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Fawlty Towers - Series 1 & 2 [1975] [DVD]
 
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Fawlty Towers - Series 1 & 2 [1975] [DVD]

DVD ~ John Cleese
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Complete Fawlty Towers [1975] [DVD]
54% buy
The Complete Fawlty Towers [1975] [DVD] 4.9 out of 5 stars (61)
£13.88
Fawlty Towers - Series 1 & 2 [1975] [DVD]
20% buy the item featured on this page:
Fawlty Towers - Series 1 & 2 [1975] [DVD] 4.9 out of 5 stars (47)
Fawlty Towers - Series 1 [1975] [DVD]
11% buy
Fawlty Towers - Series 1 [1975] [DVD] 3.3 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.58
Fawlty Towers - Series 2 [1979] [DVD] [1975]
9% buy
Fawlty Towers - Series 2 [1979] [DVD] [1975] 3.2 out of 5 stars (4)
£5.98
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Product details

  • Actors: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Ballard Berkeley
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English, Spanish
  • Subtitles: English, French, German, Dutch
  • 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: 19 Nov 2001
  • Run Time: 374 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005OCTG
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 25,700 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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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 farce, 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 to 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

On the DVD: each six-episode season is given its own disc with a commentary track from John Howard Davies and Bob Spiers, directors of Season 1 and Season 2 respectively. The third disc has all the additional material, the best of which are new interviews with John Cleese, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales. Also included are text biographies of all the leads and the guest stars, a short background featurette on Torquay and the hotel owner who is said to have inspired Basil, a very short blooper reel of outtakes and a brief teaser with Cleese in character entitled "Cheap Tatty Review". Much of this extra material was comfortably fitted onto the individually available Season 1 and 2 discs, so it's a bit of a mystery why a third disc was deemed necessary for the box set. --Mark Walker



DVD Description

Contains all twelve episodes from both series of Fawlty Towers:

Disc One – Series One:

  • A Touch Of Class
  • The Builders
  • The Wedding Party
  • The Hotel Inspectors
  • Gourmet Night
  • The Germans

Disc Two – Series Two:

  • Communication Problems
  • The Psychiatrist
  • Waldorf Salad
  • The Kipper And The Corpse
  • The Anniversary
  • Basil The Rat

Disc Three – DVD Special Features

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Customer Reviews

47 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (47 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars HOW TO MAKE A CLASSIC COMEDY IN 12 HILARIOUS LESSONS, 22 Jan 2004
By PETER XUEREB (SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Firstly my reveiw is based on the actual episodes and not the DVD as an item. I actually own the series on VHS and "Fawlty Towers" is probably the best example of how not to overkill an idea. The fact that there are only 12 Episodes over 2 series filmed 4 years apart (1975 & 1979) probably speaks volumes for the methodology in the creative genius of co-writers John Cleese & Connie Booth. So often we have sitcoms & comedy shows (more often American than British) that don't know when to kill a tired idea, often running it out to the point of boredom. That's not the case here. Each episode contains lines that have become part of everyday language (when have we not quoted certain "Fawlty" moments to our friends, loved ones or even ourselves?) - e.g "don't mention the war", "Que?", "Ohh I Knooww!", "you can see the sea, it's over there between the land & the sky!", "Basil!", "Which horse, Nitwit or Dragonfly?", "Just checking the walls", "Fawlty - what's wrong with him?", "why do they call you sister, is it a term of endearment?" etc ad infinitum. I find it difficult to watch any episode and not recite it virtually word for word.
It's not easy to pick a favorite episode. "The Builders", "Mrs. Richards", "The Hotel Inspectors", "The Germans", "Basil The Rat", "The Kipper & The Corpse", "The Wedding Party", "The Psychiatrists" & "Gourmet Night"... what the heck all of them have wonderfully absurd moments that just stick in the brain and stay there forever. From Basil finding bricks instead of valuables in a guest's briefcase, to him thrashing his car and not finding a duck in the trifle, to Mrs. Richards' "the hotel guest from hell", to Manuel serenading his "Filigree Siberian hamster", to Polly & Sybil entertaining on Gourmet Night, not to mention "Basil The Rat" in the biscuit tin. Care for some Sino-Scandinavian veal perhaps? Try cancelling your fruit salad (it's a bit difficult, chef's just opened the tin!)
Get the point? As I stated at the start I've concentrated on the show itself...after all, in this case, who really cares about the little extras. Buy it just for these 12 brilliant episodes because nothing else matters.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Right, thats it!!!, 4 Nov 2001
By A Customer
At long last - the complaete Fawlty Towers in one place - and on DVD too. This is British comedy at its best, proving that well written comedy never shows its age. Having watched Fawlty Towers over and over again for the lat twenty years i suspected that buying this set would just be a case of replacing my well worn VHS set. This was not the case as the newly remastered DVD's have added a whole new dimension to my viewing pleasure. Long live Basil Fawlty!!!
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic British Comedy, 15 Jul 2004
By Brains (UK) - See all my reviews
  
