Customer Reviews

Saturday Night Live - The Best of Christopher Walken

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I love Christopher Walken on SNL. Along with Alec Baldwin's first appearances, most of Tom Hanks', John Malkovich's, and especially Kevin Spacey's, I think they are the best shows ever.
But this DVD disappointed me.

Of "The Continental" sketches, the funniest and best is still the first one they ever did. And it's not here.
There are two other Continentals from the show and, in the Extras, there's another that shows both what the P.O.V. camera sees and what the audience sees (making this DVD worth seeing).

The favorite "Cowbell" sketch is already on the Best of Will Ferrell (volume 1). The "Lovers" sketch, which I've never been a fan of, appears on volume 2 of Will Ferrell's Best.
So, for real SNL fans, we already have these.

Another gripe I have is that substandard sketches from more recent shows appear (like the Lifeboat and Centaur sketches) when earlier sketches have been completely ignored. Chris as Rainbow Head on a late 80's show was much funnier.
Like with Will Ferrell 2, it just doesn't feel like anyone really worked very hard putting this collection together. And I really don't think it's just a matter of taste.

But the Fonzie sketch in the Extras is great.

Christopher Walken has hosted "Saturday Night Live" six times. He has given the show some of its most hilarious moments, such as the Blue Oyster Cult sketch and "The Continental". Thankfully, the good people at "Saturday Night Live" decided to give Walken his own "best of" dvd. It is very funny, though there a few flaws.

The majority of the sketches ont his dvd are very funny. The best sketches are the two "Continental" bits, "Ed Glosser: Trivial Physcic" (my favorite and a parody of his role in the "The Dead Zone"), "Hardball", the Mango bit, Rita Del Vechio, the cowbell sketch, his monologue with Jimmy Fallon, "Pranksters" and the Census questioning.

The downside is there are several sketches that are not great that should have been left off. The "Centaur Interview" is amausing but not really funny. I liked the double-entendre in "Colonel Angus" but Walken doesn't appear in it until the end, and by that time the joke has run its course. The "Lifeboat" sketch is to absurd for his own good, and not a favorite. What I would have loved to see was Chris as Rainbow Head on "Attitudes" from is first episode in early 1990. And what about the first "Continental" sketch? It was, as one reviewer, pointed out, the best one.

The extras are surprisingly interested. The "Fonzie" sketch is hysterical, and the angel sketch is really entertaining as well. "The Continental" making off is a very intriguing at how this seemingly complex sketch comes into being. Overall, a very enjoyable dvd. Now when will they release "The Best Of Tom Hanks"?

And the only cure is MORE COWBELL!! I agree with some of the other reviewers here... They did leave out some classic sketches (rainbow head, for example). However, this dvd is still worth watching/owning for the classics that ARE included. I watched this by myself and couldn't help but laugh out loud during the "Pranksters" sketch. Christopher Walken is one of the masters when it comes to the deadpan straight man. I would have given it 5 stars if the sketches were a little more intelligently chosen. Worthwhile, but not perfect.

Christopher Walken is, in my opinion, one of the best hosts of SNL to grace the show. And this DVD doesn't do his appearances justice. He barely appears in the "Colonel Angus" skit, and the DVD extras aren't really worth looking at. It's also a let down to see so many skits cross over between the 25th anniversary edition & other "best of" discs. A show that's been on so long should put a little more into their realeases.
All let-downs aside, there are hilarious moments in the Walken DVD that are worth watching. The "Captain of the Boat" was a favorite when I first saw it and I'm glad to see it here.

There is probably no stranger group of skits than the best skits of Christopher Walken (not all of which are on this DVD). Attention will be focused on the more popular fare -- his outings as "The Continental" and his skit with Mango. But the more obscure offering of Walken interviewed by a census taker stands as the oddest funny skit in memory. Walken always seems to teeter on the edge of being mistaken for a pedophile or an ax murderer. His strange cadence, shifting eyes and blank look are the perfect affect for the bizarre statements that come from his mouth, one sentence cleverly layering upon the next. And in another favorite skit, the bizarre hysteria of his band manager ("I need more cowbell") plays well, time and time again. It is sometimes hard to explain to the uninitiated why these skits are so funny. They are funny because he does them, and he is so damn wierd.

I watched the Best of Christopher Walken when it aired on TV. I was thrilled to see that it's being released on DVD because I laughed my butt off. CW nails his comedic timing, and he is the master of straight, cool kat one moment to a crooked grin character the next in this collection. This echoes his roles of playing dry humor in such films as "Pulp Fiction" and "True Romance." My favorite sketches are "The Continental" and the "Cow-Bell" although Will Ferrell made that sketch happen just as much as CW. In "The Continental" I'd swear the second champagne in the face was an unplanned surprise to an unsuspecting Chris, but he maintains character albeit barely which is just as funny as his next line, "You throw cham - pag - na on me once, then shame on you. You throw cham - pag - na on me twice, then shame on me." All this followed by the desperate door-blocking attempts. I've bought a copy for my dad.

Chris Walken has been one of SNL's best hosts. He and Alec Baldwin are the only two people who have an open invitation to host whenever they want, schedules permitting. He is the second non-cast member to get a compilation DVD - the first was Steve Martin. He has appeared on SNL six times and his episodes have won Emmys for SNL the past two times he has hosted. The Fan Club www.walkenfanclub.com had been writing to NBC in hopes that they would do this, and we're just thrilled! I am really hoping there are some "extras" on there - we have the Will Farrell and Phil Hartman ones, and there are some good outtakes. When this aired on TV, I was actually disappointed that some of the great skits were left out. Chris did a wonderful dance scene with Molly Shannon for her Mary Kathrine character. He also did a hilarious skit called "Stalk Talk" Walken is great to work with which is why they keep asking him back. Buy this and you'll want to watch it again and again.

Christopher Walken is probably one of the funnier and stranger hosts that SNL has had, multiple times. Walken is at his best as Ed Glosser the Trivial Psychic- Nice homage to The Dead Zone, The Continental, Cowbell- Bruce Dickinson, and other insane characters like the PRankster who beats a guy for taking his parking space. Walken is weird, but very funny. Hard to imagine the guy from The Deer Hunter did work with Will Ferrell and company. Although, I wish they had Stalk Talk on that disc. Be a good note if they re-issue this set, again.

This is a poorly put together piece that fails to even include the best skits Christopher Walken did on SNL. Where are ALL the Continental skits? Enough said. This is a poor showing, and the makers should be embarassed.

Hmmmmm what to say about SNL - Christopher Walken. Its funny. But not that funny. Would I recommend it to friends? No. Am I glad I bought it? Yes. If your a die hard Chris fan, then go for it. If not... Watch it on Youtube.