Product Details

• Actors: Bob Hoskins, John Thaw, Pat Ashton, Johnny Briggs, Reg Lye
• Directors: Derrick Goodwin, Mike Gibbon
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: June 10, 2003
• Run Time: 192 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000096I8N
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #95,914 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A great find for Britcom enthusiasts, the eight-part, 1974 series Thick as Thieves catches two beloved English actors in prime satiric form. Bob Hoskins stars as George "Dobbsy" Dobbs, a mediocre thief released from prison a day before the end of his three-year term. Arriving home to find his strong-willed wife, Annie (Pat Ashton), living with his old friend and partner in crime, Stanley (John Thaw), Dobbsy demands an end to the affair but is outmaneuvered by Annie's surprisingly avant-garde views on open marriage. The result is more farcical than provocative as Stanley and Dobbsy struggle with social progressiveness while sliding back into their seamy, underworld ways. Series writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (the two would later team on The Commitments) mercilessly mine the comic tension between middle-class tradition, early-70's social experimentation, and the grotty, dimwitted world of petty larceny. --Tom Keogh

Product Description
Three’s a hilarious crowd in this situation comedy featuring John Thaw (Inspector Morse) and Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Last Orders) early in their legendary careers. George Dobbs (Hoskins) returns home after a three-year jail sentence to find his wife, Annie (Pat Ashton), in bed with Stanley (Thaw), his old partner in crime. Annie is happy to see George but not eager to kick Stan out. The three live warily together, while the men continue their inept criminal capers and vie for the affection of the woman who obviously loves them both. Terrific writing by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (The Commitments, The Likely Lads) and spot-on comic timing from the first-class cast make for laugh-out-loud fun. DVD special features include cast and crew filmographies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A comedy team you would never believe!, May 3, 2003

By	F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have an encyclopedia of British television series and notice all the Britcoms that look promising but have never been shown over here to my knowledge. Well, would you believe there is one in which a young Bob Hoskins ("Roger Rabbit") and a not yet white haired John Thaw ("Inspector Morse") play a pair of very inept thieves? There are only eight episodes, mainly because Thaw had other commitments, but what there is ranges from downright silly to genuinely funny and all eight are now available on two DVDs or 3 VHSs, courtesy of Acorn Media.

The basic situation of "Thick as Thieves" is that getting out prison a day early, George (Hoskins) returns home to find that his best friend Stan (Thaw) has taken up permanent residence with George's wife Annie (Pat Ashton). A good deal of the plots revolve around the attempts of the three to come to terms with the situation as the wife is the only wage-earner to keep them going. The denouement in the last episode might be predictable (how else to solve the problem?) but the means to it is truly imaginative.

Thaw and Hoskins play off one another nicely and make a great comic team. We over here might have some trouble following the East End accents, but the lingo is priceless and a guest appearance by Trevor Peacock (the dithering old man in "The Vicar of Dibley") is an unexpected bonus. Though not exactly as subtle as "Mapp and Lucia" or as sledgehammer as "Fawlty Towers," "Thick as Thieves" will amuse you nevertheless.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Treat, August 22, 2003

By A Customer

Wow -- who'd have ever imagined what the world of DVD would
bring us. A U.S. release of this more or less forgotten
British sitcom. Written by the great Dick Clement & Ian
La Frenais, this is not in the same league as their classics
THE LIKELY LADS (and especially its sequel series) or PORRIDGE
(which THIEVES is something of a dry run for) or AUF WIEDERSEHEN,
PET -- but like those landmarks explores with their customary
humanity and humor the joys and tribulations of male friendship. The inevitable corollary to this, true or false depending on
your point of view (or gender), is that women are portrayed as
shrews and spoilsports (or, if you like, simply more sensible
and mature), eternal obstacles to our heroes' aspirations.
As THIEVES was made for England's commercial channel (ie., the
one with commercials, unlike the BBC which aired LADS, PORRIDGE,
and latterly PET), it suffers from "high concept" overkill -- a self-consciously and, for the time, risque
one-joke premise fairly quickly exhausted (could this be the
reason for its limited run?), as well as reduced production
values (American viewers will not be used to the British
indulgence of actors flubbing lines -- which, in keeping with a theatrical
tradition, does give a sort of "live performance" frisson to the
proceedings). But what a pair of thesps they found themselves
with! Pure pleasure -- especially for those curious to see
Bob Hoskins with hair.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Content counts, August 12, 2003

By A Customer

As Burl Ives once sang, "Watch the donut, not the hole." To put it into this context, focus on what the people on screen are doing and saying and don't get hung up on technical quality. "Thick As Thieves" is a product of early 1970s British television production and is far from pristine in its picture quality. This is true of many British programs of the era, including such milestone series as "Elizabeth R", where the source materials were not as carefully preserved as perhaps they should have been.

Like "Elizabeth R", this program has a disclaimer on the packaging about its technical quality. I breezed past that, though, choosing to focus on the treat of seeing John Thaw and Bob Hoskins before they were anybody. Admittedly, there are technical flaws that could be a touch distracting at times if you're obsessive about such things, but if the play's the thing for you, then you're likely to enjoy this release. It has a great premise behind it and wonderful actors carrying it out. Enjoy.