Home :: DVD :: Television :: General  

A&E Home Video
BBC
Classic TV
Discovery Channel
Fox TV
General

HBO
History Channel
Miniseries
MTV
National Geographic
Nickelodeon
PBS
Star Trek
TV Series
WGBH Boston
Dad's Army - Collection

Dad's Army - Collection

List Price: $59.98
Your Price: $53.98
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Top Comedy..Average DVD
Review: Dad's Army is another proof of how well the British can do comedy series, and the secret is in the writing. As opposed to the army of writers that are recruited for American Sitcoms, the UK sitcoms have always had one or two writers at most..
Like Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and many others, Dad's army is a writers vehicle that is complemented by excellent performances. You can tell by the development of the characters throughtout the series, and you will come to be familiar with each character, and most importantly care about them. a connection builds up between the viewer and the characters..this is crucial and it adds to the many laughs that ensues in every episode.
Dad's army is a gem..
A bunch of civilians playing army, defending the small town of Warmington on sea from invading Nazi paratroopers, you will come to know Mr Mainwaring, the bank manager/Captain..Mr Wilson his assistant and seargent, Mr Jones, the over enthusiatic and accident prone butcher/Corporal, the dramatic undertaker/private Mr Frazier, and the envious and uncouth warden etc..
all these are played with perfection and dedication by all actors.
Though the DVD is of poor quality and no extras at all..yet it is the only DVD available of the series, and it has a good selection of episodes. I just hope the BBC reissues the complete series soon, for it is one that deserves to be in your collection..and in the meantime, let me quote from Mr Jones:
Don't Panic!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Don't Panic!
Review: Dad's Army is one of the most delightful television comedies of the 20th Century. The cast are supurb and a joy to watch. Created at a time when old school vaudeville acting brought with it the professionalism of English Reparatory theatre and the delights of '70s British TV comedy, Dad's Army will amuse for many years to come.

And please don't panic about the lack of DA on DVD for whilst I haven't viewed this edition (the 5 Stars are for the show) I have the new BBC 'Best of' release containing five episodes purloined from the Australian Broadcastin Corporation's shopping site (search for 'ABC Shop Online'). I believe a second volume is on the way.

You stupid boy...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best comedies ever written!
Review: Dad's Army is one of, if not THE, best comedy ever written. It is absolutely hilarious in every aspect. All of the episodes included on the 3 discs here have been picked because they are the best of the best, and contain some of the funniest moments in comedy (one part of 'The Deadly Attachment' was recently voted the funniest comedy moment of all time!) If you like any type of comedy, you will love this brilliant 1970's British comedy starring Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best comedies ever written!
Review: Dad's Army is one of, if not THE, best comedy ever written. It is absolutely hilarious in every aspect. All of the episodes included on the 3 discs here have been picked because they are the best of the best, and contain some of the funniest moments in comedy (one part of 'The Deadly Attachment' was recently voted the funniest comedy moment of all time!) If you like any type of comedy, you will love this brilliant 1970's British comedy starring Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Possibly the greatest TV of all time
Review: Delightful, engaging, funny, serene ... - words fail to express the sincere JOY this show gives me. I could probably use all the complimentary words in a thesaurus - and then some. Along with The Prisoner I have my desert island TV sorted. Every character is real. Even if the show was not funny (which it is - hugely), I could still watch this end-to-end and then again just for the characters alone. The BBC made some sublime TV in late 1960's and through the 1970's. Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served etc are all magnificent ... but if push comes to shove this is it. The best TV of all time? Well, that's my opinion and I am entitled to it - but yes, I would augue that this is it.

One criticism though - why oh why can't the BBC/A&E release the whole series IN FULL and in sequence (they've found 2 of the 5 missing episodes from Series 2 so they have enough material to fill that DVD with the "Finding Of.." TV special (from 2000), Message To The Empire, various BBC variety TV appearances, the 1-hour specials etc etc). Now when that's released I would be truly happy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THAT WAS GREAT..BUT WHEN ARE THE REST COMMING TO DVD?
Review: I ENJOYED DAD'S ARMY COLLECTION BUT I HAVE SEEN OTHER EPISODES ON PBS AND WAS WONDERING WHEN ARE THE REST OF THE COLLECTION GOING TO BE RELEASED ON DVD??

