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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
60s nostalgia, January 28, 2008
This review is from: Gonks Go Beat (DVD)
For me this was a trip down memory lane as I was the pianist in the 60s Rock `n Roll group `The Long and the Short'. Line up: Bob McKinlay - lead vocal and rhythm guitar; Les Saint (Stuart) - lead guitar and one time member of Huyton Quarry Men; Alan Grindley, drums; and Gerry Watt piano. Although we all featured in `Gonks go Beat' we have never appeared in the credits unlike 'Lula and the Lovers', Nashville Teens, Grahame Bond Organization etc. This light hearted 'carry on' type film is worth a viewing for those interested in the history of 1960s music.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Well, the opening credits were entertaining anyway!, October 27, 2010
This review is from: Gonks Go Beat (DVD)
OK, you remember those "Bikini Beach" movies that were popular in the early '60s? Well think of this as a Bikini Beach movie gone horribly wrong. This is a totally weird 60s rock-n-roll musical send-up of Romeo and Juliet centering on two squabbling islands: Beatland and Ballad Isle. Intergalactic ambassador Wilco Roger is summoned to resolve the differences between the communities, employing the tactic of uniting a Beatland boy and a Ballad Isle girl; if he is unsuccessful he faces exile to Planet Gonk (inhabited by some strange doll-like creatures that apparently were based on a popular toy of the time). Despite the presence of Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Graham Bond and Lulu, the music here is nothing special. The music by the Beatlanders is typical of mid 60s rock rave-ups (watch for the lead singer/guitarist for The Long and the Short doing his best "Enzyte Bob" impression during their number "Love is a Funny Thing"!) , while the music favored by Ballad Isle consists of some of the sappiest ballads imaginable (the best way I could describe them would be to imagine the late 50s light pop group The Fleetwoods on Prozac). We're also treated to musical sequences featuring a band playing instrumental rock while driving down a deserted airstrip and a nine drummer prison jam session (neither of which serve much purpose other than padding the movie's run time) and a wacky "battle" sequence between both factions with musical instruments used as weapons. All this leads to the Golden Guitar contest pitting both islands against each other (since the loser's instruments are confiscated for six months this usually ends in a draw). Lulu's song "I'm the Only One" is pleasant but not exactly memorable, and The Nashville Teens' "Poor Boy" comes nowhere close to matching their hit "Tobacco Road". The bargain basement budget is readily apparent in the cheap set designs and the minimal special effects (watch for Wilco Roger ducking into the cloud of smoke as he makes his first entrance). If there was anything resembling a highlight here it would be the opening credits sequence featuring the Gonks grooving among construction paper/contact paper animation (to the song "Choc Ice", sung by Lulu with her voice altered almost to the point where she starts sounding like Cartman); it's pretty much all downhill after that.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon.UK has same disc for $13.00 including shipping., April 10, 2010
Hi,
Do not pay the rip-off prices($69.00) listed on US Amazon. Its the same PAL Reg.2 disc from Britain. Go to Amazon.UK-there is a link at the bottom of this page (United Kingdom) and order it there for about $13.00. (5.98 pounds plus 1.81 pounds for shipping ) All the countries that Amazon has websites in, you can order from those sights and Amazon will ship them to you in the US. I order from the U.K./German/and Japanese sites all the time. You will need to have a multi-region coded DVD player too. Don't let anyone tell you, you need a PAL TV set to watch the discs. The multi-region DVD players convert the picture to play on US televsions.
Amazons US site does sell low cost multi region DVD players. I've picked several up for between $25.00 to $60.00. The $25.00 machine I bought 5 years ago and use it everyday and its still going strong. Look up DVD players on Amazon, and read the customer reviews. Someone will mention if its a multi standard machine and where to find the code to make it multi-standard.
I just can't believe what US Market Place Sellers are charging for the wild "Gonks GO Beat". Again, Its the same exact DVD from Amazon U.K. at 6 times the price.
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