Customer Reviews

You Can't Take It With You [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a cast! Jason Robards, Colleen Dewhurst...those two alone would be worth the price of admission, but ALL the actors are superb. Zany and delightful, this is a "quintessentially American farce." There are at least two (perhaps three) filmed versions of this play, but none can compare to this one. Is it the acting in this one that makes the difference? Perhaps. It's unfortunately quite hard to get a hold of a copy of this version, but if you can find one, grab it and run. We find that we watch this play at least twice a year -- and our friends and family count on it on New Year's Eve. It's a winner that'll grow on you more for each viewing. Simply hilarious -- well written, beautifully acted, and great direction as well. (Kirk Browning directed for TV and Ellis Rabb directed the play itself.)

Most people who are familiar with this play know it through the Frank Capra / Jimmy Stewart film. That film has little resemblance to the American masterwork that Kaufman and Hart created. THIS is THE version. A sparkling cast led by one of our greatest actors, Jason Robards, pulls the viewer into the warm and quirky Vanderhoff family. Like the other reviewer, annual viewing of this version is a family tradition in our home. We have a Thanksgiving Eve celebration capped by watching this heartwarming life-affirming video. It is the perfect way to begin the holiday. It reminds us every year of all that we have to be thankful for--our family.

This is the performance of "You Can't Take It With You" that you shoud buy or view. Excellent acting by veteran stage performers. I've watched this three times and it gets better with each viewing. If you have seen the Capra movie version, you'll be impressed with how much better the stage presentation is in this play.

In fact, I'll never watch Capra's movie again. It is such a bastardization of this fine comedy that it bears little resemblance to the Kaufman and Hart story. Do yourself a favor and watch Jason Robards and the other fine actors in this performance.

Great movie, but still prefer the one that came on television several years ago that is not available to buy or rent.

I have owned this video for years, and have watched it so often that it has become worn and my player ate the tape up last night. YIKES!
This is so so much better than the movie version, and has inspired me in so many ways in my life. It's as timley now as it was when it was written. The world really hasen't changed much, just the stuff in it. I love this cast. You never for a minute believe that they're acting.

George Kaufman and Moss Hart, authors of the original play, might have written "You Can't Take It With You" just for Jason Robards, who plays the central character and patriarch of a bizarre family. Robards' acting is (as always) superb, believable and a pure pleasure to watch.

I agree with the other reviewers that this is the best version of the play, although if you can't get hold of a copy, the earlier film version directed by Frank Capra, with Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart and Jean Arthur, is definitely worth watching too.

When I was a child, my mother was an English teacher who always had her high school students stage performances of "You Can't Take It With You." I was too young in those days to comprehend what the play was about. Then, as an adult in the 1980s, I saw this version of the play, starring Jason Robards, when it was broadcast by PBS, and was immediately smitten! The impact and fun of that viewing are still with me. Inspired, I ended up directing my own high school production of "You Can't Take It With You."

It would be rude to give plot spoilers here for people who haven't seen it yet, but the play is timeless in its unexpected wit, wisdom, political commentary, and heart. This video is one of my top ten all-time favorites!