Product Details

• Actors: Dan Aykroyd
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: September 6, 2005
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000A6T230
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,285 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

SNL original cast member Dan Aykroyd, along with the other Not Ready for Primetime Players, ignited a comedy revolution in the 1970’s with a mix of rebellious behavior and groundbreaking material that instantly turned them into "The Beatles of Comedy". See what started it all with the Best of Dan Aykroyd’s amazing comedic performances as one of the Coneheads, Fred Garvin, Irwin Mainway, or selling hilarious products like the Bassomatic. And watch Dan’s unbelievable ability to act like President Carter, Tom Snyder or just a "wild and crazy guy". Plus enjoy extra bonus features, including exclusive interviews from SNL’s original cast and writers as well as never before seen material.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Great, But A More Concise Compilation Than Radner's, September 10, 2005

By	Anthony Nasti "Tony" (Staten Island, New York United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Few "Saturday Night Live" castmembers have carved a greater niche in the show's history than Dan Aykroyd. His four years on the show gave us some of the most hilarious moments ever to grace our television screens. From his zany charatcers to his dead on impresions, Aykroyd was a force to be reckoned with.

On September 6th, 2005, "The Best Of Dan Aykroyd" was one of four new "SNL" dvds from the show's first five years released on dvd. It features 22 sketches and has a decent run time of 93 minutes. How does it hold up. Read on for the positives and the negatives.

Positives:
-You get most of Aykroyd's popular recurring characters on here. Beldar Conehead, Leonard Pinth Garnell, Elwood Blues and others are all on this dvd.
-They included the Nerds sketch where he's the refrigerator repair man with his [...] hanging out. I've always wanted to see that sketch.
-You get his most popular impressions on here as well, such as his note perfect impersonations of Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Tom Snyder.
-You get to see many forgotten sketches that will serve as a real treat for diehard fans.
-You get some great extras.

Negatives:
-The dvd's main flaw is this. A lot of the dvd's funniest sketches were on previous dvds as well. For example, the "Coneheads And The I.R.S." sketch and "The Festrunk Brothers" bit were both on "The Best Of Steve Martin". Similarly, the "Consumer Probe" sketch with Irwin Mainway was on the "Best Of Halloween".
-A lot of great characters were left off, such as Jason The Hippie, Mike Mendoza, one of half of the X - Police and many other great characters were left off.
-They don't include anything from the various cameos he made on the show between 1988 and 2003. He did a lot of funny stuff then, too. I was especially disappointed that his Bob Dole impression was not included.
-This next one is going to stir some disagreements. I did not find "Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute" very funny. I expected it to be much funnier, but I was disappointed.
-There were a few other sketches that didn't do anything for me. Howeer, this is almost always the case with most "SNL" dvds.

So, this is a far from perfect retrospective of Aykroyd's "SNL" career, but I'd definitely recommend you'd check it out.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Man I Like this DVD, December 15, 2005

By	D. A. Beckham "industrial spy" (Troy, MO) - See all my reviews

This DVD is an excellent collection of Aykroyd's work during the first four years of SNL. Thankfully it is slightly different from the original VHS Best of Aykroyd DVD.
Most of the old material is included, except that there is a different Blues Brothers song instead of "Rubber Biscuit". There is an additional Jimmy Carter sketch and a "Point/Counterpoint" debate with Jane Curtin that was sadly missing from the original set.
Also included is a brief interview/documentary with Aykroyd and other cast members and hosts. I wish that some of the sketches excerpted here had made their way onto the disc.
Finally there is Aykroyd's original audtion tape for SNL. He goes through his characters and routines seamlessly. It shows off his versatility, even if it isn't hilarious.
Definitely worth buying for fans of classic SNL.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks for finally releasing it, March 2, 2006

By	Marcel Pedneault "raelian" (Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With the recent releases of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and other original SNL members, let's hope the SNL people (reading this, Mr. Michaels?) will finally release complete seasons, starting with the FIRST one!
There IS a market for it, please go ahead, release season 1 now and you'll see!
Aykroyd is a genius of comedy.
I want to see ALL his skits in ALL the episodes.
Thanks