Funny as funny can be   July 19, 2007

Classis humour   September 23, 2005

a great collection   September 8, 2003

Very recommended !!!


I know a giggling dead-parrot when I see one...   September 2, 2003
  54 out of 54 found this review helpful

Much to my regret, for some odd reason, I don't think I have ever seen a "truly complete" version of any one of these wonderful performances...

When these shows came out on VHS, I found several very annoying differences in regard to the length and 'completeness' of the shows. The PAL videos contained bits and sketches that did not appear on the NTSC videos, entitled under the same name, and vice versa. (This was the case with all of the shows).

Now, finally (!), these shows are available on DVD!!! - and still, I found some missing bits. For instance: Billy Connolly's 'Country & Western' sketch from "The Secret Policeman's Ball" does not appear here. (And the funny thing is, that you can even see his name on the credits...), another missing bit is Lenny Henry's wonderful monologue as Trever Netelford with his 'inquiring mind' (- missing from "The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball") and there are a couple of others... - and these are things that you can get on the videos (and again, it depends on which ones you buy...).

Why can't we ever get a full and complete version of these shows??? Why??? Why??? Why???

Another thing - and this will end my short chain of complaints -If they're going to make a special "Best-of Music Edition" (- which I think is rather silly - because there's nothing "new". You've already got all those musical numbers on the other DVDs in the set - and all you need to do it to skip chapters), why not make a "Best-of Comedy Edition" as well? - for the people who are more interested in the comedy side of these shows?

But, all nitpicking aside, this a really fabulous collection! The transfer may seem not-very-good, but I think that concidering the horrific origional masters, the transfer is fantastic!!

So it's missing a couple of funny bits... big-deal... - It has plenty of other great sketches and comedy routines, as well as all the best British-music hits from the 70s and 80s.

This set contains the show, which I believe should be in the house of anyone who conciders himself to be a Monty Python fan, that has a version of the Parrot Sketch where you can see Michael Palin being very 'naughty', giggling and trying to keep a stight face... absolutely hilarious!!!.. It's as though Palin and Cleese are virtually trying to 'break' each other...

Another favorite of mine is the Peter Cook's fabulous "Memories of a Miner"... and there are plenty of other wonderful enjoyable materail from one of the best periods of British comedy...

All in all, this is a very highly recomended set and it's worth the money.


Much more than you expect....   August 13, 2003
  28 out of 29 found this review helpful

... at least it was much more than I expected. I only knew about the three shows called 'Ball', 'Other Ball' and 'Third Ball', so I expected a 2 or 3 DVD including these. Boy I was wrong. In my mail a 4 DVD set appeared earlier today, and while I haven't watched everything yet I have browsed some of the known highlights (i.e. the Monty Python and Rowan Atkinson stuff ;) and can just say: I loved every minute of it. The four DVD's include all 7 of Amnesty International's charity shows in London from 1976 to 1991 plus a special compilation of the best music. The complete list is:
1a:Pleasure at her Majesty's (1976)
1b:Mermaid Frolics (1977)
2a:The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)
2b:The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1981)
3a:The Secret Policeman's Third Ball (1987)
3b:The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball (1989)
4a:Amnesty International's Big 30 - Special Edition (1991)
4b:The Secret Policeman's Balls (Music Edition)

I have rated this 4 stars, because the transfer is not very good, and partly that can be contributed to bad masters. With a little more work this could have become a great package. Still, it's a fine display of the best british comedy of the 70s and 80s and I doubt that there is any other compilation of the same quality of comedy anywhere.