Customer Reviews

Benny Hill Complete and Unadulterated - The Naughty Early Years, Set Two (1972-1974)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received my pre-ordered The Naughty Early Years, Set Two from Amazon. This DVD is an awesome collection and contains all of my favorite old skits, and a few skits I have never seen before.

Here is a breakdown of the skits, songs, and other material provided on this 3 DVD set:

DVD #1
o Episode #1: Bennie Quickie: Sweet Chess, Benny's Ballad: Oh, Zandoona, Fred Scuttle's Health Farm and Keep Fit Brigade, Fam and Fufan: A Poem by Folomon Faint John, Pierre De Tierre: Avant-Garde French Film Director, The Lonely Miss Fox, Silvia McNeil: I Don't Know..., Percy Thrower Interviews Amos Thripp - Head Gardener, Benny Quickies: Television Secrets, Chow-Mein at Customs and Integration, Benny's All-Store Finale
o Episode #2: Benny Quickie: Undercover Nazis, Benny's Ballad: Wild, Wild Women, Nicholas Parsons Talks to the Children of St. Solomon's School, Trespassing at Lakeside Park, Medical Memory Lane, Air Travel and Benny's Duet: Those Days, Benny Quickies: Nemo the Fastest Quick Change Artist in the World, Television Director Fred Scuttle: Scuttlevision, Poor Prunella, Noel Coward's Little Things!, Meeting People: Chow-Mein Meets Nicholas Parsons, Benny's Ballad: Harvest of Love
o Episode #3: Benny Quickie: Slot Machines, Benny's Ballad: The Dustbins of Your Mind, Meeting People With Hugh Paddick, Benny's Ballad: Fad Eyed Fal, Woodstick, Autumn Fashion Parade, Berlin Youth Choir Recital
o Episode #4: Benny Quickie: Church Mission, Benny's Ballad: When I Was a Lad, Benny's Television Bloopers, Fred Scuttle: Striptease Cabaret, The Christmas Booze-Up, Benny's Ballad: Portable TV Set, An American in Britain and Benny's Ballad: The Common Market Square Dance

DVD #2
o Episode #5: Benny Quickie: Dearst Heart Take I, Benny's Ballad: Carol, Fred Scuttle: Security Guard, Programme Planner, Benny Quickie: Television Secrets, The Orange Blossom Sound: What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round, Chow-Mein: At Home With Henry McGee II, Jackie Wright's Holiday, Benny's Duet: Lover Come Back to Me
o Episode #6: Benny Quickie: Beanz Meanz Beanz, Benny Accompanies Lee Gibson: Mad About You, Confrontation: Mervyn Cruddy Speaks Out, Reflection Ballet, Poetry Corner, The Deputy, Lee Gibson and John John Keefe: Happy Together, American Generation Gap, Benny Quickies: Advertising Bloopers, The Dalton Abbott Railway Porter Choir
o Episode #7: Benny Quickie: Bad Cling, Benny's Ballad: News of the Family, Spot Black, Germany Calling, Fun at the Flicks, Berry Cornish: A Child's Question, Benny Quickies: Misunderstandings, Los Zafiros, Phone In With Ludovic Kennedy and Humphrey Bumphrey, The Band in the Park: Continental Capers
o Episode #8: Benny Quickie: Batman!, Benny's Ballad: Dapper Dan the Lady Killer Man, Fred Scuttle's Channel Tunnel, Benny's Quickies: Indiscretions, The Great British Dancing Finals With Terry Wobegone, Anne Shelton: Gailee Song, Departure Lounge With Mervyn Cruddy, Benny Quickie: No Milk!, The Ladybirds: Broadway Melodies, Bo Peep: Nursery Rhyme Interpretations

DVD #3
o Episode #9: Benny Quickie: Romantic Pipe-Smoker, "Faith" by E.M. Barrister, Senor Benny Presents Diana Darvey and El Sidney: Sway, Spy Games, Benny Quickie: Three Beans on Toast!, Design: Second Love, Film Time: Same Speiler, Benny Quickies: Courting, The Minstrel Boy, Closing, Mr. TV Times Contest and Credits
o Episode #10: Benny Quickie: A Little Boy?, Beny's Musical Sermon: The Good Book, Benny's International Bloopers, Fred Scuttle: Scuttle Escorts, Benny Quickie: You Say Hawaii!, Match of the Week: Golden Goalies and Their Silver Saves, Judith Durham and the Hottest Band in Town: Strut Your Stuff, Coalpits, The Ladybirds: Yesterday Once More, Benny Quickie: Hooch, The Short and Unhappy Romance of Ted Tingle, Benny Quickie: Hooch II, Mexican Medley
o Special Features: Benny Hill: Laughter and Controversey (A&E Documentary of Benny Hill Hosted by Peter Graves), Benny Hill Trivia Quiz

