Product Details

• Actors: Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Alfonso Arau, Tony Plana
• Directors: John Landis
• Writers: Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Randy Newman
• Producers: Steve Martin, George Folsey Jr., Leslie Belzberg, Lorne Michaels
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• VHS Release Date: March 13, 2001
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (145 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301928458
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,340 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Three Western stars (Martin Short, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase) from Hollywood silent films go to Mexico for what they assume will be a publicity appearance, and find they've actually been summoned to fight a local bandit. John Landis directed this 1986 comedy with self-conscious artifice, and it's hard to get into his self-congratulatory joke. Even the three main stars, brilliant comics all, can't sustain anything funny in it. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Fun, Good Humor, Great Movie, August 29, 2005

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Three Amigos! (DVD)

"The Three Amigos!" is good fun, a rare comedy that plays well with the whole family. Slapstick, wit, funny songs, sight gags, all tongue-in-cheek transcends generation.

The Plot?
Three actors get fired by their production company and try to make it on their own. Their first gig in Mexico turns out to be more than act. Much to their surprise, they were hired to protect a town from a thieving band of bad guys, lead by El Guapo, an unusual bandito with a strong vocabulary.

As great movie comedy goes, "The Three Amigos!" might be overlooked. It doesn't have the constant laughter that might be expected. Why? It has an intelligent plot.

While calling this a serious drama would be forgetting that Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short are the stars. Steve Martin, though, in the last 20 years, has veered away from total silliness, except when the humor is organic to the plot.

Of all the scenes I found funny, one with Martin Short hanging from a piñata, when El Guapo comments how the Three Amigos keep appearing, like they are falling from the sky. As expected, Short falls. Predicted, and still funny.

There are nuances of Monty Python in here, and some fantastic parody of silent films. Each of three stars purposefully overplays his role is makeup reminiscent of the great Buster Keaton. Overall, the balance between plot and humor, over-the-top and subdued humor works in grand fashion.

I fully recommend "The Three Amigos!"

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sew! Sew like the wind!, March 4, 2002

By 

John S. Harris "The Voice of Reason" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three Amigos! (DVD)

This is Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short in their comedic prime, playing recently fired silent movie actors forced to earn money by ridding a small Mexican village of its evil oppressor. They assume it is nothing more than a Public Appearance gig, but the enemy is quite real!
This movie is kinda goofy, kinda silly, and all funny. Each of the three comics gets his turn to shine in memorable gags, and there are too many of those gags to list here. Watch for a pre-"Saturday Night Live" Phil Hartman and John Lovitz in an early scene. Funniest bits: Short and Martin running out of water in the desert, Short telling his story of being "discovered" by Lillian Gish's sister, summoning the Invisible Swordsman, Chase trying not to blow his cover in front of the main villain and his henchmen, and Steve Martin's character learning that the supposedly "staged gunfight" is actually real.
Cost of DVD with shipping -- [item price]
DVD player -- $200.00
Microwave popcorn -- 85 cents
Laughing your [head] of watching "The Three Amigos" -- PRICELESS!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The critics are too jaded to enjoy this endearing film., January 8, 2000

By 

Greenman Wood "greenman_11" (New Paltz, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Amigos! (DVD)

This movie has an innocent charm about it, much like the 1920's films it is supposed to portray. Martin Short in particular gives the perfectly campy performance his role demands. This movie lays the foundation for the current "Galaxy Quest". It's great to see actors whose characters are actors themselves, trying (and succeeding) at finding the strength within themselves to actually prevail in the situation with which they are confronted. There are plenty of laughs, many subtle touches to fit the period (eg. I love the German mercenary, who's even packing a period-correct German pistol), and forgive me ladies, but Patrice Martinez is so beautiful, it's a wonder we haven't seen her in more films. I heartily recommend this film. It's a pleasure to return to each time I've viewed it.