Customer Reviews

Three Amigos [VHS]

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

"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

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!

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.

This movie is a real riot! The characters, dialogues and situations are simply laugh-out-loud funny.
I am not sure this movie is getting it's' due credit, but at $5 this is simple a steal. The replay value alone is worth so much more! Get it!

P.S. The actors metioned as the main cast in this specific product are not really the principals (those are, of course, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short) although they do appear in the movie. I think Amazon was just trying to differentiate this dvd from the other one that is out of print but that still appears in the catalogue.
Still, Amazon should do something about this so as not to confuse people.

Regardless of what the critics say, this movie is hilarious. The comic chemistry between Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short is great, and you'll remember the classic one-liners for years to come. The quality of the DVD version is excellent.

First off, it's a great movie. But this DVD is one of the worst DVDs I have seen of a major motion picture.

There are no special features, but it's actually the print of the film that is a problem.

First off during the opening titles (and a few other times in the film) the movie shakes and bobs up and down. Then during many of the shots, the far left of the picture has a black line over the print (it looks like the scene is fading out... but only on the far left of the picture and only in particular shots.)

Finally, about 3/4 of the way through the closing credits the dvd stops and returns to the menu. No kidding!

Anyway, it's the only DVD available right now (4-2-08) and these problems won't destroy your enjoyment of the film, but I thought they were worth noting.)

So, if the price sounds good, buy it for the great film and look past the DVD problems.

This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest movies ever made. Not only are the comedic situations hilarious, but a classic 'heros save the day' situation touches your heart while tickleing your funnybone. I could never understand why the critics all miss the joke while countless others share my absolute love of this cult classic. It ranks up there with the best of the Saturday Night Live alumni celluloid offerings.

I remember seeing "The Three Amigos" in the movie theatre way yonder in my days of youth. At the time, I thought it was the funniest film I had ever seen. Three of my favorite SNL stars Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short in one film. How much funnier can a movie be? Not much.

Chevy, Steve, and Martin plays three recently out of work actors in Hollywood. They are contacted by Carmen (the lovely Patricia Martinez), thinking that the characters they play in a film are real, to help out her town who are being bullied by a bunch of bandits headed by El Guapo. The trio of out of work actors thinks that Carmen is looking for actors to perform for her and her townspeople. The miscommunication quickly leads to one hilarious scene after another.

It's hard to pick a favorite scene. I love the singing bush, the dance number in the ol' Mexican dive, and the final showdown between the trio and El Guapo's gang. Hopefully someday "The Three Amigos" will receive a proper dvd treatment which would include bonus footage as well as better sound and picture. There is nothing crude or obscene about "The Three Amigos" except maybe the shooting scenes but they were obviously fake and not very realistic. This is a good family film to see.

This is another movie that my girlfriend could not believe i have never seen. What makes this one even stranger is that friend from college had been talking about this movie for years, and i still had never seen it. Now i can finaly say that i have seen The Three Amigos .

The premise of the movie is that a Mexican woman sees a movie of the Three Amigos saving the day. Only, she does not know it is a movie and thinks it is a newsreel. She invites the Amigos to help save her town from the bandits. Having just been fired from their movie studio, they accept, thinking that it is a chance to do a show and get paid for it. The movie stars Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short.

The movie is funny and enjoyable as we see the Amigos go on the comedic misadventures. The only negative is that i had just seen Blazing Saddles and could not help making comparisons to it. The Three Amigos falls short in comparison.

There are no special features on the DVD.

I saw this movie when it was first released with a friend and all our kids and today I was looking for dvd's for Christmas presents for my now grown kids and came upon this one. I started laughing just thinking about it. Not only is this probably one of the best comedy's ever made, you can watch it with your whole family without having to explain anything and just have a good time. I'm going to be with my family on Christmas and we're going to watch this together along with a "trivia" game following for fun.