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The Complete Fawlty Towers [1975] [DVD]
 
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The Complete Fawlty Towers [1975] [DVD]

DVD ~ John Cleese
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
RRP: £29.99
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Customers buy this item with The Complete Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister - Collector's Boxset [DVD] DVD ~ Nigel Hawthorne

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Price For Both: £28.96

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Product details

  • Actors: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Bernard Cribbins
  • Directors: Bob Spiers, John Howard-Davies
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English, French, German
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 3
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: 2 Entertain Video
  • DVD Release Date: 3 Oct 2005
  • Run Time: 360 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000ASALV0
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 78 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  DVD > Television > TV Series > Fawlty Towers
    #4 in  DVD > Television > Comedy
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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Often hailed as the greatest ever British sitcom, Fawlty Towers is closer to the more elaborate tradition of farce. Comprising two series made in 1975 and 1979, the total of just 12 episodes were painstakingly constructed by writers John Cleese and Connie Booth. Unlike most British farces, however, Fawlty Towers deals with the big themes--death, psychology, xenophobia and even sex-o-phobia (Basil's marriage to Sybil is the most sterile ever depicted in a sitcom). Basil's contempt for his guests is, of course, legendary. It takes little from patrons to unleash his sledgehammer sarcasm: "Rosewood, mahogany, teak? Sorry, I was wondering what you'd like your breakfast tray made out of," he sneers at a guest who dares request breakfast in bed. Like every Englishman, he wants to be king of his own castle and resents having to take in lodgers to maintain the place, especially the open-necked younger generation, whom he regards as sub-human. Mostly, though, Fawlty Towers is comedy of exasperation--who can forget the "damn good thrashing" Basil gives his clapped-out car, or the nervous breakdowns he almost suffers trying to make himself understood to Manuel? It's also comedy of embarrassment. The very fear of losing his dignity generally leads Basil into the most spectacularly undignified of predicaments. His inevitable misery is our sheer delight.--David Stubbs

Product Description
John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Bernard Cribbins Directors: Bob Spiers, John Howard-Davies

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Customer Reviews

50 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (50 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
147 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Genius, but in such a small quantity, 11 Dec 2005
By Budge Burgess (Kilmarnock, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
Perhaps the most striking thing about "Fawlty Towers" is that, with so few episodes, it remains irrepressibly funny. No matter how often you watch, even should you become word perfect in the scripts, the action remains hilarious, not to mention outrageous. John Cleese and Connie Booth produced a masterpiece of comedy. Packaged here in three discs, the two series are accompanied by some less than memorable extras - a couple of interviews and a commentary - but, frankly, you don't buy a package like this for the extras, you buy it for the hours and hours of rib-breaking laughter.

"Fawlty Towers" does more than expose the incompetent, amateurish pomposity and rigid morality which seemed to characterise so many English hotels in the 1970's … particularly those of the seaside variety - 'Kiss Me Quick' hats and saucy postcards, but be back in your room by ten, no hanky panky, and breakfast is at eight!

Basil Fawlty runs his hotel the way some people run a private prison. The patrons are there to do as they are told … unless they can prove a certain social cachet. Cleese satirises the 'Englishness' of the seaside hotelier - racism in his treatment of Manuel and middle class consciousness in his treatment of the Irish labourers, the xenophobia and dreams of imperial glory in his attitude to the Germans, the prim outlook on sex, the cloying efforts to move up the ranks and mix with the upper classes while patronising American money, the horror of illness and death, the sheer terror in the face of psychiatry or even bureaucracy.

The ensemble cast are outrageously funny - incisive wit parallels slapstick comedy and farce in the finest traditions of the English stage. "Fawlty Towers", although a television programme, has that sense of live performance, that aura of being performed on stage for your delectation and delight. Perhaps that's what makes it watchable again and again - even in the latest technology of DVD it still appears as a live stage act. The humour remains somehow spontaneous.

But the humour isn't passive, it actively infects your consciousness. You can't pass a leylandii without wanting to uproot it and thrash a small car. You can't open a tin of biscuits without wondering if there will be a rat within. Every time I see a Waldorf salad on a menu, I snigger. Every time I reach round a corner to switch a light on … well, I live in hope.

