Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• VHS Release Date: August 31, 1999
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783115792
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #409,856 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of the brighter lights to shine from the late-'90s Saturday Night Live cast permutation, Chris Rock successfully made the jump to his own HBO series and snagged a couple of Emmy Awards along the way. Part Saturday Night Live and part Arsenio Hall-style show (with a raucous studio audience), this best-of video shows that Rock has definitely grown into his own style and matured as a comedian. The segments from Rock's early shows tend to suffer from that Saturday Night Live malady in which a one-joke skit is stretched out for an excruciating period of time (see: Mike Myers). Rock's penchant for beating a dead horse is most apparent in his parodies of Fox-style reality-based shows ("When Animals Attack in High Speed Chases II"), which are genuinely clever but run on a little too long. However, when Rock sticks to live-action comedy, he proves he's one of the funniest (and most satirical) comedians around, playing with issues of politics, race, and gender mercilessly. Hands down the most hilarious segment is a CNN-style "panel" on the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, hosted by Rock and featuring "Black Guy," "White Dude" and "Sista." Most attempts at lampooning this Presidential faux pas have fallen flat on their faces, but Rock and his cast take no prisoners as they skewer the players, the media, and the "man-on-the-street" mentality surrounding the hype. Other highlights include a male version of "The Rules" as interpreted by Ike Turner, continuing coverage of the rising career of rapper Pootie-Tang and his unique brand of urban slang, and Rock's petition to rename a street in Howard Beach after Tupac Shakur (one of the few pre-filmed segments that keeps its momentum going). Rock definitely proves he's one SNL alumnus who won't be wearing out his welcome anytime soon. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Chris Rock is hilarious but this DVD isn't, December 20, 2001

By 

Travis M. Owens (Syracuse, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best of the Chris Rock Show (DVD)

I personally believe Chris Rock is the funniest comedian ever. I purchase both Vol1 & Vol2 of "the Best of the Chris Rock Show". The 2nd DVD deserves 4.5 out of 5 stars, without a doubt but the first volumne is pale in quality, length & content.

This seems to just be grabs of random pieces of his show and are bar far NOT "the best off". The 2nd volumne has 55mins of skits and then another 45mins of his "Taxi Cab Driver Confessions" which alone almost makes the disk worth the purchase. This disk is just a poor collection of skits from the show, then 2 skits from the Taxi Cab. If you want a good Chris Rock DVD, buy volumne 2, but pass this one up, its not worth it, not even with a less than (...) pricetag.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The lighter (but still damn funny) side of Chris Rock..., December 20, 1999

By 

"sarah_elizabeth" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of the Chris Rock Show (DVD)

Chris Rock has proven himself to be a fantastic comedian as well as a tremedous political satirist. I have come to love his sharp but hilarious riffs on class and racial inequalities in his standup; he has a manner which lends itself to biting commentary without seeming mean-spirited, a true rarity.

This video is an hour or so of sketches from Rock's HBO "talk show," a critically acclaimed endeavor. The sketches are pretty light in nature, unlike much of his standup, but he still manages to remains sharp. The subjects range from "Monica-gate"(hilarious!) to the inscrutability of slang, and move fairly quickly.

The best moments are the ones where he goes out on the streets and talks to real people, such as his petition to change a street name to "Tupac Shakur Blvd." Another section takes on the alleged impact of Tiger Woods' success in golf on the African American community. Yet another is a riff on HBO's popular "Taxicab Confessions," with Rock playing a chatty taxi driver. The interaction with real people allows Rock to push the envelope and create a commotion.

All in all, this video is great -- especially since we don't have HBO in my apartment, so this is my only chance to see Rock's talk show work. However, I did miss the edginess of Rock's standup social satire -- for that, I would try one of his standup specials (which are, for my money, the best Chris Rock for the buck). But if you've already memorized them all, and you're looking for more laughs, try this wonderful video.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best from the King of Comedy, August 29, 2000

By 

Luis Hernandez (New York, New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best of the Chris Rock Show (DVD)

The "Best of the Chris Rock Show" highlights some of the funniest moments that have aired on this HBO show. Rock, who simply is the best comedian out there now, takes a liberal, yet hysterical view of many topics raging from racism to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal with a dosage of his trademark, raunchy humor.

The highlights of this compilation have to be Rock's personal approach in interviewing everyday common people about topics that have made headlines lately. Who else but Chris Rock can go to Harlem, to speak to both African-Americans and Asians on what they feel about Tiger Woods and golf. While Woods' biracial heritage (African-American and Asian) might not interest many, Rock's the reactions he gets from several Asian shop owners only points out that race is still important in America.

In another of his everyday interviews with the public, he asks several Harlem residents about how they felt upon hearing news of Princess Diana's death. While many people gave stupid responses, Rock's zaniness in asking ridiculous questions has made this a staple of his show.

Two skits I loved were the skits titled "Pundits" and "Racism/Gay PSA". In the former, Rock asks a panel of three actors what they feel about the Clinton scandal, only to get a series of hilarious replies. In the latter, we see a PSA of a white male approaching an African-American male on the dark streets of New York. While we might think this is a Public Service Announcement about racism, many viewers will be shocked that it isn't. In fact it is an announcement promoting colorless love...in the GAY community. Just plain hilarious!

If you love original comedy in the style of such shows as "Saturday Night Live" and "In Living Color", then the "Best of the Chris Rock Show" is a must see. Chris Rock definitely rules!