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Further to my last review.........
Review: I've had a couple of requests from people to let them know the names of the episodes in this collection. So I thought I'd put them on here. They are:-

The Day The Balloon Went Up - Sons of the Sea - Don't Forget The Diver - Asleep in the Deep - Boots Boots Boots - A Soldier's Farewell - Big Guns - Menace From The Deep - The Bullet Is Not For Firing - Mum's Army - The Armoured Might Of Lance Corporal Jones - Put That Light Out - The Two and a Half Feathers - The Test - Fallen Idol - The Deadly Attachment - If The Cap Fits - The Honourable Man

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Further to my last review.........
Review: I've had a couple of requests from people to let them know the names of the episodes in this collection. So I thought I'd put them on here. They are:-

The Day The Balloon Went Up - Sons of the Sea - Don't Forget The Diver - Asleep in the Deep - Boots Boots Boots - A Soldier's Farewell - Big Guns - Menace From The Deep - The Bullet Is Not For Firing - Mum's Army - The Armoured Might Of Lance Corporal Jones - Put That Light Out - The Two and a Half Feathers - The Test - Fallen Idol - The Deadly Attachment - If The Cap Fits - The Honourable Man

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Defending Walmington-On-Sea for King and country
Review: It's 1941, and England is braced for a Nazi invasion along its southeast coast. Every man must do his duty; the old and those otherwise exempt from service with the regular forces have the opportunity to join the ranks of His Majesty's Home Guard. In the coastal town of Walmington-On-Sea, the local HG contingent is commanded by Captain Mainwaring (pronounced "mannering", Arthur Lowe), the local bank manager. His stout hearted men at arms include Sergeant Wilson (John Le Mesurier), the bank's chief clerk, Lance Corporal Jones (Clive Dunn), the butcher, Private Fraser (John Laurie), the undertaker, Private Walker (James Beck), a goods transporter, and assorted others.

The humor in DAD'S ARMY is perhaps more subtle and character driven than that seen in U.S. sitcoms. As befits the senior NCO of any military outfit, Wilson is amusedly tolerant of his Captain's pompous efforts to instill martial spirit and promote military bearing among the ranks. Jones drives Mainwaring to distraction with war stories about the old days with Kitchener's army in the Sudan. Fraser, a dour Scot and the platoon's chief grouser, comes to life when the subject of women's strong thighs arises. Fraser's abets his career as the local Lothario by delivering elastic for the ladies' knickers along with the war supplies.

The level of amusement to be derived from the 18 episodes in this 3-DVD set ranges from negligible to high. Fortunately, the former is represented solely by "The Test", wherein Mainwaring and his men are challenged to a cricket match by their rivals in the air raid watch. Cricket? Please, I'm a Yank. Otherwise, the chuckles are satisfyingly frequent. As when Jones takes a detail to set up a lookout in a deserted lighthouse and hits the wrong switch as Luftwaffe bombers approach the blacked-out town. Or, when the platoon is assigned to guard a captured U-boat commander and several of his crew, the action the German captain takes when Mainwaring threatens him with soggy chips to accompany his fish. And Mainwaring's difficulty with a tent flap after becoming thoroughly drunk in an officers' mess. Or, to Mainwaring's jealousy and disgust, when Wilson inherits a title and is invited to join the local golf club.

The video quality of this boxed set is inconsistent. The DVD technology makes an excellent reproduction of the source material, and some of the original film was notably dodgy.

DAD'S ARMY doesn't even come close to reruns of M.A.S.H., but, compared to the desolate landscape of contemporary American sitcoms, it provides occasions of pure delight.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: BFS Video Drops the ball again!
Review: The programme content and acting in Dad's Army is superb. What a pity then that BFS Video, Canada, producers of this DVD have once again released a sub-standard product in terms of picture quality.

The video is encoded at only 2-3 mps for the most part, resulting in smearing and blockiness.

I will be cautious in buying any future releases having already been stung with Six Wives of Henry VIII which was also very poor.

Please BFS! Get your act together.


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates