfamiliar with Chinese history, it’s apparent that the tongue-in-cheek depictions of the slum, Pig Sty Alley, are filled with a calculated absurdity. It’s a great example of an historical comedy not only because it pokes fun at the conditions of 1930s Shanghai, but also because it lovingly makes fun of all of Hong Kong cinema.

Wagons East! and Almost Heroes

This duo of terrible historical comedies represents another odd aspect of this sub-genre (besides George Harrison): portly comedians dying right after making awful historical comedies. John Candy died of a heart attack during the production of Wagons East! The producers claimed he had completed his scenes, but this is debatable, as he seems to have been written out of several of them. In the film, Candy plays a surly guide leading a frontier expedition with a wise-cracking pansy, Richard Lewis. Almost Heroes was Chris Farley’s last major role before his death. Farley plays a surly guide leading a frontier expedition with a wise-cracking pansy, Matthew Perry. You do not need to see these movies, unless you get a lot of pleasure thinking about ironically similar deaths of late comedians.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The dust bowl, public works projects, racism. The Cohen brothers got a lot of mileage out of poking fun at the Depression-era south in this screw-ball take on The Odyssey. Like other good historical comedies, the film succeeds because while it does take a few pot shots at “simpler times” it’s also clear that the filmmakers are genuinely in love with the period. This is most clearly manifest in the film’s soundtrack, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2001.The film’s depiction of Southern politics of the era is based in some truth. Menelaus “Pappy” O’Daniel, Governor of Mississippi and host of the radio show “The Flour Hour,” was based on W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel, one-time governor then senator from Texas, who also ran a flour business and had a radio show.

Shakespeare in Love

While remembered by many as melodramatic Oscar-bait, this 1998 Best Picture winner was certainly a comedy. In fact, it was the first comedy since Annie Hall (1977) to take home the top prize, and it hasn’t happened since. The film follows Shakespeare as he writes Romeo and Juliet, influenced by a forbidden romance with a cross-dressing Gwyneth Paltrow. By mixing actual history with plenty of made-up elements, all with a very dramatic, Shakespearean feel, the film is a masterpiece to theater fans. For the rest of us, it’s still and enjoyable movie.

Caveman

Last but not least, the second historical comedy bank-rolled by George Harrison (third if you count Time Bandits). This one stars his old buddy Ringo Starr as Atouk, a grunting caveman rejected from his tribe. He forms a new tribe of fellow misfits. Together they fend off dinosaur attacks and plan an ambush on Atouk’s former tribe. Almost no actual words are spoken in the film. Instead, the characters deliver simple line in caveman speak. When the film was shown at drive-ins, the audience would be given a translation guide. I’d like to see Apatow and company dedicate The Year One to George Harrison, patron saint of making fun of the past.