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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-10-03
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, German
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 360 minutes

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 farces, 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 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

Synopsis
This set includes the entire Fawlty Towers collection. The collection is broken down as follows: Basil the Rat includes "Basil the Rat", "The Anniversary" and "Communication Problems". The Germans includes "A Touch of Class", "Hotel Inspectors", and "The Germans". The Kipper and the Corpse includes "The Kipper and the Corpse", "Gourmet Night", and "Waldorf Salad". The Psychiatrist includes "The Builders", "The Wedding Party" and "The Psychiatrist".

Important note: The first series will suffer from freezing on the following DVD players only:

Sony RDR-GX120

Samsung DVD5600

Cinetec 5050

Power DVD V7 (PC DVD Player)

Panasonic DMR E55, E15

Please note this is a player-specific problem, rather than with the DVD.

From the Studio
Fawlty Towers remains a timeless example of comic writing, acting, and characterisation at its very best. This special edition DVD set features all 12 episodes from both seasons of this classic series. Also included are exclusive interviews with the stars, commentaries by the various directors, artist profiles, outtakes and a Torquay tourist guide. Despite there being only a dozen episodes and 30 years having passed since they were first aired this remains the definitive British sitcom, with lifetime best performances from John Cleese as hotelier Basil Fawlty and Prunella Scales as his long suffering wife.

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Customer Reviews

Classic British Comedy
Fawlty Towers is definitely among the top 5 comedies ever made. This DVD has both series and an extras disc. I have to say, although better than nothing at all (which is what the BBC seems to like to give some of it's classics, i.e. Only Fools and Horses) the extras aren't that brilliant. There's a couple of out takes, which are funny, and brief profiles of the actors. The interviews with the stars are long and, although it was interesting to find out what inspired the series and the characters, I ended up turning them off before the end because I was starting to get a bit bored of them.

The series itself is classic, there's no two ways about it, and most certainly deserves 5 stars on its own. Scenes like "Don't mention the war" and "Waldorf Salad", along with "Que?" and "Mr Fawlty I know nothing" will have you howling with laughter, even if they are over 30 years old. If you love Fawlty Towers as much as I do, then this DVD is definitely worth having.

excuse please...which one is man with beard?
That has to be one of my favourite lines from a sitcom that has so much quality in it! You can pick any episode and find many great lines in it. The writing and the acting are both superb, this is a must have for your DVD collection.

It's all been said
Inspired lunacy and very well scripted. It's all been said before so I'll just comment briefly on this DVD package. The extras are fantastic, despite what a few reviewers have said - A director's commentary for every episode of each series, and so you get two different viewpoints; There's an interesting programme on the original 'Basil Fawlty', a man it seems from some accounts not too toned down from Cleese's mad creation; There's the usual actor career notes, but best of the lot by far for me, is three great interviews by Sachs, Scales and Cleese on the making and everlasting legend of FT. Cleese in particular is very illuminating on the show's conception and speedy development into what became one of the very greatest shows, never mind sitcoms, ever created. Cleese is hilarious himself and his very mischeivous sense of humour comes out when he is describing how he and Booth came to choose certain plot lines and scenarios. Very interesting are his comments on the un-PC nature of much of the sitcom now and what he thinks of that. He reveals how technically minded he is by telling us how he studied various sitcoms and mechanisms of comedy to achieve exactly what it was he was after here. A perfectionist was revealed, as if we didn't already know that, and while it's evident yet again what some lesser comedians who've worked with him have said about him being big headed and full of his own self worth, there is no hiding from the fact that he is an extremely gifted and extremely original master of comedy, or a genius, in short.