Product Details

• Actors: Tom Smothers, John Astin, Katharine Ross, Orson Welles, Susanne Zenor
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 21, 1994
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302772737
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,098 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Unavailable in any home-video format for years, Get to Know Your Rabbit is ripe for rediscovery as one of Brian De Palma's earliest and most entertaining films. Filmed in 1970 after De Palma's previous indie-films Greetings (1968) and Hi Mom! (1970), then held in limbo and only barely released in 1972, this countercultural comedy is fueled by the same irreverent, anti-establishment attitude that made Easy Rider so phenomenally popular. It's as freshly relevant as ever, with the same quality of whimsical absurdity that you'll find in similar comedies of the time like Norman Lear's Cold Turkey (1971), another memorable gem that's due for rediscovery. Before finding his niche in Hitchcockian thrillers, De Palma was aiming for something more comedically subversive (as a result, this film suffered from studio tinkering to make it more commercially appealing), but he still managed to capture just the right combination of satire and slapstick in telling the tale of Donald Beeman (a perfect role for Tommy Smothers), a corporate drone who quits his well-paying job and reinvents himself as a tap-dancing magician with the help of an aging illusionist played (in a sloshed parody of himself) by Orson Welles. As ridiculous as it seems, Beeman's new life suits him just fine while his former boss (hilariously played by TV's Addams Family star John Astin) recovers from a precipitous downfall and turns tap-dancing magic acts into a self-help cottage industry! With a bevy of familiar costars including character actor Allen Garfield and a young, cheerful Katharine Ross (then on the verge of stardom, and appropriately billed as "A Really Terrific Looking Girl"), Get to Know Your Rabbit meanders amiably on its merry way, scoring as many comedic misses as hits as Beeman finds the life he's looking for, but it's got a timeless charm that anyone can relate to... even De Palma's latter-day fans. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Orson Wells and Tommy Smothers -- you simply should see it., June 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Get to Know Your Rabbit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This decades old movie centers around the currently fashionable '99 trend towards voluntary simplicity in lifestyle. It made a huge impression on me when I first saw it at the Orson Wells Cinema in Cambridge, MA, back in the '70's. I told people it was the best movie I'd ever seen, and I tried to find it again. Finally, two decades later, I saw it was playing in Venice CA! --- it seemed somewhat dated, not "the best movie I'd ever seen" but it is unique, a classic, and simply should be experienced.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Am I the only person who loves this movie?, March 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Get to Know Your Rabbit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I came upon this movie late one night on TV and just had to see it to the end. I remember every gag (even if I didn't laugh out loud when I saw them). This was the first post-modern movie... made in 1972! Orson Welles seemed to be playing the role that he really wanted to always play; a tap dancing magician maestro. Are there any other fans out there?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very funny movie, October 23, 2001

By 

J. J. Carew (Green Bay, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Get to Know Your Rabbit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I really liked this movie, but I do have to admit it's not for everyone's tastes. I was a huge Smothers Brothers fan growing up, and I was able to rent this movie from the video store. The film was actually made in 1969 but put on the shelf for three years before it was finally released. I think this is also Brian De Palma's directorial debut. And I do have to agree, the John Astin part is hilarious!