Customer Reviews

Billy Connolly - The Greatest Hits Of Billy Connolly [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While searching Amazon for an HBO special Billy did back in the 80s, I stumbled on this little gem. I ordered it immediately and my husband was thrilled when I gave it to him.

This DVD starts out with early Billy in the 1970s and moves chronologically through his stand up career ending with a last show in the late 1990s. Each tour is a different chapter although there is no chapter listing on the DVD - my one complaint if you can call it that. A cartoon Billy displays where and when each live show is recorded, then you are thrown into a routine or two from that tour. You do not get the entire stand up show - just snippets, presumably, the "best of" from each. Having seen both HBO routines back in the 80s I can say that certainly not all of "the best" has been included because you just can't get that much info on a single DVD. Still, you will get 2 hours of Billy Connolly at his best with this one DVD - not too shabby.

A word of caution though: Billy's style may not be for everyone. There is plenty of foul language as well as subject matter that some find offensive - like "jobbies" that won't flush or how it feels to have your prostate examined - to name a few. NO ONE can accuse Billy Connolly about being shy!
Of course you also get such subjects as being a parent, visiting with friends in pubs and airlines so do not feel it is all toilet humor (no pun intended). If this DVD doesn't make you laugh then I seriously do not know what will.

Also may I suggest that you do not watch all of this DVD in one sitting. My husband and I tried it and were sorry for days afterward as the pain in our stomach muscles from laughing so hard just lingered on and on. I have yet to find anyone who does not enjoy Connolly's take on things and I'm betting that you will enjoy it too.

From his stories of a commuter waiting for his bus and Liam Neeson accidentally running over a cat to his immitation of wildebeests on the Serengeti Plain, this DVD covers a broad range of Billy's best material, spread out over 20+ years. I only wish there were more of it, although you shouldn't misunderstand - there's plenty here to have you wetting yourself a few times. After all, Billy Connolly is one of the true masters, considered a comic's comic throughout the comedy community.

Now here's what I hate to admit, as an American of Scots ancestry: During the parts where he plays to Scottish audiences, it can be quite a challenge to understand him through his thick brogue, especially in the footage from the 1970s. Then, once you understand him, some of his references are so solidly Scottish that getting the jokes can also be a challenge. But, of course, that's my problem, not his. And that's PART of what makes this DVD such an interesting and fun departure from more typical American comedy. All the more reason to watch it again and again.

The DVD itself is good, but a couple of one-on-one interviews with Connolly would have made it even better. After all, he's been around as long as Robin Williams, Paul Reiser, David Brenner, and others, but has been somewhat hidden from Americans until recently. Especially since there aren't many tapes or DVDs of this ingenious Scots comic available in the U.S., I highly recommend you grab this one. (I know there are many who read this from outside the U.S., but availability is something I can only write about from my own admittedly local vantage point.) At the very least, you'll quickly see where many of our more recent comics got their acts.

After searching on-line stores for hours looking for a DVD of Billy's stand up material, I was incredibly happy when I found one.
This is the best DVD of Billy's stand up material you will find to date.
The DVD consists of portions from his live shows throughout his long career.
If you're a long-time fan of the big-yin, or have never even heard of him before, this DVD will provide you with great laughs.

and stock up on Kleenex. This will have you laughing until it hurts, unless you're offended by offensive things in which case drop this one like a hot rock.

I laughed until I cried, may have wet myself, and became totally immoral for the next few hours...

I've always loved Billy Connolly, he is among my favourite comics around. Just the fact that he can churn out new jokes over and over again for 30 years shows his talent as a comedian. He is such that old women will attend his shows and be bombarded with a torrent of F-Bombs and still leave with the impression that he's a nice guy. The best of selection goes from a very early show in the 70's to the late 90's, the latter stuff often being better. I loved the whole DVD and it's a great place to start for anyone looking to discover Billy Connolly. My personal favourite material being the joke about the guy in a bar called donkey, and the general banter about how farts make the noise they do, which he describes as your ass applauding. However, to anyone offended by f-words and the like, this is a f*cking bad place to look.

Provided you can stomach some foul language, this DVD is an absolute scream. Billy Connolly has been making an arse of himself for our entertainment for decades, and this is a collection of "some" of his funnier material. Great purchase.

I saw my first Billy Connolly on HBO when I was about 18 years old, and we recorded it on VHS and I watched it over and over always laughing as hard as I had the very first time I saw him perform. Greatest hits is a side-splitting- face hurting experience featuring all Billy Connolly's best over the last 30 years from when he began to present time, most filming done at live performances outside the US. It is very well put together and gives US viewers glimpses of shows that we have never seen. Over 2 hours of humor like only Billy Connolly can serve it up. For anyone that has never seen Connolly before, I think you will find that his use of un-familiar (to us in the US) words like "WEE" and "TROUSERS" plus his un-forgettable accent are icing on the cake. I personally think that listening to him talk about something silly like auto maintenance or sewing would be funny just because of his use of words and his accent.

A good snapeshot of some of Billy Connolly's better live performance. If you like BC, then you'll enjoy this DVD.

Billy Connolly is Scotlands greatest export and is one of the worlds greatest comedians loved internationally.

His view on life is that of great innocence with a twisted wry side and angry sense of injustice that has you aching with laughter.

This is vintage Billy Connolly to be enjoyed with a wee nippie sweetie and a good does of Glasgow fry up, view The Crucifixion, having somewhere to park your bike, Ivan The Terrible and Football Violence as well as more up to date musings on hymns, farting and odd parts of the body.

Connollys sense of humour is rooted very much into Glasgow blue collar but transcends right across the broad spectrum of what is funny. Even those bad taste comments are funny in a Glasgow accent.

Tho like every greatest hits; there is always somethign missing that youd like to have seen put on there, but this DVD is a couple of hours worth of Billy finest and crudest material from his begining to today, if you dont know who Billy is, or havent heard his stand up performances, then i'd recomend this to start you off.