Customer Reviews

Sid Caesar Collection - 3 Volume Gift Boxed Set

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was growing up, my dad used to talk about "Your Show of Shows" all the time. The way he carried on, you'd think it was some sort of religious experience to get to watch Sid Caesar. Well, he was right, and these tapes prove it. First of all, what other show in the history of television had such talented writers beind it? We're talking Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart... all more or less at the same time! Second, and this can't be emphasized enough, Sid is, hands down, the most talented comedic actor I've ever seen. His double-talk routines, in which he pretends to speak German or Italian, are unbelievable, and his one-man stage routines, such as "Five-Dollar Date," are breathtaking--and something you'd never see today. You must buy or rent this three-tape series. Not everything is spot-on, but the funny stuff is truly, transcendently funny. One complaint: How come no pickle sketch? Guess I'll have to wait till the next series is released...

The comedy is timeless! The new interviews with Caesar, Woody Allan, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks etc. put the tapes in perfect context. My favorite sketch was the parody of "this Is your Life" when Harry Morris literally swung from Caesars body for half the sketch. I also loved the Three singing Haircuts! Gimme more tapes. Gimme Gimme Gimme. (And by the way, I'm not of that generation, I'm 27 years old.)

TV's Golden Age of comedy is lovingly preserved on these digitally remastered videos, and they're as hilarious today as they were in the '50s. What a welcome change from what passes as "comedy" today...no edginess, vulgarity or racy innuendo...just laugh out loud funny stuff delivered with superb timing. The "foreign language" skits are masterpieces of doubletalk, and Caesar's solo "Five Dollar Date" is a marvel of rapid-fire patter to rival anything that Danny Kaye ever did. This collector's set is a keeper!

I don't know much about "Your of Shows", but I bought a set for my grandmother's birthday, and she hasn't stopped talking about it. This is the first time I've EVER bought a gift for one of my Grandparents that they ACTUALLY LIKED. Thanks for the brownie points, Sid!

What a wonderful idea to put these tapes out. I finally got to see again what I grew up on. I love the fact that I can show my grandchildren what I consider to be "classic comedy". There are so many great scenes that I had forgotten about until I watched the tapes. My children have been talking about the new TV shows coming out this season, but now I can finally show them how much better my shows were in the `50s. What a brilliant man Sid Caesar was...to think that he did every show live & uncensored. That's true talent in my opinion. I highly recommend this set to anyone of any age.

Caesar was and still is a genius at comedy. But neither he nor his partners in the "Show of Shows" has to tell us that. This set is a true public service. Anyone who has seen 'The Show of Shows" will get a kick out of this selection. But there's one thing missing: some of the side-spliting skits in which Imogene Coca appeared. I remember one in which Sid and she were "Cave-men" which should have been included. My only reservation of this collection is just that: not enough Imogene and too much self-praise in the interviews collected for this issue.

When "Your Show of Shows" aired in the early 50's, I was 15 years old. I thought it was the funniest variety show I had ever seen. This was in the heyday of Uncle Miltie and Jackie Gleason. I loved them all, but the one I loved the most was the great Sid Caesar and his peerless ensemble cast of comic geniuses and writers, which included the brilliant Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris and, among the writers, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Neil Simon and Larry Gelbart. What a line-up! I lived for Saturday nights when these wonderful people did what no one since then has done so well. Everything they did was screamingly funny, and the high level of comic madness they sustained has never been equaled since. It truly was a golden age, and those of us who were priviledged to see it live were blessed beyond measure. Thank God these priceless treasures were preserved for future generations. If you never buy another DVD set, let this be your last one.

I wasn't much of a Sid Caesar fan until I saw parts of "The Sid Caesar Collection" as a fund-raiser for PBS. I had never watched his shows in my childhood, but after seeing several sketches this time around, I absolutely had to have the whole set!
A few months later I bought the second boxed set, called "The Fan Favorites." I play a tape every day -- a great mood lifter.
It is said that Sid Caesar owns probably 400 sketches from "The Admiral Broadway Revue," "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour" in kinescope (thank heaven they were preserved!) and I hope someday they will all become available. (Admiral, by the way, was an early TV manufacturer, and the story is that their "Broadway Revue" was so successful they had to cancel it in order to save their financial resources for supplying the huge new demand for TV sets.)
The Caesar sketches are the first of their kind and have many descendents but no equals. For example, check out "The Five-Dollar Date" (dated January 1949, when he was 26), a solo masterpiece from this first collection. What comedian does such virtuoso work today?

Watching this is not just enjoyable, but a lesson on America from the time period. The sketches show the changing roles of women, the changes in the workplace, and language differences that are fascinating.
What I like about the skits would be even with terrible things happening, there's a happy ending, or at least something positive.
The talent of the cast is incredible, and the interviews in which they share insights are a must.
Highly recommended.

Good, clean, creative and FUNNY stuff. Comedy then was funny. Today it's very unimaginative and largely unfunny. Great team of writers and cast members. Could do with a little less commentary and more skits.