Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44 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".

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

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.

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!