Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16810 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-05-23
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Synopsis
Features footage of the 'League Of Gentlemen' live show, recorded at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Customer Reviews

Original Vs New Edition
I'm sure that many people who are reading this are already in possession of the original (and leaner) release of this Live performance, which was released a couple of years ago. As one of those suckers who buys everything League related, I have to say that for this version to be given full marks (so far) is more than a little hasty.

The performance itself is, of course, fantastic. It completes the League of Gents experience, with material that preceded the TV show as well as some old favourites given a new twist. It is absolutely essential if you weren't lucky enough to see them when they came to your town.

The original came with a few features: 2 extra scenes, a short audio track (from the radio series) and a screensaver. Added to this are now a commentary, documentary, gallery and movie clip. It sounds more impressive, but if you aren't a major fan of the league or aren't keen on stuff like commentaries, you could easily save a tenner and get the older one.

The League COMMENTARY tracks are always funny and entertaining, but here they are obviously only referring to touring life and basically talk about thoughts and problems faced behind the scenes. By this I mean that there are very few insights into the world of Vasey, hardly any fascinating comments adding to the mythology of the show that we have heard on previous commentaries. Most of it is simply griping and joking around.

The DOCUMENTARY is good, but is nothing more than Jeremy Dyson with a camcorder filming their last performance (in which they deviated greatly from the script). There's a talking heads section with Steve and Reece, which brings the running time to just 18 mins.

The unremarkable photo gallery lasts for 2 mins and the movie clip is fairly pointless now that the movie is out.

This new DVD is more expensive than the old one, for not too much extra. If you're a major fan or simply missed the first release, this edition is well worth getting. Everyone else might want to save a few quid with the old one or see if they can borrow this off a friend.

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I was tempted to pass on this because I already own the original Drury Lane DVD. However, this promised a few more extras, so I thought I'd give it a go and I'm very glad I did.
The League of Gentlemen commentaries are legendary. I was disappointed that the original DVD didn't have one, but they've now rectified this and it's as entertaining and amusing as ever.
The documentary, Yoghurt and Mayonaise, is worth the extra expense alone. It includes a video diary from Jeremy Dyson, an interview with Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, some fascinating behind the scenes footage and a few hysterically funny live clips from the night Mark Gatiss went mad in Blackpool. I won't reveal any more - buy the DVD!

Get this!
If you love the League, this is the DVD you should not be without. It is the most wonderul example of what exactly these guys are about, showing us a glimpse of their origins and how the characters have evolved to where they are now.

This isnt just "Royston Vasey: The Play", it has sketches that they performed in their most early days, dressed in only tuxedos with occasional props. The Scott sketch is a work of genius (ie Mark Gatiss :)) as is the Legz Akimbo skit which closes the first half.

The second half may be firmer ground for a few. Its has all the Vasey characters in full costume. We have Herr Lipp with his usual innuendo laced german. An even more manic Papa Lazarou (if such a thing is possible). Mau Mau of course is included (how could it not?).And a wonderful lengthy "Dallas" style "Who Shot Pauline" sketch where Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith seem to be having a whale of a time as Pauline and Cathy Carter Smith.

As usual the commentary is hilarious. I love commentaries on any DVD but the League ones are by far the best you'll ever hear. They seem to genuinely enjoy being together. Its not just a "work thing" for them. They are friends and seem deeply protective of their collective vision of what these characters should be. The one little problem with this is that sometimes their humour is very impenetrable at times, with lots of "in jokes" and plenty of "no we cant say that". But never the less they are a joy to listen to and always enhance the viewing of any of their dvds.

The documentary is excellent also. I loved seeing the other performance where they just went wild and changed loads of the sketches. That would make a great dvd all on its own. Mark going off script during Mau Mau is fabulous as he is apparently the main member who wouldnt usually change anything. And of course the changes to the Denton sketch are hilariously rude.

I love The League of Gentlemen and this DVD was watched about 4 times the day I got it. It was just great to see them doing the stuff live and corpsing occasionally. Loved every minute of it and hopefully you will too.