Customer Reviews

Greg Garrison Presents The Best of the Dean Martin Variety Show (SPECIAL EDITION)

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

 

 

$44 per season might be a good price (tho a lot of first run TV now goes for $29.99.

These are fine little excerpts but they do not show the entire context.
What I would like to see is the season -- as seasons-- in order-- and even with some applicable contemporary commercials and context.

I'll have to put my money into other things until this comes down in price.

The transaction went smooth enough but I was disapointed that the DVD was only one hour in length. I feel that $55- for this product was very over priced. My sister purchased the same DVD on a television offer for $9.99, so needless to say I feel I was ripped off. I know if the item I purchased would have stated that the length was only one hour I would not have purchased it.

Respectfully,
Kevin D. Bayliss

Dean Martin was a great entertainer and his show was a real cultural phenomenon of its time. With that being said, I don't think this DVD does either of them justice. Oh, there's some funny material on this DVD but I would rather see an entire show or two rather than a few clips from here and a few from there.

Instead of releasing the "Best of Dean" TV special that aired on NBC in 1979, producer Greg Garrison inexplicably re-edited and shortened the original broadcast for this DVD compilation. What remains are some classic moments from Dino's 1965-74 variety show, but little of the context that made the 100-minute retrospective so memorable. If Garrison intended to create an hour-long sampler, he should have started from scratch.

This is a review of the complete 'Best of Dean Martin...' sets. I'm not critiquing any specific volume, so I apologize in advance that this review is found on every one. However, since my review is for all buyers and not just those of a certain volume, this seems necessary.
'The Dean Martin Show'(1965-74) was a favorite of mine as a child &, outside of the vaudeville slapstick, it still holds up pretty well. As for the packaging, however, Martin's longtime assistant, Greg Garrison, has edited this whole thing together with no consideration to content or style: on e. volume, excerpts from all nine seasons are poorly tossed together, with the jump from time periods being extremely jarring & the style of the show completely lost. Included are reminiscences from guest stars of the show, but these are poorly edited into the format, looking more like cheap quality early 80s videos. A friend of mine, who also likes 60s TV, was just horrified when he saw this mishmash.
So, basically, if you're someone who just wants to see the show and has no concerns on how you view it, these'll possibly be fine. Contrarily, if you have fond memories of the show and its style, which Martin worked hard on, you'd probably do better waiting for a better package. A season by season release, as most TV offers now, is long overdue.
The real culprit here is Guthy-Renker, who has the rights to the show. It's an extremely dated company that does this very same thing to all programs to which they received the rights, such as 'The Carol Burnett Show' & 'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'. I believe 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' has had this same problem, but handled by a different mishandler.

A very enjoyable, very entertaining hour or so - sketches are very funny - one, with Frank Sinatra is hilarious.

Garrison's narrative is very helpful, as he discusses Dino's genius at informal-formal art - what a great concept: Dino, in a tux, adlibs and reads cue-cards!

Amazing sequence has Dean actually playing director and stage manager and star as he has the chorus line basically start over, when one chorus girl flubs a line! "Take two" is better!

The viewer under 40 might not understand what the celebration is all about and might not find some of the "70s Vegas Lounge" banter appealing, but the material is still strong.

Recently, a Dean Martin greatest hits CD went to Number One on a Billboard chart. If those under 40 don't dig the jokes, it's almost guaranteed that the *music* will succeed!

What an enormous disappointment for, actually, $99.94. Will not view it as I am returning it. 55 Minutes worth of video and that is what I get. No way. Shipper not easy to contact and will not return my call as yet. Truly a disappointment with Amazon for promoting such a video. Have used Amazon before but will hesitiate next time.

Not happy with this DVD! First of all there isn't a chapter guide. The DVD just runs on from one clip, commentary to another. I couldn't select which clip I wanted to watch.

And the commentaries seemed mostly trifle with Hollywood stars not directly connected. Very boring and too many of them.

It's so frustrating that Greg Garrison's production doesnt put out entire episodes of Dean Martin Show. Once I saw this DVD I was turned off and will not order any more
.

I found this for 45c in the fire bin at a thrift shop in a bad neighborhood. It's worth every penny! Dean wings it with the usual suspects. On parade is the increasingly arthritic Establishment of show biz, putting a few more bucks in their pocket. I can imagine hippies at the time rolling their eyes at this shtick. Their square parents loved every minute of it. "That Dom Deluise is a real card, Ethel." "Ho ho, that Jimmy Stewart floors me!" What's really great is Dean's Vegas-cool persona. What a smooth operator. What a player! He's dragging on a cigarette and ogling the chicks and not giving a damn. He can't wait until it's over so he can hit the golf links. He's so charming and easy-to-take that he gets away with every flub and look at the clock. Some performers suffer for their art, but not THAT cat. (What's funny, though, is how his hair rug went gray all of a sudden.) Dino was the sort of all-around entertainer who puts today's half-baked TV hosts like Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O'Brien to shame. Dean had talent and ability, not just hype on a billboard. Kind of wish he were still around to show those losers how it's done.

For 90 plus dollars, I thought that I would get more than just 1 hour of entertainment.