|
| 
 enlarge | Director: Martin Shardlow
Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Elspet Gray, Tim Mcinnerny, Brian Blessed, Robert East
Studio: BBC Warner
Category: DVD
List Price: $99.98
Buy New: $55.00
You Save: $44.98 (45%)
New (36) Used (12) from $55.00
Rating:  196 reviews
Sales Rank: 493
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 5
Running Time: 860 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 1
MPN: WARDE2460D
UPC: 794051246028
EAN: 0794051246028
ASIN: B000EBCEVS
Release Date: January 24, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new sealed DVDs. Free tracking fast shipping. Thanks for shopping with Rhino !
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 46-50 of 196
A Gem of a Comedy October 17, 2006
Ethan Bennett (Salt Lake City, Ut USA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I had seen little snippets of this show on late saturday night PBS programs before, but never really indulged in it, not to mention they only showed the second series.
However I rented these DVD's and I must say it was the most enjoyable viewing experience I've had in a great while.
Now I will admit that it was difficult to get through the first series, I was wholly unimpressed. Although the Archbishop and Witchsmeller Persuivant were the best in the series. But I continued on to the other series and was bursting out loud with laughter.
The viewer develops an affection towards the characters as we see them develop over time and recognize them from previous episodes. When flashheart reappears in WWI I nearly cried with laughter. And when Lord Percy is reborn as the scarlet pimpernel and the cranky Darling, it was highly enjoyable.
The acting is superb and of the highest quality. The writing is intelligent and captivating. The adventures are delightful. I recommend this with the greatest enthusiasm.
It is the comedy! October 16, 2006
M. Sharkansky (ISRAEL)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
A lot of praises were written here, all of them well-deserved. It is a really great comedy - funny, witty, with nice plots. Of course, the part I is not up to the II, III and IV, but these latter ones are real pearls, especially the IV, about WWI: it is as funny and laughable as it is tragic and tear-shedding.
One of the funniest and strangest British comedy series August 30, 2006
calvinnme (Fredericksburg, Va)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
Rowan Atkinson was funny as Mr. Bean, but he was downright hilarious as the Black Adder. He had such a talent for playing the sharp-tongued rogue I'll never figure out why he decided to start doing comedy in which he hardly spoke. The premise of this British comedy series is that the central character, "The Black Adder", shows up at different points in history in various incarnations distorting historical events and poking fun at various British historical figures and situations along the way.
Lots of people don't like Black Adder I, in which the title character, Edmund, is the younger son of a brutish man consumed with thoughts of war who actually becomes king of England through Edmund's own bungling - he arrives late for the Battle of Bosworth Field and winds up chopping off the head of Richard III, thus saving the life of Henry Tudor. Throughout this first season he plays the buffoon, often having the expression of a deer caught in the headlights. This is the only season in which the Black Adder takes on the persona of a weak effeminate person. Especially funny is Edmund's mother who is a proper noble woman sitting around doing embroidery and indifferently waiting for the next marauding army to pass through.
The second season takes place early during the reign of Elizabeth I, with the Black Adder confident, handsome, and even a favorite at court. A young Amanda Richardson plays the role of Elizabeth I, who comes across as Betty Boop, just not as intelligent. Although more cunning in this season, Black Adder still comes up the loser in just about every episode. My favorite is "Bells", in which Blackadder finds his new servant, Bob, curiously pleasant company. Afraid for his reputation at court, Blackadder searches for a "cure" - which of course involves leeches, until Bob conveniently reveals that she is in fact a girl called Kate. Their wedding is disrupted by the profane Lord Flashheart, who, although he is the best man, winds up stealing the bride.
The third season takes place in the eighteenth century during the reign of George III, and will be a favorite of all fans of "House, M.D.". Here, Black Adder plays the manservant of the Prince Regent, George, played by Hugh Laurie (House). George is the dim-witted target of Black Adder's many schemes to enrich himself by taking advantage of his cushy position in George's household, and this often means having to save the Prince Regent's pension and position in the kingdom, which is largely controlled by Parliament.
The fourth season takes place during World War I, with Edmund Blackadder as a captain in the British army whose company is trapped in one of the trenches that gave everyone in Europe such a distaste for warfare between the two world wars. Blackadder's aim in this season is to stay alive by staying in that trench until the war ends. His stunts include shooting a carrier pigeon when it arrives with orders to advance, and joining the Royal Flying Corp - "the twenty minuters". Unfortunately, the name comes from how long they are expected to live once in the air, not how much time they work each day, as Blackadder had originally thought.
This show has several interesting plot devices. First, most of the main characters show up in different periods of time with the same name but different roles. Hugh Laurie is always "George", Tony Robinson is always "Baldrick", Stephen Fry is always "Melchett", and Tim McInnerny is always "Percy". Since each season was shot in alternate years - (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989) - the cast must have been having a terrific time in order for them to be regathered after such long intervals in order to make filming this series possible. Secondly, everyone in the cast, including the Black Adder, always dies in the final episode of each season. It is somewhat like the South Park stunt of Kenny being killed at the end of every show only to reappear in the next episode as though nothing had happened.
The only bad things I can say about this DVD set is that I didn't think that "Back and Forth" was very good, and I think that the DVD is very overpriced considering there are only six episodes per season. I guess it depends on how much you like British comedy and how much you enjoy the Black Adder series as to whether the high cost is worth it. If you liked "Red Dwarf" or "Fawlty Towers", you'll probably like this series too.
 ia that all there is? July 17, 2006
Charles S. Hoster Jr. (lincoln, ne)
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
i was a little disappointed that there were only 6 episodes per season in the series. (must be a british thing.) in fairness to the public, they should be alerted to the fact that each "season" consists of only six episodes. it was a nice trip down memeory lane anyway. delivery was prompt and the product case arrived in tact.
What do you get when you mix House MD with MR. Bean??? July 12, 2006
Bruce W. Johns (Rockford Illinois USA)
4 out of 10 found this review helpful
I have no idea what you get when you mix House MD with Mr. Bean, but it's not Black Adder! I'm going to save all of you about 3 hours of your life that I spent and will never get back; skip Black Adder one. Black Adder 2, 3, and 4 are all great, Black Adder 1 is bad. I won't say anything further about that horrible piece of trash. Howewver if you exclude season one, Black Adder's 2, 3, and 4 are the best thing Rowan Atkinson has ever been in. Not to take away from Mr. Bean or the Thin Blue Line, both are great shows with their own style, but I prefer an intelligent Rowan A. to the idiotic fussy characters he played in those series. Black Adder as a series is not the normal "follow the characters through a storied set of events" type of sit-com (I read another review where the reviewer called it a Brit-com. I liked that and laughed out loud). Black Adder follows the sorted history of the Adder family.... well that's not right. It follows one fictional character through factual events... no that's not right either. It travels through history making fun of famous British figures using a character named Black Adder. Yeah, I think that describes it pretty well. The stories involve a character named Baldric. Baldric is the supreme example of a person who is slobby and stupid. Series 2 surrounds the period of Queen Elizabeth the mad. Series 3 is about the time of King George the stupid (King George is played by Hugh Laurie...you know, the guy from House MD). Series 4 revovles around World War 1, in the trenches of WW1 that is. In this special edittion you also get some bonus features like outakes and deleted scenes. You will also get the Black Adder movie. The movie was so-so, just reliving the past 4 series. In closing it's a great overall buy.
|
|
|
| |
