Customer Reviews

Fawlty Towers: The Complete Series (3 Discs)

5 star:		(141)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I love watching Fawlty Towers and this remastered dvd set is perfect in my collection. Definitely worth the buy for any Fawlty fan and the price was perfect.

There is indeed nothing faulty with Fawlty Towers.
This Britcom which was first filmed in 1975 then added to later in 1979 is an enduring classic of its genre and is definitely one of the all time best....period.
It's star John Cleese along with then-wife and co-star(Polly)Connie Booth collaborated on the entire series together.Most of the series was filmed in studio but there were quite a few exterior shots and they used the Wooburn Grange Country Club in Torquay,England for that purpose.The club itself has since burned down and been bulldozed to make way for residential development.
However Cleeses' actual inspiration for the character of Basil Fawlty comes from one Mr.Sinclair(now deceased) the o/o of the GlenEagles Hotel in Torquay.It seems Cleese and some of the Monty Python cast and crew were staying at the GlenEagles and experienced some of Mr.Sinclair's,shall we say,"inestimable charm" first hand.Most of the group was not amused and off most trotted to a nearby and more forgiving establishment for the duration of their stay there.Cleese however was intrigued by the utter gall,bluster and plain rudeness of Mr.Sinclair and thought he would stay to observe this local phenom up close and personal.From that experience sprang forth the idea for Basil Fawlty and the rest is sitcom history.
Fawlty Towers has created a minor tourism point of call for the GlenEagles Hotel in Torquay and the surrounding area .Buses and folks from all over the world come there to have a glimpse of the famous hotel which inspried this wonderful show.Depending on who one talks to the oppinions of locals range from happy to embarassed but very rarely negative.And this is quite a testament to just a 12 episode Britcom which during its' first airing in 1975 didn't get much attention at all.It wasn't until its' re-runs the following years that the groundswell gathered steam which eventually prompted more eps to be filmed in 1979.When you look at them today it is almost nigh impossible to tell where the /75-ers start and the /79-ers end.Again another indication of the over all quality of the show from top to bottom.
Technically speaking this show has been transferred very well from tape.The contrast and colours have been cleaned up and it looks better than it ever did.
The three discs included with this set(not four as indicated above by one of the product reviewers)comes with interviews with Cleese,Sachs(Manuel) and Scales(Mrs.Fawlty),trips to Torquay,out takes,directors commentaries and more.
The reason I'm not giving this higher stars is because of the lack of any inserts with episode information.There is an extremely lean blurb for each ep on the back cover of the set but that's it.One assumes also that the eps listed are in order but it would have been nice to have at least release dates but sadly there are none.I think for the price BBC video could have plumped this set up a bit.
In conclusion except for the minor drawbacks listed this set generally is worth getting for any fan of good comedy sitcoms and /or Britcoms.It's humour and characters are universally indentifiable and work on many levels.It is still fast paced(in large part due to its' judicious editing) and plain laugh out loud funny.A real "inn-keeper"!!

My dad introduced me to this series when I was a little kid. Thanks dad! Fawlty towers is a riot and john cleese is a genius. It is so funny, and trust me ~ kids, teens, adults will love it (i have!). the dialogue, the slapstick ~ it is simply the funniest show ever on tv.

Come visit the worst-run hotel in the whole of western Europe (well, except for that place in Eastbourne...)

In a field with many top contenders, 'Fawlty Towers' remains my favourite of all 'Britcoms' - situation comedies originating on British television. Fawlty Towers has a cult following decades after the originals aired; it is sometimes hard to believe that there are but 12 episodes, six hours total. The regular cast is led by John Cleese, veteran of the famous Monty Python comedy troupe, as the irrepressible Basil Fawlty, titular head of the hotel with dreams of class and glory; Prunella Scales is his long-suffering and hardworking wife, Sybil, who recognises that while Basil may think 'the sky's the limit!', in fact, '22 rooms is the limit'. Connie Booth (Cleese's real-life wife) played the level-headed and sensible, overworked maid Polly, and in a role matched only by Fawlty's own bizarre manner, Andrew Sachs plays the loveable and ever-incompetent Spanish waiter, Manuel (he's from Barcelona...). Ballard Berkeley makes Ballard Berkeley makes a regular appearance as the Major, a retired long-term resident at the hotel. Brian Hall joined the cast for the second season as the not-quite-gourmet chef, Terry.

From the very first episode (first aired in 1975) featured a social-climbing Fawlty as perhaps the most rude and insufferable hotel manager in existence, in the resort town of Torquay, on the Channel coast of Britain. Sybil tries to maintain a reasonable level of service, but Fawlty's snobbishness permits him to be gracious (indeed, excessively fawning) toward those he considers 'worthy', which in this episode turns out to be Lord Melbury, who ends up not being Lord Melbury, but rather a confidence trickster, and Fawlty's revenge scares away the real 'posh' guests, whom Fawlty sends off with the hilarious shout, 'Snobs!'