I was around 12 or 13 years old when I first came upon these shows on tv late at night. They were completely different from anything else that was on at that hour, & at any other hour on tv in north america; that excited anticipation when the Thames logo & music came up. Just to see & hear that today conjures up those memories of watching Benny Hill late at night. Throughout all those years, growing up in high school, my friends & I would quote all kinds of bits of dialogue from the skits, & not necessarily the punchlines to the jokes. Then, all of a sudden it seems, Benny Hill went off the radar; either because his shows weren't on tv as often, or because my interest in my studies & growing up in general took me onto other things.

Going back to them today, some 20 years later, there is a funny mix of sadness & nostalgia as I watch them again. Don't get me wrong; most of the material I still love, & find very funny, I can watch over & over again, like I did back then with my poor quality vhs tapes. His humour can be extremely contagious.There was an infectious energy in his shows that is even more apparent when watching them today. The man was a genius with impersonations & characterizations. His face implied & told you more than any punchline or line of dialogue really could.

Today I watch these shows with the knowledge I didn't have then; of what happened to his reputation in the later years, how he came to be perceived , how he fell into decline.

What really amazes me is the way he is looked at today; you seem to get one of 3 reactions; 1)people who love him & still find him funny 2)those who roll their eyes at the mention of his name & write him off as outdated 3) those who savagely attack him & blame him for all the world's sexism & misogyny.

However, just as there are more sophisticated comedies & types of humour being created today that are extremely popular, I would argue that there are also more sophisticated forms of sexism & misogyny that are out there today, albeit not as obvious but far more calculated, cynical & dangerous. This is to say that there were & are far more deserving targets of the kind of attack that Benny Hill had on him. I don't think his humour or comedy was ever mean-spirited or cynical.

Benny Hill was a scapegoat, & even though his shows declined in the 80's, became cruder & repetitive, this shouldn't take away from the amazing run of shows he had from 1969-79, which are classics. The only thing I think he was really guilty of was not changing with the times. People even forget(or were too young, like me) that he had an extremely popular run with the BBC in the 50's & enjoyed the reputation as being one of the first comedians to be made by tv. This was all before his popular series on Thames that he is known for today. I think that if he would have ended his show at the end of the 70's, he would have enjoyed a less controversial reputation & would have been better regarded today.

These dvd box sets (1969-72, 1972-74) are from Benny Hill's best period.While there are some real time-capsule aspects to the shows(musical numbers especially), when Benny Hill is 'on', he is ON.

Maybe Benny Hill didn't represent the pinnacle of sophisticated humour, but who really cares.There are other comedians who took care of that. What he did in his prime & with his style of comedy he did extremely well. He created comedy out of looking at the adult world with a child-like sensibility. In reality, we all have to move on, 'grow up' & accept responsibility in the adult world, but then that's what's so appealing about Benny Hill; the boy within an adult body. It's no coincidence that on his tombstone reads 'Eternal Boy".

Last thing; It's funny that some people need to exclude or discount one type of comedy in order to validate another. I love Monty Python, & watch their shows repeatedly. What they did still hasn't been surpassed. But I love Benny Hill too. Can't that be possible? They are 2 different types of comedy, but they both give pleasure & laughs for different reasons.

Most Americans were introduced to Benny Hill in the very late '70s / early '80's as a syndicated program sold to independent stations called "The Benny Hill Show". This show was a compilation of sorts- bits and pieces of Benny's Thames TV specials (which averaged about once a month in England) were assembled as episodes for American TV. The skits that involved regional UK humor, very thick British accents, and the 'celebrity' musical acts were generally left out- only skits 'acceptable' for American audiences were included (oddly enough, the bawdy humor and even nudity were deemed 'acceptable'!).
Now, A&E have released Benny's Thames specials complete and uncut. Some may find these a bit unsettling, as some skits can scarcely be understood (due to thick accents and material referencing UK personas little-known to Americans) and the 'celebrity' musical/dancing guests leave much to be desired. Still, these are the specials that the American Benny Hill Show was culled from, and should be of great interest to any Benny Hill fan.
Season one and two are NOT the Benny Hill you may remember. The season two set comprises the specials from 1972-1974, so this was pretty early on. While their are hints of the bawdy humor that would become Benny's trademark, the humor in this set is quite tame really. That shouldn't keep any Benny fans from viewing this set though, as Benny's wit is razor sharp here. Clever comedy songs (as always), Benny's double entendres (when they were still original!), and funny slapstick skits are all here for your enjoyment. This is where Benny really started to become the comedian that is a worldwide legend. While later seasons would become more risque (much to the delight of Benny fans everywhere), season one and two offer a glimpse of a comedian who sparkles with originality and enthusiasm. That alone is worth checking out both season one and two for.
A&E has done a great job with these DVD sets. The picture looks as good as it did when these specials were originally broadcast, and releasing these sets UNCUT is especially appreciated by all hardcore Benny fans. My one complaint with these sets (and it is a MAJOR one) is that there are NO SUBTITLES! Much of the show involves thick English accents. While I am very practiced in deciphering these, I'm sure many Americans are going to have great difficulty understanding what is being said (especially important since a lot of Benny's humor is very nuanced, like the extensive use of double entendres). Please A&E, subtitle all future sets! Still, if you can understand the dialogue (it comes with practice), this (along with season one)is a good set to begin your Benny Hill experience.
By the way, if you are one of those humorless people who think Benny is just an unfunny 'dirty old man': GET A LIFE. I'm sure you make everyone around you miserable with your pathetic lack of humor (and why are you here reading this, anyway?). LONG LIVE BENNY HILL!!!!!
Season two is RECOMMENDED FOR ALL BENNY FANS!

