Customer Reviews

French and Saunders: Live - The New Show

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

 

 

For those who have seen the 1990 French & Saunders Live Show, the New Show from 2000 is considerably more satisfying. Their success during the '90s is very evident in this show - they're at the top of their game and their confidence leaps off the stage with crisp comic timing and more humorous, often self-effacing bits. This show has just enough of the classic characters from their TV Series, funny references to their solo ventures, and spectacular effects with a massive rear-screen projection (how does Jennifer walk up that wall - backwards?). It's not often that I laugh out loud when watching television, but I kept finding myself giggling until my cat started staring at me wondering what was wrong. I'm not sure that it deserves a 5-star rating of perfection, but it's better that 4 stars, and 4 1/2 stars was not an option. F&S and AbFab fans definitely need to add this to their collections.

While this is an NTSC DVD, it obviously originated from a PAL source. Unfortunately, the PAL->NTSC conversion was done terrible; about as ugly as a regular DVD player can do a conversion it's self when you play a PAL DVD in an NTSC machine. You will notice this as a "jittering" in the picture around any sharp detail when things aren't moving (you can see it quite easily at the top or bottom of the letterbox.) It's kind of a shame.

Aside from this technical annoyance, the show it's self is pretty funny.. any F&S fan should check it out. I echo most of the other revewier's comments.

Longtime F&S fan (an English woman introduced me to their work in 1992) and flew to London in early 2001 to see this show live at the Hammersmith Odeon. Some hilarious sketches but a Jennifer and Dawn perhaps a little too much of "stars" at this stage in their careers, and lacking the originality (and downright silliness, which I love!) of their earlier work.

Certainly a must-have for an F&S follower, but unlike the other reviewer, I'm a bigger fan of the 1990 live show. That show featured great sketches from the 3rd series (one of their best) and the inimitable Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron as Raw Sex. Couldn't ask for more, frankly!!

This show is a great for any fan of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, together or apart. They are quite a team that obviously are great together and creative in what they attempt. All the same old F&S antics are there with Dawn acting crazy with her big smile, and Jennifer has some amazing vocal cords. When you watch this show you will never hear the same old version of "Downtown" in your head ever again!

F&S are brilliant, amazingly talented, an usual combination of clowning and sophisticated humor. They are the only female comedy team in history -- and by far the funniest comedy team, either male of female!!

The F and S 2000 show was so good I couldn't wait for the Region 1 DVD. I've had the Region 2 for a while and it just doesn't get old. It is Dawn and Jen at the top of their game!

Since there was no cure for my AbFab addiction, I sought out more material for my habit. The French and Sunders library has not disappointed. The audio mix on this DVD greatly interferes with my flat out infatuation for French and Saunders material. Another review mentioned this was not directly produced by the BBC. This may be the cause for missteps in production value and the clarity of the dialogue. The caveat I offer is to try and buy it at a used price.

First: I gave this 4 stars because that's pretty much what I think of everything "French & Saunders". And I had to pick someting. Overall, "F&S" appeals to its audience, but not every fan of the show likes every bit, so 4 stars.

Now, the DVD info. I did some checking and it appears this a Region 1 release of a live show done in 2000. It isn't released by BBC America because the original productions wasn't done by the BBC. Here's a quote I found:

"Jef films released the video of the first F&S live show in the US and so it's not surprising they are releasing this one. Live in 2000 was nothing to do with the BBC, it was produced by Phil McIntyre Productions and their videos/DVDs will not be distributed by the same companies as BBC shows."

I have no knowledge about the "Live 2000" show, that's why I can't possibly add a comment about what this DVD holds. And this information is very second hand, but does seem to hold water. As a "F&S" enthusiast - not a huge fan - I might grab this just to write a proper review.