Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #182 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

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'.

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.

Customer Reviews

Fawlty Towers, Faultless Comedy
`Fawlty Towers' if not the greatest sit-com ever then is definitely the second greatest sit-com ever. Each episode is a faultless masterpiece of farce with Basil Fawlty generally starting out with a small deception, normally from his wife and `nest of vipers' Sybil, which he tries to cover up with greater and greater deceptions until it all comes crashing down on him in a perfect conclusion which ties up all the loose ends in a manner Tolstoy would have needed over a thousand pages to bring home.

As well as the priceless mechanics of the structure it frames some of the greatest dialogue ever committed to tape, "A satisfied customer; we should have him stuffed.", "I should never have let you write that advert, fancy putting `No Riff-Raff'". The dialogue is a course delivered with perfect timing by the fantastic ensemble cast. A hotel is the most fantastic setting for a sit-com, as well as the regulars the stories can be driven by new characters arriving and then leaving as guests. Unfortunately a hotel can never again be used for a sit-com setting, comparison to `Fawlty Towers' would always leave them wanting.

`Fawlty Towers' is the perfect destination for anyone not wanting to leave their own armchair.

The best British Sitcom ever, bar none
Simply brilliant. Only 12 episodes but like diamonds, those things which are most precious are rare but incredibly valuable. Each episode is at least brilliant (Wedding Party, Waldorf Salad, The Builders, The Anniversary) whilst others (especially The Germans, The Psychiatrist, Communication problems and Gourmet Night) are simply legendary. The word genius is used with far too much regularity but in the case of John Cleese and co-writer Connie Booth, and for the performances too, it can't be used enough. The characterisations are great and capture perfectly the mentality and social situation of 70s Britain, they are an artefact of the period neatly timecapsuled for us to enjoy. It has aged very well, look beyond the cardboard scenery, the 70s hairstyles and fashions and each episode is a joy to watch. Despite the fact that they have been shown on TV so much and the fact that just about everyone you meet knows each episode so well, they are still and remain side splittingly funny and now, neatly packaged as a complete set with a natty little extras disc all for under twenty quid, its a steal!

brilliant...
i vividly remember the premier of Fawlty Towers in the states, i was so expecting a extension of Monty Python that i was disappointed with the first episode. it took a while but i now consider this the funniest programme in television history (yes, that is quite a statement). sure, other shows lasted longer, but these twelve episodes just keep me roaring to the point where repeated viewing is a enjoyable must.... it just does not or cannot get funnier, about the only equal is the u.s.a. series The Honeymooners.