Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection Remastered
 Written by Frank Cifaldi
October 31, 2009
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Synopsis: This Special Edition marks the 34th Anniversary of one of the greatest British sitcoms ever created. John Cleese stars as Basil Fawlty, the much put-upon hotel manager whose life is plagued by dead guests, hotel inspectors and "riff-raff". Named the #1 television program of all time by the British Film Institute, the series has been painstakingly remastered for this release and, for the first time ever, includes commentary by John Cleese on every episode! Full Frame 1.33:1
Dual Layer Single Sided
Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English
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Back in 1990, I was working at a local Blockbuster Video (the worst job I ever had, mind you) when I was recommended a VHS collection of "Fawlty Towers" by another fan of British comedy. It soon became my favorite comedy from across the Pond and I was thrilled to come back to Memphis to see that our local Public Television station was offering the show on late night. I watched every episode at least a dozen times and, yet, was still thrilled to be offered the complete collection to review by the fine folks at Warner Brothers (the distributors of BBC videos).
For the uninitiated, "Fawlty Towers" is a fictional hotel located in Torquay, England and run by Basil Fawlty and his wife, Sybil. Played to hilarious perfection by John Cleese and Prunella Scales, the Fawlty's, quite simply, run the worst hotel in Britain. Along with their chambermaid Polly (Connie Booth, the real life wife of John Cleese at the time), Chef Terry (Brian Hall) and waiter Manuel from Barcelona (the superb Andrew Sachs), the staff is as competent as Basil is patient and kind (which is nearly nil). Surprisingly, there were only 12 episodes produced (6 in 1975 and 6 more in 1979) but there seems to be many more. Always with a foot in mouth, Basil must overcome an angry American tourist (WALDORF SALAD), a hearing impaired woman (COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS), a dead man (THE KIPPER AND THE CORPSE), a pet rat (BASIL THE RAT), bad carpenters (THE BUILDERS), unmarried guests (THE WEDDING PARTY), a totally drunken chef (GOURMET NIGHT), demanding guests (THE HOTEL INSPECTORS) and "riff raff", certainly, in every episode.
Besides being one of the funniest things I have ever had the immense pleasure of watching, this incredible DVD release gives us totally remastered episodes that look absolutely brilliant. The sound, while only presented in Mono, is still quite pleasing to the ear. What makes this DVD collection so wonderful is that they were able to not only get the star, John Cleese, to do commentary on every episode (along with the respective directors on alternate tracks), but there are also up to date interviews with Prunella Scales, Connie Booth and Andrew Sachs. But wait--that's not all--we are also given 2009 interviews with some of the actors who had guest roles all those many years ago. How great it was to see Bernard Cribbens ("The Hotel Inspectors") again after all this time! We also are given a terrifically informative documentary about the man, Donald Sinclair, who owed the Glen Eagles hotel in Torquay and for whom Mr. Cleese fashioned his characterization for Basil. Throw in some funny (and crystal clear) outtakes and a well made booklet about the show and you have one of the best comedies available on DVD to own at the present time--if not ever! Make your reservation today to check in with The Fawlty's.
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