Customer Reviews

Brady Home Movies

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...all "Brady" kids got 8 mm silent movie cameras as gifts. The movies they made with these cameras is what basically makes up this television special. Better and more interesting than most of the Brady specials/documentaries. This special was put together by Susan Olsen (Cindy), which gives it some genuine Brady cred. Cast members are present as well to lend commentary where appropriate. Some footage is from the cruise Robert Reed took the kids on (the trip where Greg tried to put the moves on Marcia, er, rather, Barry tried to put the moves on Maureen). Surprising it didn't air more than once, considering it rated well on it's first and only CBS airing. This special was filmed after Robert Reed's passing.

Before reality TV swept the nation, Robert Reed (who played dad Mike Brady) had the genius idea to take ALL of the kids on vacation with him and give them portable cameras to record the event.

Even if it ruinned the serenity of his usually quiet vacations, this same decision would ultimately provide the BEST footage of the 'Bradys' as most people never saw them previously. Thus, unlike a lot of retrospective titles, this entry consistently keeps audience interest.

As chronicled in Growing up Brady: I was a teenage Greg, these movies ultimately provided lot more realistic depiction of the six kids than anything Sherwood Schwartz wanted to produce. Like other teens their age, the 'Brady Bunch''s young actors coupled up and made out with each other There is some really interesting commentary on these films.

Reed might have gained intra-set infamy for his opposition to bubblegum plotlines, but this is easily overshadowed by his genuine concern for all of the kids. Before he died of complications from AIDS, many of the kids honestly considered Reed their second father. The tribute included in this DVD stresses that the sentiment the kids and Reed felt towards each other genuinely was familial.

September 21, 2000
"Brady Bunch home movies" is an amazing look behind-the-scenes at one of the worlds best known, and loved TV shows. Robert Reed (Mike Brady) gave each of the "Brady Kids" a super 8mm video camera their first Christmas together. The kids spent the next 5 years (during breaks from filming The Brady Bunch) making their own home movies. This rare look at the entire cast and crew, along with early auditions, commercials and a "where are they now" segment, make "Brady Bunch Home Movies" a must in ANY Brady collection!

This is a TV special that aired in 1995. This is a very entertaining documentery on the real lives of the Brady Bunch-when the cameras were not rolling. They were normal kids who liked to have fun. They were very good at goofing off-they were just being themselves.

Robert Reed-who played the father-Mike Brady on the show gave each one of the kids super 8 cameras. They all made home movies with these cameras and now for the first time ever, several of these movies were compiled into this tv special. I find these home movies very fascinating. It shows what these kids were really like when they were not filming.

I think the main thing about this special is that it shows how these kids established a chemistry on the show and why it worked so well. They liked being with each other even off the set. And so when one watches the Brady Bunch, it's easy to see that they had a great chemistry and that's what made them so believable.

My favorite home movies here are those of Mike Lookinland(Bobby)this was one goofy kid when the cameras were not rolling. His home movie of the dogs and cats is very funny. It also shows why he is my favorite Brady kid-he was a real charmer!

So, you want to know what these kiks were really like in real life? Then get this DVD!

As a fan of The Brady Bunch sitcom and their made for television reunion movies I watched This Brady Bunch Home Movies Special and I really enjoyed it and thought it was very interesting. I wasn't disappointed at all and I recommend this to Brady Bunch fans. I too found this to be an interesting and amusing documentary.

I must say I was dissapointed with this movie.What's the deal with the loud pop/rock music that plays totally from start to finish!!???. It's like someone forgot that we were actually meant to hear what was being said!!!.
The film footage was excellent & even better than I expected but don't even attempt to try and drag the 70's into the 90's at all, and especially with that shocking music throughout, it just didn't work at all!!.
Production companies should try and remember that the people who buy these features actually want to go back to "THAT" time totally, and that any attempt to "modernise" a window in time is a HUGE mistake.
Sorry to sound so critical, but I was really looking forward to a "total voyage" back to those 70's "Brady Days".
My suggestion, turn off the volume!.

