Amazon.co.uk Review
The brilliance of
Directors Commentary is its simplicity. Take 15 minutes of a classic 70s TV show and have Rob Brydon (
Marion & Geoff) talk over the top of it in the character of retired director Peter Delane. A monstrously hypnotic creation, like a slightly more coherent Rollie Birkin QC (Paul Whitehouse's drunk in
The Fast Show), Delane spouts random gibberish about actors and the craft of directing, throwing in hilariously unpredictable tangential asides. So, in the four episodes of
Bonanza we learn that it was shot in Yorkshire and featured the first screen appearance of Ricky Gervais;
Mr & Mrs. was apparently the training ground for Ridley Scott; Delane considers
The Bounder to be his
Goodfellas; and
Only When I Laugh was originally set in a Police Station. Everyone from Keith Chegwin to Chris Evans are subject to outbursts of abuse, making the idea of his oft-referenced three-part autobiography (
Memory Delane) an appealing idea. On this disc 11 episodes are collected together; but rather than watch them all at once the viewer would be well advised to ration their intake of Delane's "happy days punctuated by deep black pits of depression". --
Paul Tonks
DVD Description
"Peter Delane here, inviting you to sit back, relax and enjoy my
Director’s Commentary series. Join me as I look back over my super work on classic shows such as
Bonanza, Flambards and
Mr and Mrs to name but three. Soak up the behind-the-scenes atmosphere as I talk you through the trademarks of my work: classic Delane contrasts, death in television and such wonderful tableaux as three actors and a pot plant. But I can hear you saying: "Well, that’s super, Peter, but what are we getting for our hard-earned readies?" Let me tell you: important questions are raised – can a good man wear a black hat? Can a black man wear a good hat? I think so … Technical terms laid bare, and I draw from my experience of my first love, musical theatre (tell a lie, my first love is badger baiting, but that’s another story). Marvel with me at the wonderful actors – the young, the old, the now dead (thoughts with the family) and the glassy-eyed young fellows to whom I’ll always be grateful for bringing sex to the screen. It’s always important to have sex … if I hadn’t said it, you would. A final thought before you take the case to the checkout and make this wisest of purchases: this DVD is something I’m very proud of but as always in television it is you, the viewer, who will be the judge." – Peter Delane.
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