12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rare and terrific British comedy - and the dvds are Region 0!, April 20, 2006
This review is from: The Secret Policeman's Third Ball (DVD)
John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, Rowan Atkinson, Michael Palin, Eleanor Bron, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie, Neil Innes, Lenny Henry, Robbie Coltrane, Ade Edmondson, Terry Jones, Tim Brooke-Taylor...and lots more, too many to list...this collection of performances from benefit shows for Amnesty International is an absolute MUST for all British comedy fans. Yes, a couple of the later shows are awful, and yes, most of the musical guests are annoying and unwanted. But who cares? This set is full of comic treasures you won't see anywhere else. Peter Cook fans will be particularly delighted as he renders his finest monologue of all time (written specifically for this show), performs great sketches with his big fan John Cleese, and joyously reunites with Dudley Moore. Some of Rowan Atkinson's earliest and finest live work is here, and he also gets to do terrific things with Cleese. There's the definitive version of the Beyond the Fringe sketch "End of the World", terrific Neil Innes performances, and Jennifer Saunders ushering a musical guest offstage because he's "gone a bit, you know, boring." "House, MD" fans can see Hugh Laurie with his longtime comedy partner Stephen Fry, mocking the very concept of comedy in their surreal Hedge Sketch. And more and more! I can't possibly list all the great stuff in this huge collection, but I definitely recommend it! (It's a good-quality dvd set, indexed by sketch, so it's easy to queue up all the good bits and ignore the rest. )
IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure you buy the complete "Silver Edition" 25th anniversary 5-disc set, not the earlier issue that looks similar but has a black cover. The complete set is made in England but it's Region 0 and plays just fine on American machines. It has all the shows as well as a music-only special (yawwwn!) and a full disc of excellent documentary including oodles of great interviews with many of the participants (Fry, Cleese, Saunders, Palin, many more). Definitely check with your seller before you buy to make sure you get the right one.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More music, less comedy, still enjoyable, November 28, 2000
Like its predecessors, this video is a blend of musical performances and some of the biggest names in British comedy. While there is more emphasis on the musical performances this time around, there is still plenty of funny stuff. Particularly funny is the backhanded "tribute" to John Cleese, who was instrumental in getting the series started. Another one to look for is the "shrubbery" sketch, in which the performers can't seem to get their lines straight.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is the one with Kate Bush!, April 13, 2002
The real reason to buy this video is to see Kate Bush and Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd do an inspired live version of her hit "Running Up That Hill." She rarely performs live and so to have a documented visual of her performing before an audience is a real treat. The rest of the video and the music performances are so-so. Nice to see Joan Armatrading doing her usual wonderful work. Ruby Wax hosts it and has some funny lines. John Cleese puts in an appearance. Just buy it for Kate.
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