Brady Bunch Home Movies never would have been were it not for the fact that Robert Reed, who played the father on the hit series, was kind and generous enough to give out 8 mm cameras to everyone in the cast. Therefore, what we get here is roughly an hour of terrific "home movie" footage shot by the cast members (especially the child actors) as the series ran its course over several years; and it's great fun to watch this DVD. The pace of the footage flows along against the backdrop of a "family reunion" as most of the cast was able to get together much more recently to reminisce about the series. For example, they recall that the original title for the pilot episode was "The Brady Brood" instead of "The Brady Bunch." The quality of the 8 mm footage is certainly not the best but it's thoroughly entertaining and I enjoyed watching it tremendously.

The footage is truly fascinating; we even get television footage of the actors before the series even began! There's a great clip of Ann B. Davis (who played Alice the homemaker on the series) acting on the Bob Cummings TV show for which she got two Emmys; and we see the majority of the child actors in TV commercials as well. There's also a good amount of footage shot when Robert Reed took the cast--at his own expense--to New York and then to London on the QE2; Reed wanted the children to understand and appreciate the arts and acting and he certainly succeeded. Even though Reed wasn't initially too keen on working with children, he became a father figure to them as they worked together.

As far as extras go, there are the "interviews with Bobby and Cindy." These are professionally shot interviews with Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen as they recall the show and their experiences while doing the show. It's a terrific extra feature.

Overall, this is a must-have for fans of The Brady Bunch. Sadly, it is out of print as of the time I am writing this, but maybe that will change in time since the show is very often shown in syndication. Fans of the actors in this series will also want this for their collections.

As I said on another site and as The "Mother" starts off this special their saying how This is their first reunion since the girls"Got married."It's a very good follow up on all the original tv show's members of the original tv show's cast and each just as famous for their real/stage names as they are for their a.k.a. Brady role names including one of Robert Reed but under his birth name saying John Robert Reitz a.k.a. Mike Brady each followed by some but not all of their pre and post Brady roles but still a very good follow up.The cast members each share all of they're favorite memories of Bob including Chris Knight a.k.a. Peter Brady crying & saying how there were a Number of things he would've loved to have shared with Bob but didn't get to of which many times is the case with someone who's no longer with us.There were very good clips of their "reunions" too Yes as with The Brady Bunch Variety Hour,A Very Brady Christmas,along with The Bradys.Let's look forward to & clamor for the possibility of further future Brady Bunch Reunions in TV Show continuity perspective of which they still can have further reunions but no more pregnant jokes,the last of which was used in a Very Brady Christmas.There's also a good follow-up on their trips with the Super 8 Cameras of which Bob gave them for on at least one of their trips.Please also do check this special out on the ImBD site.

Watching the footage filmed by the Brady kids is oddly like watching one of your own family recordings. Jumping from scene to scene, jerky and out of focus - but there is no doubt the level of love and happiness in eyes of the talent.

Added to this vision is a fascinating reunion with the Bradys (and Alice). Their respect for Robert Reed (who gave the kids the orginal cameras to film with) is obvious and the long standing friendships between the actors driven out of this wonderful series is great to see (if not something of a relief these days!!).

A most enjoyable DVD for Brady fans.

I remember when this first aired on television. While I thought that it definitely could have been longer, I also enjoyed it because I was able to see a new side to the Brady's, so to speak. And from someone who grew up with Brady's, at least in re-runs, it was fun to see them as actual kids, being goofy.

If you missed this when it first aired, and are a Brady fan, it's definitely something that is worth watching. The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is because I feel it could have been longer, and wish that Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb would have been with the rest of the cast during this little mini-reunion. However, as a plus, at the end, there are interviews with Susan Olsen and Mike Lookinland, that stretch to a pretty good portion, which is definitely another plus, as long as you are a Cindy and Bobby fan.