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The
beauty of John Cleese and Connie Booth's 1970's creation is simple - it
doesn't matter how many times you've watched the 12 existing episodes
of Fawlty Towers, because for some reason, theres always one or two
episodes you "swear you've never seen before".
It's
bizarre.
It's 12 episodes...12! And 12 episodes which have been repeated ad
nauseum on ABC, Channel Seven and even Foxtel. Yet, as I sat down to
watch "Volume 2: The Psychiatrist" I found myself asking that very
question: "Have I seen this one before?".
The answer is - yes.
Yes, I've seen all of these before, hundreds of times. But it's a
testament to the writing and performances that makes each episode seem
as fresh each time you give it a spin as it was the first time you laid
eyes on the balding Basil Fawlty.
"Volume 2" consists of three episodes from the series, including 'The Psychiatrist', 'The Builders' and 'The Wedding Party'.
Each
contains a bounty amount of laughs - and genuine laughs at that. 'The
Psychiatrist' (taken from the second series, the other two eps are from
Series 1) is the most Are You Being Served
of the episodes on offer here (in which strapping young 'hipster', a
psychiatrist and a voluptuous Australian girl book into the hotel)
with the double entendre's and 'haughtiness' factor turned up to the
max.
'The Builders' is easily the most classic episodes on offer
here (it's a perfect example of Cleese & Booth's superb handling of
comedic farce) while 'The Wedding Party' delivers laughs in spades also.
While
it seems odd that people would opt to fork out cash for four Volumes
instead of buying the Special Edition box set (which came out a few
years ago - and is packed with good quality Special Features), "Volume
2" is well worth taking a look at.
This is Cleese at his best.
EXTRAS
Amazingly,
not one extra is on offer here. Again, it just seems bizzare that
someone would choose to spend $20 a piece on several mix-matched
compilations when for $80 you can get them all with a bounty of extra
features.
None the less, if you like your DVD comedy in small
doses (and with a no frills attitude towards Special Features) then
this will feel right at home on your DVD shelf.
Conclusion:
Movie 75% Extras: N/A
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