Product Details

• Actors: Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington, Frances de la Tour, Richard Beckinsale, Gabrielle Rose
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: Bfs Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: November 11, 1998
• Run Time: 150 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303166423
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,421 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Set in the seeediest of boarding houses, Rigsby the landlord tries to rise above the squalor with his pretensions of aristocracy. However, this is not the worst of his faults: he's also mean, penny-pinching, self-centred and prejudiced against anyone and anything, as his hapless lodgers quickly find out. Rising Damp has been one of the most popular comedies ever shown on British television, winning countless awards. Episodes are Rooksby, Black Magic, Night Out, Gharisma, All Our Yesterdays, and The Prowler. 3 VHS tapes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute classic....It just doesn't get any better..., November 18, 1999

By 

Kevin Walton (Derbyshire, central England.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rising Damp - Collection Set 1 (Rooksby/ Black Magic/ Night Out/ Gharisma/ All Our Yesterdays/ The Prowler) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Set in a seedy bedsit somewhere in England in the early 70's, this series together with the rest of 'Rising Damp' is pure comic genius. Leonard Rossiter as the tyrant landlord 'Rigsby' is absolutely flawless. Simple, timeless and very very funny comedy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thoroughly Enjoyable British Comedy, October 24, 2001

By 

Tiggah "the Anglophile" (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rising Damp - Collection Set 1 (Rooksby/ Black Magic/ Night Out/ Gharisma/ All Our Yesterdays/ The Prowler) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Rising Damp is a very funny 1970s British Comedy starring the extremely talented and comical Leonard Rossiter (The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin) as Rigsby, the crotchety, self-important, and highly-strung live-in landlord of a run-down boarding-house-style apartment. Rigsby is constantly scheming to attract the attention and affection of his tenant, Ruth Jones. But Rigsby is hopelessly and hilariously inept, and although Ruth tries to be polite, it is obvious (at least to the viewer) that Rigsby doesn't stand a chance. Furthermore, Ruth has her eye on another tenant, Philip, a young black African college student. Philip, however, is about as interested in Ruth as Ruth is in Rigsby.

Philip shares a room with Alan (Richard Beckinsale of Porridge), an open-minded young medical student. Rigsby has a very low opinion of both Alan and Philip and is constantly insulting them. Rigsby takes his jabs where he can find them. With Alan, they're aimed at his long hair and tight trousers; with Philip, they're directed at his tribal African ancestry. Though hardly politically correct, Rigsby's jabs at Philip are counterbalanced by the fact that Philip is so obviously Rigsby's superior in every way, be it intellectually, socially, culturally, financially, or romantically. Actually, one cannot help feeling a little sorry for Rigsby. He's so critical of everyone else (save Ruth, who can do no wrong in his eyes), yet he is completely oblivious to his own shortcomings.

This boxed set consists of three videos, each with two 25-minute episodes for a total of six episodes, and it is a series that is very, very funny indeed. With five boxed sets in all (and a total of 26 episodes plus one special), this is one of the few British comedies to have been released on video in its entirety, and it is an absolute shame that BFS Video has discontinued it. Still, I managed to track down a copy of the entire series only recently, and I must say it is one series that is well worth ferreting out!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Comedy - You'll laugh your head off, November 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rising Damp - Collection Set 1 (Rooksby/ Black Magic/ Night Out/ Gharisma/ All Our Yesterdays/ The Prowler) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This classic British series from the seventies pits the curmudgeonly landlord Rigsby (Rossiter also in Barry Lyndon and 2001) against Alan (Beckingsale father of actress Kate Beckinsale) and Philip (Warrington also in Branagh's Hamlet) while continuously trying to impress Miss Jones (De La Tour).

Rossiter is an excellent actor and very very hilarious.

Compare this to America's All in the Family TV series.