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Fawlty Towers - The Complete Series
Actor: Fawlty Towers
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Retail Price (not our price): $59.98
Release Date: 2001-10-16
Theatrical Release Date: 1975
Studio: BBC Warner
Run Time: 500 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Discs: 3


Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com essential video
Basil Fawlty, as created and performed by John Cleese, is the rudest, most boorish, most hilariously obnoxious man on the face of the planet. What a natural for a TV sitcom! His screen wife, Sybil (Prunella Scales), put it best in the episode "The Psychiatrist": "You're either crawling all over them, licking their boots, or spitting poison at them like some Benzedrine puff adder." He mockingly replies, "Just trying to enjoy myself, dear." With his gangly frame and contortionist abilities, Cleese brilliantly punctuates Basil's outrageous faux pas with absurd gymnastics and turns Three Stooges-style pokes and kicks into a slapstick ballet. Scales's Sybil is the genial but obliviously chatty voice of reason and Andrew Sachs mangles the English language as the Spanish bellhop Manuel, whose struggles with simple directions results in comic lunacy reminiscent of Robert Benigni. After a six-episode run in 1975, Cleese and cowriter and costar Connie Booth (who plays Polly, the maid all too often pulled into Basil's ridiculous plans) reunited the cast in 1979 for another six episodes without missing a punch line. The four-volume collection contains all 12 shows, interspersed with interview segments featuring Cleese discussing the genesis of the series and anecdotes about the individual episodes. Remember to watch the opening credits of each show to spot the creative misspellings on the hotel sign (my favorite: "Fatty Owls"). --Sean Axmaker

2) Description
Inspired by a hotel John Cleese once stayed in when he was filming "Monty Python." This complete set of Fawlty Towers episodes includes special new commentary by John Cleese. Please see individual volumes for episode descriptions.

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5

1) An absolute must have!   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Anybody that likes comedy and television has to have Fawlty Towers-The Complete Series. Like all fans of the show I only wish they made more episodes. But this collection is great. I've turned my kids onto the show and we all have had many "laugh out loud" moments.

2) Fawlty Towers   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Whether or not you watched this when it aired, you will be absolutely thrilled. I bought two for Christmas gifts and one to keep myself. We have all enjoyed it. We had looked for it locally and out of town but could not find it. It shipped in record time.Mayetta Wilson212 W SunsetNashville, AR

3) Would you care for a rat?   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
If Monty Python are The Beatles of comedy then Fawlty Towers is....well some other famous band you've probably heard of. Unlike the usually "comedy of ideas" of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers is of a much more down to earth nature. It's not so much as a sitcom as a farce ( in the best possible way of course) Each episode starts off gently, with only a few moments sparking off subdued chuckles from the sudience, and likely to only raise a smile at home. But the episodes gradually build momentum until towards the end it is nearly manic, with physical comedy prevailing.In truth some may find the pace just a bit *too* much if they're used to gentler comdey sitcoms, but for sheer absurdity the series takes some beating.There are a few faults with the series. Series 1 was largely experimental, and nothing on TV at the time was quite like it. As with nearly all experiments, there are occasional failures. Of Series 1, one episode was truly great (The Germans), two were good (Hotel Inspectors and A Touch Of Class) two were adequate (Wedding Party and Gourmet Night) and one was actually pretty poor (The Builders. Not even Cleese himself likes this one. The endless scenes of people being hit by an umbrella is painfully unfunny to watch) Series 2 is the stronger of the two series IMO, as by this time they had learned what worked well and what didn't.As a somewhat unimportant aside what's with the awful cover art. None of the characters there look very much like what the actors, and if I didn't know the series I think it would dissaude me from impulse buying.Overall easily one of the best comedy series of all time, and very reccomended if you like your comedy outrageous and frantic. Just don't expect *every* minute to have you laughing til your sides hurt.

4) funniest tv show ever   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
If you don't get the humor there is nothing I can say to convince you and wont try. Hilarity, social commentary, slapstick all rolled into one. Farty Towels forever!

5) Basil! Basil!!!   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I remember going to a party a long time ago when the host gathered everyone into the family room to watch a video. He told us you just have to see this. It was the first episode of Fawlty Towers I ever saw. I was hooked. John Cleese is simply the funniest comedian EVER. It's too bad they only made 12 of these. Think of this as the Black Knight from Holy Grail versus his batty wife, hotel guests, and hotel staff in a rural hotel setting. Hilarious from start to end, it's just the best comedy ever produced. "OH! It's my fault, is it?"