Product Details

• Actors: Christopher Guest
• Directors: Christopher Guest
• Writers: Christopher Guest
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: September 23, 2003
• Run Time: 266 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000ALFVF
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,608 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Comedy > Documentaries, Real & Fake

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A Mighty Wind
There's A Mighty Wind a-blowin', along with the gales of laughter you'll get from Christopher Guest's third exercise in brilliant "mockumentary." After tackling small-town theatricals in Waiting for Guffman and obsessive dog-show contestants in Best in Show, Guest and his reliable stable of repertory players (including Fred Willard, Parker Posey, and Bob Balaban) apply their improvisational genius to a latter-day reunion of fictional '60s-era folk singers, a comedic goldmine that Guest first explored 30 years earlier on The National Lampoon Radio Hour. Collaborating with costar and cowriter Eugene Levy (who gives the film's funniest performance), Guest is so delicate in his satirical approach that the laughs aren't always obvious, and the subtlety can be as wistful (as in Catherine O'Hara's performance as Levy's auto-harpist partner) as it is hilarious. Some may wish for more blatant comedy, but that would compromise the genuine affection that Guest & Co. have for the music they're spoofing. --Jeff Shannon

Best in Show
Christopher Guest, the man behind Waiting for Guffman, turns his comic eye on another little world that takes itself a bit too seriously: the world of competitive dog shows. Best in Show follows a clutch of dog owners as they prepare and preen their dogs to win a national competition. They include the yuppie pair (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock) who fear they've traumatized their Weimaraner by having sex in front of him; a suburban husband and wife (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara) with a terrier and a long history of previous lovers on the wife's part; the Southern owner of a bloodhound (Guest himself) with aspirations as a ventriloquist; and many more. Following the same "mockumentary" format of Spinal Tap and Guffman, Best in Show takes in some of the dog show officials, the manager of a nearby hotel that allows dogs to stay there, and the commentators of the competition (a particularly knockout comic turn by Fred Willard as an oafish announcer). The movie manages to paint an affectionate portrait of its quirky characters without ever losing sight of the ridiculousness of their obsessive world. Almost all of the scenes were created through improvisation. While lacking the overall focus of a written script, Best in Show captures hilarious and absurd aspects of human behavior that could never be written down. The movie's success is a testament to both the talent of the actors and Guest's discerning eye. --Bret Fetzer

Waiting for Guffman
One of the funniest films in many a moon was hiding at art house theaters in 1998. Former Saturday Night Live comedian and Spinal Tap member Christopher Guest creates the ultimate parody of small-town dramatics, Waiting for Guffman. Corky St. Claire (Guest), an overwhelming drama director hiding out in Blaine, Missouri, thinks he has found the vehicle to put him back on Broadway: the city's 150th anniversary play, Red, White, and Blaine. As rehearsals start, we learn of the town's history ("the stool capital of the world") including a brush with a UFO. The mockumentary follows the various townsfolk wishing for stardom: Parker Posey as a Dairy Queen clerk, Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard as stage-struck travel agents, Matthew Keeslar as the town's bad boy, and Eugene Levy (who cowrote the film with Guest) as a dentist who dreams of glory on the stage. The film is a hoot from beginning to end, and be sure to watch the closing credits. Fans of Guest's deft dry humor should not miss his other parody of the entertainment world, The Big Picture (Kevin Bacon as a student filmmaker who goes to Hollywood). --Doug Thomas

Product Description
A MIGHTY WIND: Documentary-style Comedy. Christopher Guest follows up his acclaimed ensemble comedies Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman with a docu-comedy about three folk groups from the 60s who reunite for a memorial concert in New York City following the death of a legendary folk manager. BEST IN SHOW: The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds of eager contestants from across America prepare to take part in what is undoubtedly one of the greatest events of their lives -- the Mayflower Dog Show. WAITING FOR GUFFMAN: A town of Blaine, Missouri is preparing for celebrations of its 150th anniversary. Corky St.Clair, an off-off-off-off-off-Broadway director is putting together an amateur theater show about the town's history, starring a local dentist, a couple of travel agents, a Dairy Queen waitress, and a car repairman. He invites a Broadway theater critic Mr. Guffman to see the opening night of the show

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Movies, Terrible Presentation, January 8, 2004

By	Nick (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Boo, Warner Brothers!!!

You've taken three amazing movies and packaged them terribly.

I was extremely excited to have received this "box set" for Christmas, until I unwrapped it. It's three seperate loose DVDs with no box to tie them all together. And to add insult to injury, all of the DVDs are encased in the old-school type packaging with the cheap cardboard cover and black "snap" latch.

Very disappointing. Warner Brothers SUCKS! They really need to work on how they showcase their work on DVD in the future. They could take a real hint from New Line which always releases their best films with pride and flair.

As far as the movies go, they are amazing and packed with extras. It's just sad that they would call this a collection and not treat it as such.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three great movies, but what's so special about the price?, January 11, 2004

By A Customer

I'm tempted to dock one star mainly because you'd actually pay LESS buying them separately than in this "special" package. ($14.99 each for Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, $23.76 for Mighty Wind = $53.74). The three-fer costs over $55. What gives? Well, I suppose you save something on shipping.

Regardless, these three films are easily worth the money at either price.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great movies at an AWESOME price., October 16, 2003

By	cplewis "cplewis" (Merrifield, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

It's hard to beat the "bang-for-your-buck" that these three solid films delivers -- getting the group of three at this amazing price (with an additional $10 rebate between now and February 2004) is well worth it no matter how many of these films you've seen so far or how familiar you are with Christopher Guest's work.

Guest absolutely nails the 'mockumentary' genre, no matter what his subject matter: a small-town theatre production ("Waiting for Guffman"), a dog show ("Best in Show"), or a folkie reunion ("A Mighty Wind"). Fans will argue all day about which of the three is the 'best', but it's certain that you will find something to love in each of them. Don't miss the deleted scenes!