You'll find all twelve episodes here - "A Touch of Class", "The Builders", "The Wedding Party", "The Hotel Inspectors", "Gourmet Night", "The Germans", "Communication Problems", "The Psychiatrist", "Waldorf Salad", "The Kipper and the Corpse", "The Anniversary", "Basil the Rat". The very titles are cue for laughter. Sound and picture quality are excellent. The quality of the writing and performance is timeless. The only thing wrong with both series appearing in one package is that you are emphatically reminded how few episodes there were. This really is a case of leave 'em wanting more!

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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The best British Sitcom ever, bar none, 1 Feb 2008
By Mr. A. S. T. Bateman (Halifax, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Simply brilliant. Only 12 episodes but like diamonds, those things which are most precious are rare but incredibly valuable. Each episode is at least brilliant (Wedding Party, Waldorf Salad, The Builders, The Anniversary) whilst others (especially The Germans, The Psychiatrist, Communication problems and Gourmet Night) are simply legendary. The word genius is used with far too much regularity but in the case of John Cleese and co-writer Connie Booth, and for the performances too, it can't be used enough. The characterisations are great and capture perfectly the mentality and social situation of 70s Britain, they are an artefact of the period neatly timecapsuled for us to enjoy. It has aged very well, look beyond the cardboard scenery, the 70s hairstyles and fashions and each episode is a joy to watch. Despite the fact that they have been shown on TV so much and the fact that just about everyone you meet knows each episode so well, they are still and remain side splittingly funny and now, neatly packaged as a complete set with a natty little extras disc all for under twenty quid, its a steal!
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72 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic British Comedy, 3 May 2006
By Ian Phillips (Bolton, Lancashire, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Fawlty Towers is now rightly regarded as a comic masterpiece and after watching just one of these episodes you will understand why.

Considering the fact that both seasons (Season 1 - 1975 Season 2- 1979) were made well over 25 years ago, Fawlty Towers still stands very well with its fast, furious, razor sharp witty dialogue and nothing but excellent comic playing. Its an absolute gem!

John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth wrote all 12 episodes in the two series' that were made in 1975 and 1979. The quality never falters through any of these episodes. John Cleese and Andrew Sachs provide most of the laughs with Cleese playing the permantley harassed and fairly raving mad, Basil Fawlty, the incompentent owner of the appropiatley named Fawlty Towers and Sachs as the Spanish cook who has many hilarious moments with his delightfully fractured English, prompting Basil to continually justify to his baffled guests "Oh don't worry, he's from Barcelona". Classic stuff! Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty and Connie Booth as the poor put upon maid have their fair share of laughs too.

Its impossible to select a favourite episode so i'll let you judge for yourselves. A CLASSIC! HILARIOUS! An important contribution to British comedy. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute Classic Comedy
For all of those who loved the two Fawlty Towers series, this is an absolute must have to add to your DVD collection.
This set includes a total of three DVD's. Read more
Published 22 days ago by S. Ellis

5.0 out of 5 stars Fawlty Towers
I am a British Born now living in Australia and was brought up with the likes of the Two Ronnies, One Foot In The Grave and of course Fawlty Towers. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Elaine Robertson

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Funny!!!!!
Fawlty Towers is without a doubt the funniest sitcom I have ever seen. There are only 12 episodes but each one is completely hilarious. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Gwynne

3.0 out of 5 stars Episodes not digitally remastered.
As child I loved this show when it was on TV and all these years later decided to purchase it on DVD.

Sadly, the footage has not been remastered at all. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Pratab Ali

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Evergreen
Our son and we enjoyed Fawlty Towers when we were all three much younger. We bought the set for our 11-year old grandson, who is American and lives in Minnesota, to see if the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Forest Dweller

5.0 out of 5 stars Is this the best comedy series ever written?
There is no doubt about it, Fawlty Towers is a classic, quintissentially english comedy. I can only recommend that you get this collection, you can watch it time and time again,... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rockwell B1B

3.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant comedy, shame about the quality
Disappointed with the picture quality of this DVD box set, everyone had ghosts around them and colours were flickery, which made it more difficult to watch. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rainbowsky

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite perfect in hindsight
I remember the show when it first screened. We would sit around the TV and shriek with laughter, and for years after we would reminisce about classic moments, dissecting... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Peter Lee

5.0 out of 5 stars fatty owls
There's not a lot you can say about Fawlty Towers, it's brilliant, rolling in the aisles stuff, so buy it!
Published 4 months ago by Harry Nicholas

5.0 out of 5 stars Fawlty Towers
This is one of the best series that was ever made, the humour is just so funny. I grew up watching this with my family and when I saw it in the box set, I just knew I had to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Littlesprite13

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