Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14131 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-15
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 5
• Running time: 612 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Dukes of Hazzard was part of America's redneck fetish in the mid-to-late 1970s, otherwise evident in popular songs, movies, and television shows highlighting fast cars, truckers, citizens' band radio, moonshine, irreverent hicks, and clueless lawmen. Created by writer-producer Gy Waldron and inspired by his own 1975 bootlegging comedy, Moonrunners, Dukes milked seven seasons of material from the tale of a Deep South family of reformed whiskey-makers and their running feud with a greedy impresario and his chief lackey, a buffoonish, venal sheriff.

This three-disc set includes all 13 initial episodes of Dukes from 1979, a period fans fondly recall because some of the programs were shot on location in Covington, Georgia, rather than a Burbank backlot. Also noteworthy is that a couple of key characters, particularly Hazzard County's corrupt lawman, Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best), hadn't gelled yet into permanent hayseed stereotypes and were arguably more interesting at the beginning. At the center of the action are Sheriff Coltrane's nemeses, cousins Bo Duke (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat), a couple of wild boys buzzing through the backwoods in the "General Lee," a souped-up Dodge Charger. Bo and Luke are good at heart but have to behave themselves while on indefinite probation, complicating but not halting their efforts to vex Roscoe and his patron, diminutive bigwig Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke). The enmity runs both ways: Roscoe and Boss Hogg, with the aid of witless Deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer), dream up ways of eliminating the Dukes--including their wise old Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle)--but their efforts always backfire.

While every episode is a variation on the previous one, predictability is a virtue in Dukes. The series pilot, "One Armed Bandits," finds Luke and Bo, with help from their sexy cousin, Daisy (Catherine Bach), diverting slot machines (smuggled into Hazzard County by Roscoe and Boss Hogg) to sundry watering holes where they can raise money for Bo's girlfriend's charity. In "Money to Burn," Boss Hogg tries to frame Bo and Luke for robbing an armored truck, while in "Deputy Dukes," the unarmed guys are forced by Roscoe to escort a deadly prisoner from one town to another. The Dukes hit back in "Daisy's Song," investigating a scam that took Daisy for $50 and implicates, of course, Boss Hogg and Roscoe.

Yes, it's a show about rubes, car stunts, and a legacy of moonshine, but there's something comforting about it, in a tongue-in-cheek way. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Welcome to Hazzard County, where cousins Bo and Luke Duke (John Schneider and Tom Wopat) spend their days eluding the crooked Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and his dimwit Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best). Living with their uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) and sexy cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach), Bo and Luke somehow find themselves entangled in mess after mess in this well-loved television series. This release contains every episode from the show's hilarious and action-packed first series.

Customer Reviews

Great DVD box set! Great Dukes! Great episodes!
I've always been a fan of "The Dukes of Hazzard" and was excited about finally owning this classic and timeless show on DVD. It has action, drama, comedy, stunts, fun and laughter for all the family.

I'm very happy with the picture quality of all 13 episodes, which is more or less the same as other TV shows on DVD from the late 70s, so I'm not looking for perfection. You've never seen "The Dukes of Hazzard" episodes look so sharp and of high quality. After the opening credits finish and the episodes start, there isn't much dirt and dust showing up in the picture. They've also placed chapter marks after the opening credits and in other convenient places.

I do like the packaging. There are 5 discs and each one in its own slim, plastic case, and on the reverse they list the episodes. There are 3 episodes per disc and are one-sided discs. There are nice pictures on each disc.

The extras are great, especially the cast gathering. John "Bo" Schneider and Cathy "Daisy" Bach do commentary for the first episode "One Armed Bandit" and you learn alot of trivia whilst listening to them. I also learnt quite a lot about "The Dukes of Hazzard" which I didn't know before watching the cast talk about the show.

All in all, 5 stars for "The Dukes of Hazzard" season 1 DVD box set. You'll love it! I can't wait to buy all the other six seasons on DVD. I'm already looking forward to buying the season 2 DVD box set. btw, Warner Home Video are releasing the season 3 DVD in late November 2005! As Rosco would say "I love it, I love it ! kew kew !"

P.S. The new "Dukes of Hazzard" movie remake is nothing like this classic show.

so glad this series has been released on DVD
with Season one of The Dukes Of Hazzard there are so many good episodes. the episodes i do like are High Octane, The Big Heist and Limo One Is Missing. I also like the first episode One Armed Bandits. I watched that one with the commentary by John Schenider and Catherine Bach. Very entertaining commentary. The extras on disc five are top notch. i like the dukes of hazzard 20th anniversary barbecue. it was so good to see the members of the surviving cast talk about their memories of working on the show. My verdict about this boxset Brilliant.

Timeless classic given terrible treatment on DVD
I was immensely please to see that this series was finally to become available on DVD. With a company like Warners behind it, I felt sure that they would have given the series the treatment it deserved. How wrong I was.

Rather than re-mastering all the episodes, Warners have elected just to redo TWO out of thirteen, with the rest (presumably out of stinginess) being done off old CRI prints which are dull, dirty and lifeless, with poor black details. This is even more annoying since the two which have been remastered look truly sublime.

Until consumers decide to boycott discs which have been done 'on the cheap', especially by multi-million dollar companies like Warners, they will continue to be foisted with rubbish like this.