It's such a shame they only produced 12 episodes of this program. It could quite easily have lasted at least as long as Porridge. This is classic British comedy at its finest and Cleese in awesome Python form delivers punchlines and satire with such memorable wit that people still quote him today, (sometimes without even realising it!) All of the actors deliver five star performances and the characters are brilliantly unique yet they all work so well together;

Basil's wife Sybil wears the trousers but Polly the maid is the only one with enough brains to know what is really going on, Manuel the bell boy is almost impossible to communicate with but tries so very hard, Terry the cook is a perfect example of someone who does just enough to get by but clearly has other priorities and Basil is desperate to run his Hotel the way he wants for the clientelle he desires but trounces himself with a web of compulsive lies every single time.

The best example of Basil's shameful compulsive lying is "The Anniversary" where one white lie grows so big that Basil is forced to take extreme measures (I don't want to spoil it!).

This complete series DVD is excellent value when you consider the quality of the comedy on offer here, I thoroughly recommend anyone to buy it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brighten up your weekends
A beautifully scripted timeless classic that you never grow tired of. Fawlty Towers is the sort of series you can pop into your machine on a rainy sunday afternoon and it will... Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2007 by V. Lydon

5.0 out of 5 stars the best comedy ever
you can watch somethings over and over again but they get boring, fawlty towers however is not one of these, simply put the greatest british comedy ever
Published on 22 Jul 2006 by Mr. Andrew J. Macpherson

5.0 out of 5 stars Best comedy anywhere
Sight comedy is usually just slap-stick. Fawlty raises the bar to entirely new levels and does so show after show. There are none better.
Published on 8 Jan 2006

5.0 out of 5 stars My desert island disc
What else to say? Absolutely hilarious, if I had a day to live I could spend it just watching the 2 episodes that comprise this greatest of comedic masterworks, still brings me to... Read more
Published on 19 Jul 2005 by John C. Beam

5.0 out of 5 stars THE MOST AMUSING HOTEL
Cleese at his very best, he is of course the king of the show. Excellent supporting cast and everyone, including the biscuit eater RAT...ehem,...HAMSTER from Manuel. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2005 by Josep Parareda Saderra

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the individual series
Brilliant comedy but do not buy this box set. It looks a good deal but save money and buy the individual series.
Published on 4 Nov 2004 by Mr. P. D. Nicholson

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest tv series ever
The 1970's is rightly regarded as the golden age of British comedy. During this period Porridge, Rising Damp, Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, and of course Fawlty Towers,... Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2004 by D. Evans

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Star Plus!!!
Fawlty Towers Is The Best British Comedy Ever Next To Only Fools And Horses, Chewin' The Fat, Still Game, Keeping Up Appearances And One Foot In The Grave. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars BRITAINS GREATEST SITCOM!
Fawlty towers Can be summed up in one word : Amazing!!!!
Without a shadow of a doubt it is the greatest sitcom ever made. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2004 by matthewd_carr

5.0 out of 5 stars British comedy at its best.
Fawlty towers is a gem among british comedy. if you could make one criticism it would be that there was only 12 episodes- yet they were all classics and in a sense make you... Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2004 by dan_halpin

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