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Fawlty Towers - Series 1 & 2 [1975] | ![Fawlty Towers - Series 1 & 2 [1975]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BKFGM4YXL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Actors: John Cleese, Prunella Scales
Studio: 2 Entertain Video
Category: Video
List Price: £34.99
Buy New: £12.45
You Save: £22.54 (64%)
New (3) Used (8) from £6.83
Rating:  47 reviews
Format: Box Set, Hifi Sound, Pal
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Media: VHS Tape
Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 4
Running Time: 400 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5 x 5
EAN: 5014503486228
ASIN: B00004CMNF
Theatrical Release Date: February 28, 1978
Release Date: October 12, 1998
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: never watched. Excellent condition. Bargain price
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Often hailed as the greatest ever British sitcom, Fawlty Towers is closer to the more elaborate tradition of farce. Comprising two series made in 1975 and 1979, the total of just 12 episodes were painstakingly constructed by writers John Cleese and Connie Booth. Unlike most British farce, however, Fawlty Towers deals with the big themes--death, psychology, xenophobia and even sex-o-phobia (Basil's marriage to Sybil is the most sterile ever depicted in a sitcom). Basil's contempt for his guests is, of course, legendary. It takes little from patrons to unleash his sledgehammer sarcasm: "Rosewood, mahogany, teak? Sorry, I was wondering what you'd like your breakfast tray made out of", he sneers at a guest who dares to request breakfast in bed. Like every Englishman, he wants to be king of his own castle and resents having to take in lodgers to maintain the place, especially the open-necked younger generation, whom he regards as sub-human. Mostly, though, Fawlty Towers is comedy of exasperation--who can forget the "damn good thrashing" Basil gives his clapped-out car, or the nervous breakdowns he almost suffers trying to make himself understood to Manuel? It's also comedy of embarrassment. The very fear of losing his dignity generally leads Basil into the most spectacularly undignified of predicaments. His inevitable misery is our sheer delight. -- David Stubbs On the DVD: each six-episode season is given its own disc with a commentary track from John Howard Davies and Bob Spiers, directors of Season 1 and Season 2 respectively. The third disc has all the additional material, the best of which are new interviews with John Cleese, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales. Also included are text biographies of all the leads and the guest stars, a short background featurette on Torquay and the hotel owner who is said to have inspired Basil, a very short blooper reel of outtakes and a brief teaser with Cleese in character entitled "Cheap Tatty Review". Much of this extra material was comfortably fitted onto the individually available Season 1 and 2 discs, so it's a bit of a mystery why a third disc was deemed necessary for the box set. --Mark Walker
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| Customer Reviews:
A COMIC MASTERPIECE! October 8, 2000
ianphillips@uk.dreamcast.com (BOLTON, LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND)
20 out of 23 found this review helpful
An absolute classic! One of the funniest British sitcoms i've seen. Its nothing short of a comic masterpiece. The cast are all spot on delivering all their lines with perfect timing and great comic flair. John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth wrote all of these hilarious twelve episodes and each and every one of them are high in quality and always provide many laughs. The comedy just flows through so naturally. Best player is obviously John Cleese as the eccentric, permanetly stressed Basil Fawlty but also particularly good is Andrew Sachs in his hilarious role of Andrew Sachs as Manuel who's delightfully fractured English provides many of the laughs. On the whole though all the cast members are great with Prunella Scales and Connie Booth having their fair share of laughs too. Its impossible to name a favourite episode as they are all excellent so i'll let you judge for yourself. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Great British Wit !! November 7, 2001
dylanbrandes@hotmail.com (England)
20 out of 25 found this review helpful
Well, how long have i been waiting for this excellent comedy series to be released on DVD??!! Fawlty Towers is the best british comedy series ever produced and its finally being done justice by being released on DVD! John Cleese who plays Basil Fawlty is truely amazin as he keep you on the edge of your seat with laughter. He runs a Hotel where the amount of things that can go wrong are endless. One of the funniest episodes is 'The Germans'. This is comedy at its best and i would recommend it too anyone! You can watch it over and over again on the best quality that is DVD, and each time it will continue to make you laugh!
Excruciatingly funny and not for the hypertensive! March 19, 2001
jnl23@hotmail.com (London, U.K.)
16 out of 20 found this review helpful
This collection shows John Cleese at his absolute best as the near-insane depressive hotelier Basil Fawlty. Of special note are 'The Kipper and the Corpse' and, of course, 'The Germans', but all 12 episodes of this immortal comedy classic are priceless exposes of middle class British snobbery at its most appallingly funny. The characterisation is wonderful, the observational humour a masterpiece!
HOW TO MAKE A CLASSIC COMEDY IN 12 HILARIOUS LESSONS January 22, 2004
PETER XUEREB (SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES Australia)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
Firstly my reveiw is based on the actual episodes and not the DVD as an item. I actually own the series on VHS and "Fawlty Towers" is probably the best example of how not to overkill an idea. The fact that there are only 12 Episodes over 2 series filmed 4 years apart (1975 & 1979) probably speaks volumes for the methodology in the creative genius of co-writers John Cleese & Connie Booth. So often we have sitcoms & comedy shows (more often American than British) that don't know when to kill a tired idea, often running it out to the point of boredom. That's not the case here. Each episode contains lines that have become part of everyday language (when have we not quoted certain "Fawlty" moments to our friends, loved ones or even ourselves?) - e.g "don't mention the war", "Que?", "Ohh I Knooww!", "you can see the sea, it's over there between the land & the sky!", "Basil!", "Which horse, Nitwit or Dragonfly?", "Just checking the walls", "Fawlty - what's wrong with him?", "why do they call you sister, is it a term of endearment?" etc ad infinitum. I find it difficult to watch any episode and not recite it virtually word for word.
It's not easy to pick a favorite episode. "The Builders", "Mrs. Richards", "The Hotel Inspectors", "The Germans", "Basil The Rat", "The Kipper & The Corpse", "The Wedding Party", "The Psychiatrists" & "Gourmet Night"... what the heck all of them have wonderfully absurd moments that just stick in the brain and stay there forever. From Basil finding bricks instead of valuables in a guest's briefcase, to him thrashing his car and not finding a duck in the trifle, to Mrs. Richards' "the hotel guest from hell", to Manuel serenading his "Filigree Siberian hamster", to Polly & Sybil entertaining on Gourmet Night, not to mention "Basil The Rat" in the biscuit tin. Care for some Sino-Scandinavian veal perhaps? Try cancelling your fruit salad (it's a bit difficult, chef's just opened the tin!)
Get the point? As I stated at the start I've concentrated on the show itself...after all, in this case, who really cares about the little extras. Buy it just for these 12 brilliant episodes because nothing else matters.
Buy the individual series November 4, 2004
Mr. P. D. Nicholson (U.K.)
15 out of 29 found this review helpful
Brilliant comedy but do not buy this box set. It looks a good deal but save money and buy the individual series.
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