Customer Reviews

Bob Newhart - Button Down Concert

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This is a great time for Bob Newhart fans. His TV series has been appearing regular on DVD and now we get this outstanding comedy special. All too quietly Bob Newhart became one of the funniest comedians to transition from stand up to TV and film. Newhart first became a fixture in the public mind with his TV appearances and record albums. This special named after his first record "The Button Down Mind" (which became a startling #1 hit on the record charts) captures Newhart in perfect form revisiting the past in a live venue, touching on previous performances by echoing those routines and moving forward to the 1995 (when this show was recorded) in a funny concert recorded at the Raymond Theater in Pasadena, California for Showtime.

In many respects this is almost like a concert by a band that's been around for a long time--Newhart uses some of his old routines which still sound surprisingly fresh over 40 years later--and integrates them seamlessly into his more contemporary take on the fragile and often funny human existence. Bob's an affable but often perplexed every man and as such his routines such as his hilarious routine about The Driving Instructor bounce around with the comic energy of the absurd that's right around the corner (or in this case the driveway) from all of us. Newhart takes this to even more absurd (and oddly enough contemporary again because of Peter Jackson's film "King Kong") situations when the night watchman for the Empire State Building calls his boss to figure out how to get Kong off the building without breaking any windows. I had heard many of these routines over the years courtesy of my parents (along with unusual items such as Olivier's "Hamlet" played on their treasured 78 long players at parties...yes "Hamlet" played at parties. Hey, if you have enough to drink Olivier can be VERY funny at least according to my parent's friends) but the delivery and the characters that Newhart inhabits continue to keep them fresh and funny all these years later.

A big bonus here is a 20 minute interview with Newhart where he speaks candidly about his beginning in stand up and how he came up with some of his more famous routines. We also get a photo gallery featuring Newhart from childhood to adulthood which is kind of cool as well to see this icon of comedy over time.

Some routines are timeless. Newhart's routines because they touch on the absurdity of every day life that we might encounter have that quality. This is a terrific concert for fans of Newhart and fans of concert performances. It doesn't matter how old you are these are still funny routines with resonance that the average person can relate to. Newhart takes the ordinary, injects an absurd element into and imagines how that person would handle the situation much like we might except, of course, most of us couldn't make it as funny as Newhart with his pristine, hesitant delivery.

When a comedian can make audiences laugh at comedy routines he first recorded more than thirty years earlier -- when he can make a TV viewer (me) laugh out loud more than ten years after THAT -- boy, that comedian's really got something.

Some of the material was so familiar from Newhart's early '60s records that at one point in this performance he says, "I know some of you know these routines by heart, but it throws me off to watch your lips move along with mine as I'm doing them."

These are the routines on the DVD -- some titles from the DVD, some from the albums:

Bob at the Unemployment Office
Bus Drivers School
King Kong and the New Security Guard
Driving Instructor
Grace L. Ferguson Airline and Storm Door Co.
Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue
Cruise of the U.S.S. Codfish
The One-Eyed Bullfighter
Nobody Will Ever Play Baseball
The Nude Police Line-Up
Edison's Real Invention
Introducing Tobacco to Civilization
Retirement Party

First of all, let me say that it's great to have Newhart's old standup routines memorialized for the ages on this video. All the old chestnuts are here: the Driving Instructor, Abe Lincoln, Tobacco and others. The downside is that Newhart doesn't do a particularly good job of delivering the material. It seems as if his timing is off and often some important and funny lines are omitted. Having said that, if this is all we can get to watch, it's still worth watching. But if you want Newhart at his best, get the original audio performances, available on CD.

I had some of this material on an old LP (which died) and I despaired of ever hearing it again. Bob Newhart conducts a hilarious imaginary telephone conversation with Sir Walter Raleigh, and as the security guard on duty at the Empire State Building the night King Kong climbs it. His driving instructor skit is side-splitting, and so is the retirement party episode -- the rest of it is all mind-boggling Newhart lunacy. Watching him perform it all on DVD was an added bonus. Excellent value for money.

I have LP's, CD's and Cassette tapes of every known Bob Newhart Stand Up (OK, Sit Down) routine. Collected them for years. Even sent a complete set to an Arab Sheik in Qatar. And just found out this DVD is available. If you like the original, before TV series, Newhart and you cannot catch one of his increasingly rare live shows, get this DVD. Classic Newhart, refined by age and experience. Buy a spare for a gift. Well worth the price!

Love this DVD - loved Bob's TV shows but love him more as a stand-up comedian. Brought back many good memories of Bob when he started out. Enjoyed showing this to my children who only know of Bob from his TV series and they also enjoyed his humor and style of delivery that is so unique.

Great DVD for those who have seen Bob Newhart or are still waiting for the opportunity. The routines may be vintage but they are as funny as ever. I just wished it was longer.

Bob Newhart is truly amazing. His comedy is never vulgar or rude, or insulting to others. In his stand up, his albums and his TV shows he always portrays the absurd things we live with every day and stop noticing.
This is a DVD that mixes many classic routines from his comedy albums with some new insights and opinions on things in that classic Newhart deadpan delivery. Only could Bob Newhart have a maintence man working at the Empire State Bldg calmly calling his supervisor to get instructions of what to do in the event of a giant ape clutching a woman climbing up the side of the building (King Kong).
That is the genius of Newhart, and this DVD captures it for everyone to enjoy, from fans who have heard these routines before and for those who never have. Bob Newhart in my opinion never fails in his attempts to entertain.

This is classic newhart. It is enjoyable for those of us who grew up in the 60's/70's and liked this kind of comedy. The younger generation may not appreciate the subtle nature of this comedy routine.

I remember these routines from when Bob first wrote and performed them. When I found this DVD was available I ordered it without hesitation. The routines have stood the test of time and are just as funny now as when Bob first delivered them.

My favorite is the routine where Bob imagines what it would have been like for the security guard working his first night of duty at the Empire State Building when King Kong happened to climb the outside.

Bob Newhart has perfect timing and delivery. This DVD is proof that humor can be funny without being offensive. Thanks, Bob, for bringing back the laughs.