You either like Benny or hate him. Most women can't stand his so-called "sexism" (curiously they love Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives, which portray women as nothing but slags). I'm a woman who loved these old shows. The skits and songs that are here aren't the same ones that have been released here on videotape, and they sure beat the tar out of that awful "Golden" set. I remember these from the late 70s. There are also quite a few of his commercial parodies here, which I particularly like. Benny tends to repeat some gags over the years, but who cares. The good older things are here. If you liked the tapes that have been released over the years, you'll love this better, it's even funnier. I'm glad someone at Thames dusted off the older, better shows, and put them out for us.

This is not the same Benny Hill program that most Americans will be familiar with. These are the original episodes. The shows broadcast in the US were cut down versions that reduced a full hour variety show into a half hour of comic skits. Both are great but the full thing is best. This is the full thing.

The Benny Hill Show was a variety show with the emphasis on comedy and a slightly lower emphasis on pretty girls. They often pushed the limits of good taste but, in my mind, never crossed over into bad taste and the purely vulgar. It was fun. It still is.

This is a good deal for fans of burlesque style comedy.

The ten episodes (almost eight and a half hours) from 1972-1774 broadcasts in the UK, include material never seen in the US. With his trademark smirk and self deprecating humor, Hill rejuvenated the traditional English music hall variety show in all its bawdy buffoonery.

There must be hundreds, maybe over a thousand, bits of business, filmed gags, sketches, visual puns, and wordplay -- most of it from Hill -- in this great looking digital transfer.

The great characters -- Fred Scuttle, Pierre de Tiere, Mr. Chow Mein and Mervyn Cruddy -- are back including Hill's bevy of half clad lovelies. A surprisingly emotional extra is a "Biography" segment on Hill.

Surely there's a place for low brow humor in our sometimes treacherous world and Hill has stood the test of time with his multitude of loopy, self-absorbed characters (in drag and out). Hill was a master of his craft. Go ahead, laugh yourself silly. It's OK.

Volume Two is a worthy and logical follow up to Volume One and just as funny. The emphasis is still on hilarious imitations and mimicry which is so much better than the vulgarity of the late Benny. Note too the excellent production values which Thames Television provided. The supporting acts are first class, which Benny always insisted upon.

The prints of the programs are really excellent, like new in fact. There is also a good Biography program on Benny which scotches any rumours surrounding his death.

Endless enjoyment to be had here.

I love the humor that this dvd has on it. I remember Benny's shows from the eighties that were broadcasted on mexican TV, but here in Mexico they cut everything to half an hour plus commercials and it was almost impossible to see the early seventies stuff. With this dvd I have hours of laughs and good comedy. My favourite parts are the Benny quikies. If you like to laugh, Benny Hill is the one.

Britain's king of comedy is back with more unadulterated cheekiness in set two. A&E home video gives Benny Hill fans 10 more hilarious full-length uncut episode's from 1972-1974. Once again the video transfer is outstanding and the digital 2.0 sound is really good. Set two offers fans more hilarious sketches, more cheeky fun and more Benny's beauties. Laughter is the best medicine and Benny Hill the doctor of British comedy will have your knickers in a knot.

DVD Features Include:
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
All 10 episodes from 1972-1974
"Benny Hill: Laughter and Controversy" episode from A&E Biography
The Benny Hill Cheeky Challenge Trivia Quiz

This is my favorite set of all the Benny Hill collections. It's the funniest and the pace is right. Benny and the crew really hit their stride in this time period.

Also the special features section, containing Benny Hill's biography is a nice addition.