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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heapin' helpin' of hospitality----hillbilly, that is!, September 23, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Beverly Hillbillies (DVD)
This DVD contains four of the earliest episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies," but because these are not released by the copyright holder, the actual open and close we all know is not on the DVD. Instead, there's an Elvis sounding impersonator handling the singing made famous by Jerry Scoggins. Hopefully, CBS will release "Beverly Hillbillies" on DVD soon, so better prints with the actual opens and closes are available. The episodes on this DVD do a pretty good job of showing why the first two seasons of the program are actually among the best written in the history of television. Snobs hate the program, but the writing, character definition, and evolution of the characters all get off to a good start. And the music of Perry Botkin is used in a very sophisticated way to underscore the action on the screen, compared to the music of Curt Massey whose background music is heard on the later color episodes. Instead of using the music to set up a gag or to get a reaction, Botkin's masterful use of music sets up certain motifs for each of the characters to define them. That's something rarely done in a filmed sitcom--if it was ever even done prior to this show. The quality of the prints from which these episodes were taken is not particularly good. But until CBS releases the show on DVD, this is what you've got.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
What a shame!, July 5, 2002
This review is for the quality, NOT the shows. I grew up with, and loved, the Beverly Hillbillies. I have a few VHS tapes, but wanted better quality as you would expect with DVD. NOT! The shows on VHS are even better than this mini frisbie. Not only is the quality poor, but the theme song is gone. No "Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed..." There's this banjo music I never heard before. All I can think is that someone wanted to make a quick buck. A truely pathetic example of modern technology. Save your money. Maybe some day Jed and his clan will get a respectable release.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hillbillies Great -- Lousy DVD, August 24, 2001
By A Customer
The Beverly Hillbillies are wonderful, but this DVD stinks. First, the episodes do not include the classic Hillbillies theme song -- the producers hve substituted some other song and this borders on blasphemy. In addition, the transfer to DVD is awful! The picture and sound quality are the worst I've seen on any DVD. I have read that DVDs from Madacy Entertainment are bad, now I believe it. Still, for the hard core Beverly Hillbillies fan like myself, these black and white episodes from the second and third seasons of the show are a must. Were it not for the poor quality of the DVD, I would rate it 5 stars.
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