In each of the episodes, there is a crisis - one gets the sense that the life of Fawlty is non-stop crisis, with his wife and Polly forever picking up the pieces, Manuel always complicating things, and the others wandering around in a state of disbelief (or, in the case of the Major, perpetual daze). The twelve episodes highlight all the things that could wrong at hotel in classic comedic fashion - the institution of a Gourmet Night falls flat when the not-quite-recovering alcoholic chef starts drinking the night of the main event; a guest dies in the middle of the night, and Fawlty tries to slip him out unnoticed; remodelers install and remove the wrong doors; the health inspector unexpected shows up and gets served a bit of rat with his cheese.

However, nothing quite matches the kinds of situations Basil can get himself into. When trying to plan a surprise anniversary dinner for his wife, she leaves the hotel thinking that Basil has forgotten again, and Basil dresses Polly up as a sick-bed-bound Sybil to fool the guests. When Polly's friends check in for a wedding over the weekend, Basil suspects the group of free sexual expression (highlighting his own repression); this theme is carried over to a glorious extreme in the episode about the visiting Psychiatrist.

'How does he make his living?' Basil protests. 'He makes his money by sticking his nose into others' private parts, er, details...'

This is also the episode where Sybil finally confronts Basil about his double-sided hotel manner toward guests: 'You're either crawling all over them, licking their boots, or spitting poison at them like some Benzedrine puff adder,' she declares. He replies in perfect form, 'Just trying to enjoy myself, dear.'

As the psychiatrist will comment near the end, there's enough material for an entire psychiatrist conference. Indeed there is, as this is slapstick humour with a difference. Intelligent and witty while utterly chaotic and beyond the pale, one is treated to the moose-head incident and the ingrowing toenail as well as Fawlty's unique form of automobile motivation (how many of us have ever been tempted to whack away at a stalled car with a stick!) and a nice performance of Brahms (his 'third racket', to be precise). One must not overlook the little details, either, including the ever-changing sign in front (the actual hotel used for the exteriors unfortunately burned down many years after the show), and the fact that the interior and exterior layouts of the building cannot correspond (shades of 'The Simpsons' whose furniture layout changes from scene to scene).

It is almost inconceivable that the two series, each of six episodes, were four years apart (1975 and 1979), as they flow rather seamlessly together. Popular on television networks worldwide, it can be seen variously on BBC America and local public television channels, often during the fund drives, when the most popular pieces are shown.

The DVD has various extras, including interviews with Cleese, Scales and Sachs (Booth was not available); there are director's commentaries as well as a tour of the now-abandoned hotel used for the exterior (a rather bizarre piece, that). The extras are sadly substandard, but the series itself is excellent, and worth having in the digital format.

Great fun if you understand British humor and enjoy slapstick comedy that involves unlucky accidents and unfortunate situations for Basil. I love this dvd set...I only wish they had made more episodes!

A must own for all Cleese fans. The sheer energy it must have taken to film an episode may explain the regrettably short run. I've watched them over and over and still laugh out loud! I'd have to say that Fawlty Towers ranks amoung the very best British comedies ever produced.

Words cannot even begin to describe what delights are in store for the hapless comedy fan who has not yet seen Fawlty Towers, but I'll try. Basil Fawlty has become a comedy legend since he and his co-stars first graced our screens in the mid 70's. Yes, it's a vintage series and some of the language may not be very PC in this day and age but the result is still hilarious. Take it as you find it and you will be rewarded. There is not enough space to fully describe what delights are in store, but rest assured, you will be investing in a piece of essential comedy history when you buy this. Imagine a hotel owner who dislikes foreigners and has little respect for his guests and your'e just a little way there. The writing, the timing, the characters....everything is utterly perfect! John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth could think of nowhere else to go after two series, so they called it quits and left on a high. What they didn't realise was the fact that they gave us what is without doubt one of the finest and funniest comedy legends. Americans have a taste for this kind of peculiar British humour, we British also adore it. You are in for a treat! Don't miss.

You are invited to the vist the worst-run hotel in England to enjoy a mixture of slapstick and word-wit. Each episode is based around the mental unravelling of the co-owner, Basil Fawlty, as his ill-conceived schemes spiral into the ground with the aid of his long suffering hapless helper Manuel.

Is this the second or third time's it's been "remastered" for DVD? I've been buying this since VHS days and it's never looked better. Cleese's commentary tracks are like listening to a clinic on the subject of farce (except way more entertaining than that sounds). Since this will never come out on Blu-ray it's the best it will ever be.

Love this series which is, IMHO, the funniest sitcom series ever shown on either side of The Pond. There's no disappointment in re-watching all the wonderful episodes.

There is, however, beaucoup de frustration with the way in which the links were designed. You have sit right in front of the TV, no more than 4' away to read the postage-sized stamps which indicate episodes, commentary, etc. (I still can't read them.)

Still, once you get going, it's hours of laughter, great performances, and great writing.