Peter Gunn, Set 2

Rating:
Summary: Would you buy a film for its music? I did.
Review: A great experience in life: all that mystery involved in a "film noir" crime scene. The splendor of the "Peter Gunn" series, one of the most wonderful and famous TV series. And the music of Mancini setting the scene! It's a treasure! It's a perfect demo of how to prepare our hearts and minds with music for a movie scene. Mancini is a master forever. This package is very worth of the impact of watching to the complete series at a time or at least half of it. There are volumes 1 and 2. Buy both for the complete series.

Rating:
Summary: Better than we remembered.
Review: Forty years old and still high quality entertainment. The quality
of the images and sound are better than we ever saw or heard on those primitive TV sets of the 60's. The acting is clearly for fun and the dialog is laced with good comedy moments. The talent of Blake Edwards, Henry Mancini, the actors and musicians, is clearly on display. You will watch it again and again. Whenever there is nothing worth watching on the networks or dish we enjoy Peter Gunn all over again.

Rating:
Summary: Gunn-derful!
Review: Nothing is overdone here. The acting, the sets, the music (oh, yes, enjoy the MUSIC) and most of the stories are cool. Craig Stevens is sublimely in control in the title role, Lola Albright's unspectacular singing voice but unmitigated charm fit into the unspectacular but charming setting of Mother's, the nightclub where Gunn hangs out with her, and Herschel Bernardi is the harried and weary police detective sometimes at odds with Gunn, the private detective. But how often have you seen that cop/dick relationship overplayed on TV series and in movies. Here it is understated. That is not to say the show is so low-keyed as to be boring. There are mysteries, there's humor (including an episode in which the immaculately tailored Gunn is scurrying about town with a trained seal in tow), and a good rock 'em sock 'em fight every episode. And all this is surrounded and united by the brilliant Mancini music. You will have fun and won't get tired even if you watch a bunch of episodes at one sitting.

Rating:
Summary: Gunn-derful!
Review: Nothing is overdone here. The acting, the sets, the music (oh, yes, enjoy the MUSIC) and most of the stories are cool. Craig Stevens is sublimely in control in the title role, Lola Albright's unspectacular singing voice but unmitigated charm fit into the unspectacular but charming setting of Mother's, the nightclub where Gunn hangs out with her, and Herschel Bernardi is the harried and weary police detective sometimes at odds with Gunn, the private detective. But how often have you seen that cop/dick relationship overplayed on TV series and in movies. Here it is understated. That is not to say the show is so low-keyed as to be boring. There are mysteries, there's humor (including an episode in which the immaculately tailored Gunn is scurrying about town with a trained seal in tow), and a good rock 'em sock 'em fight every episode. And all this is surrounded and united by the brilliant Mancini music. You will have fun and won't get tired even if you watch a bunch of episodes at one sitting.

Rating:
Summary: Not the most classic of classic TV
Review: Novel plots, zany characters and Blake Edwards' superb jazz sound track distinguish this series. But all told they do not compensate for its lack of other outstanding features nor make it the best of its genre. Those who love classic TV and/or private investigator/police drama have many other better choices available.

Rating:
Summary: Not the most classic of classic TV
Review: Novel plots, zany characters and Blake Edwards' superb jazz sound track distinguish this series. But all told they do not compensate for its lack of other outstanding features nor make it the best of its genre. Those who love classic TV and/or private investigator/police drama have many other better choices available.

Rating:
Summary: Even better than the first set, if that's possible!
Review: This show is very addictive and it serves to remind us what REAL "cool" is all about. No kiddies, it's not a face full of rings and studs and a tattoo on your butt. It's not some numb-nutted, no-talent, rap-squawking pimp-daddy grabbing his croth on the Leno show. It's not the concept of bacterial life in Martian rocks. It's not your baseball cap on backwards and a pair of stupid-looking three-quarter-length baggy pants. Here is the truth: Peter Gunn is COOL personified! A smooth, immaculately dressed private eye who hangs out in a jazz club (where his girlfriend is the Julie London-esque chanteuse) and mixes with, truly, some of life's beatnik eccentrics.... all to the sounds of a perfect Henry Mancini score and produced by Blake Edwards. How cool is that? Also what is really good about this series (especially for you older guys out there) is the number of familiar faces and character actors that we used to see in 50s/60s TV shows and Elvis movies. I swear that while I was watching this dvd I asked myself "When is Floyd the Mayberry barber from the 'Andy Griffith Show' gonna turn up?", and lo and behold, in the very next episode, there he was as an eccentic antiques dealer. I also like the bongo-playing skindiver with the apartment full of hula girls.... this is Atomic Age bachelor pad excess, I love it!! Yeah, I agree that the transfers are not up to the usual A&E excellence and in some shows the tape hiss is very noticable but hey, given the vintage of this stuff, I'll live with it. Can't wait for further volumes of this ultra cool TV noir and hope and pray A&E release BOURBON STREET BEAT, 77 SUNSET STRIP, SURFSIDE 6 and HAWAIIAN EYE in box sets. I highly recommend this dvd. Buy it, check it out, let the "cool" flow over you like molasses and put it up there on your shelf next to "Jazz On A Summer's Day" and "The Saint" mega-set.

Rating:
Summary: Thank goodness for this set!!
Review: This the coolest TV series ever and the episodes are great on this DVD package. I know that the tape to DVD transfers could have been done a little better, at least in the soundtrack dept. however, the sound is really not bad, just a little hissy now and then. But who's complaining?? The picture quality is very good and the acting and the action are second to none. This is great stuff. I have an older Peter Gunn VHS box set with 10 episodes which were transferred quite poorly and in the SLP mode. The DVD release trashes that set but I treasure the VHS set anyhow. I don't know why this series was never on TV when I was growing up (b. 1965) but it should have been. I found a cd of the Peter Gunn music by Henry Mancini 11 years ago and REALLY dug the cool jazz on it but never saw and episode untill the VHS set came out a couple of years ago. And it still has not been re-released into syndication for broadcast. I recall about 5 or 6 years ago it was on Direct TV but was soon taken off and I never saw it there either. What gives? Detective shows hardly get any cooler than this and Craig Stevens, and all the regular and guest actors were some of the best of their time. I fail to understand how this series could have gone out of popularity yet, the Lucille Ball show has played straight through since its inception fer cryin out loud! Get this set and you'll be amazed. I can't wait to get the 1st set now!!

Rating:
Summary: Thank goodness for this set!!
Review: This the coolest TV series ever and the episodes are great on this DVD package. I know that the tape to DVD transfers could have been done a little better, at least in the soundtrack dept. however, the sound is really not bad, just a little hissy now and then. But who's complaining?? The picture quality is very good and the acting and the action are second to none. This is great stuff. I have an older Peter Gunn VHS box set with 10 episodes which were transferred quite poorly and in the SLP mode. The DVD release trashes that set but I treasure the VHS set anyhow. I don't know why this series was never on TV when I was growing up (b. 1965) but it should have been. I found a cd of the Peter Gunn music by Henry Mancini 11 years ago and REALLY dug the cool jazz on it but never saw and episode untill the VHS set came out a couple of years ago. And it still has not been re-released into syndication for broadcast. I recall about 5 or 6 years ago it was on Direct TV but was soon taken off and I never saw it there either. What gives? Detective shows hardly get any cooler than this and Craig Stevens, and all the regular and guest actors were some of the best of their time. I fail to understand how this series could have gone out of popularity yet, the Lucille Ball show has played straight through since its inception fer cryin out loud! Get this set and you'll be amazed. I can't wait to get the 1st set now!!