Customer Reviews

Beverly Hillbillies 7 [VHS]

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I was VERY dissapointed with this set. The episodes are the edited versions that are shown in sydnication, and they don't even have the Jerry Scroggins (the late singer who did the opening and closing themes) instead they have some deep voiced guy who sounds like he's trying to do an Elvis impression and isn't very good at it. They also don't have the original theme music by Flatt & Scruggs, and the video quality is only so-so, as is the sound.
Also, the episodes aren't shown in order. They only show 2 episodes of the "arcs" of when Elly is dating Sonny Drysdale, and when Leaf Crick visits.
They have some extras, but all they are is a short biography of each cast member, and pictures from some episodes.
The menu does, however, have a "play all" feature, which is good.

People who are fans of the sereies who have never seen the first episode ("The Clammpetts strike oil")would enjoy seeing that, however, (even though it's, unfortunately, edited).

I got this DVD one time and I was not very happy! This DVD is from Diamond entertainment but I can tell you one thing... it sure is not very shiny! First of all the episodes do not contain the original music, the picture and sound quality is not very good, and the person who re-recorded the theme song sounds like he is very mad!

This review is for the quality, NOT the show. I bought a DVD player a few months ago because I read that the quality is far superior to VHS. Not true. Not with these two mini-frisbies.
I love the Beverly Hillbillies and have several on VHS and their quality is much better. This is just someones way of making a fast buck and nothing more. The sound quality varies from bad to worse as does the picture. And don't look for that great memorable openning "Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed..." because it is not there. There is some banjo music that I have never heard of before. Awful! Save your money. Maybe some day, Jed and the clan will get the respect they deserve. You've been warned.

It`s like meeting old friends again.When this show first ran here in the U.K it was the highlight of my weeks viewing. To show how much Jed and his family are remembered when I mentioned to a friend I had ordered this set his first words were "Weeeellll Doggy". Now the down side. The quality is`nt what you would normally expect from D V D but I suppose to re-master all these episodes would be quite expensive. The biggest mistake is where`s the theme gone. When they all appear at the end of each episode in the doorway you expect to hear. "Come and listen to my story `bout a man named Jed". This was one of the most famous themes on T.V. Its like watching Rawhide without Frankie Laine.

I remembered the Beverly Hillbillies fondly-but-vaguely. Watching this DVD collection, I came to realize just how fundamentally good and smart that show was. It was brilliant in its conception and execution. Jed Clampett is the show's moral compass; he is a New Testament figure in his fundamental good-will toward all, trusting, forgiving, and absolutely lacking in any sort of irony or sarcasm. Granny is the ultimate Old Testament fiesty matriarch, whose superstitious beliefs are based on mistrust, fear, and retribution. Ellie May is the Wood Nymph, who most closely resembles Jed in attitude (by way of her heart, more than the moral thinking of Jed). Lastly, Jethro is the the Modern Man, who is driven by ambition, with few thoughts of consequence, who sides with Granny in schemes, tempered by his naive/shallow beliefs in Good Results. As a foursome, they confound the world that confounds them.

Mr. Drysdale and Miss Hatheway provide bookends to the Clampett clan, in the roles of Id and Super Ego, each attempting to direct and/or prevent the family's actions at cross-purposes to the other.

Everything about the show is brilliant, sweet, and silly, with a massive moral lesson hidden in the guise of a goofball comedy.

Buy this DVD and learn what you missed in Sunday School.

I vaguely remember something about VHS versions of old BEVERLY HILLBILLIES episodes being made available WITHOUT the theme song and background music provided by Earl Flatt and Lester Scruggs. Licensing problems apparently got in the way. Well, one thing is clear. If you've ever wondered how essential a good theme song and soundtrack can be to a television series, this lacklustre set will provide you all the evidence you'll need. And--as they say---it ain't pretty.

I loved the BEVERLY HILLBILLIES when I was 10, because it played to my emerging sense of absurdity. I didn't realize that it was classic fish-out-water comedy (or maybe NOT so classic, but it seemed so at the time). Revisiting the series some 40 years later could have been a fun-filled exercise in nostalgia, but without the classic theme and the bits of country pickin' interspersed throughout the episodes, it's like an eclair without the cream filling--or hominy grits without the possum.

The replacement music, heavy with near manic fiddlin', doesn't work at all. It might have been appropriate for a giddier series, but actually, BH was a rather leisurely paced (if quintessentially silly) show. Well, this VHS package will surely go the way of all VHS, and will likely be replaced by DVD sets with entire seasons' worth of BH, with commentary no doubt! As for me, a few well selected episodes would have more than satisfied any nostalgic cravings I might have had. But if they're not introduced by "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," I say who needs 'em?

20 episodes of the greatest show of all time, what more could you ask for? Well, the theme song would be nice, but it's not a huge deal. Who evere chose these episodes clearly knew what they were doing, "The Gient Jackrabbit" Could very well be the funniest thing I've ever seen. I have never gotten the "Buddy Ebsen Bio" to work, but that could very well be my DVD player.