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Hancock: The Best Of Hancock [DVD]
enlarge	Actors: Tony Hancock, Sid James Studio: 2 Entertain Video Category: DVD List Price: ~~£12.99~~ Buy New: £2.50 as of 26/11/2009 00:24 GMT details You Save: £10.49 (81%) New (19) Used (15) from £2.47 Seller: enigmadirect Rating: 10 reviews Sales Rank: 4759 Format: Full Screen, PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Universal, suitable for all Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 126 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5014503106126 ASIN: B00005M6OM Release Date: October 1, 2001 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review IThe Very Best of Hancock/I isn't just a miscellaneous compilation of his television work, rather it is five of the six episodes from Hancock's last season with the BBC in 1961. Writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson followed Hancock to television after making him a star on radio, and it is to them as much as to Hancock's lugubrious persona that these few shows owe their classic status. In a conscious effort to throw the spotlight more firmly on himself, Hancock had parted company with his radio cohorts in the transition to TV, and here for the first time he also dispensed with stalwart comedy partner Sid James. Thanks to Galton and Simpson, however, the gamble paid off handsomely and these shows remain some of the best sitcoms ever created for British television. No longer a resident of Railway Cuttings, East Cheam, here we find Hancock in Earl's Court in the first episode, "The Bedsitter". Whether trying vainly to live the life of a carefree bachelor, playing an old country character in a thinly disguised version of "The Archers" ("The Bowmans"), wrestling with the complexities of valve radio ("The Radio Ham"), annoying everyone in an awkward situation ("The Lift") or giving that famous pint of blood ("The Blood Donor"), Galton and Simpson provide Hancock with every opportunity to exercise his wonderful pomposity and pretentiousness with scripts full of comic invention and eminently quotable lines. Hugh Lloyd and June Whitfield are among the supporting cast.pBOn the DVD:/B The disc includes a good recent interview with Galton and Simpson, who talk about their sometimes difficult relationship with the star. After Hancock used cue cards while recording "The Blood Donor", they reveal, he decided never to bother learning any lines again, even though this had a detrimental effect on his ability to use comic facial expressions ever afterwards. The picture and sound quality are what might be expected from TV of this vintage. --IMark Walker/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 10 1 2 Next » Absolute genius, every show a solid gold gem! October 31, 2001 26 out of 27 found this review helpful At last Hancock gets onto DVD. Five of the final 6 shows he did for the BBC (Why couldn`t they have included the final show?). Aside from that the shows are absolute gems. I`ve lost count of the number of times I`ve watched them over the years and they still make me roll around with laughter. This DVD is a must for everyone`s comedy collection. Don`t think about buying it, just buy it I promise you`ll never regret it;0)pCome on BBC, where`s the next Hancock DVD???? The Lad Himself settles well on DVD September 23, 2004 M. Emerson (Kent) 12 out of 14 found this review helpful "Hancock's Half Hour manages to do the impossible - it shows it's age yet remains timeless."pThis DVD is a beautiful companion volume to the newly released HANCOCK'S HALF HOUR VOLUME ONE. pLet's hope the Beeb recognise the demand and follow this with volume two quickly! You're never alone with a pilchard May 8, 2007 M. Doherty (Hibernia) 3 out of 3 found this review helpful In what was effectively the final series of Hancock's Half Hour (named simply Hancock because the running time was cut to 25 minutes with a view to overseas sales), Tony Hancock got rid of the astrakhan, the homburg, East Cheam and even Sidney James - but the pretentious, vainglorious and vulnerable Hancock persona remains. Here he is at the height of his powers: alone in a bedsit trying to get to grips with Bertrand Russell, stuck in a lift with John le Mesurier, getting the boot from a radio show suspiciously reminiscent of the Archers, trying to help a mariner in distress ("Yellowjack!") and, most famously, giving "very nearly an armful" of blood. br / br /It is indeed a pity that the BBC opted to issue a "best of" containing five episodes out of six, leaving The Succession: Son and Heir as the only surviving episode not on DVD (though - whisper it - it's not a great episode). Nonetheless, the five shows on this volume provide terrific entertainment and a masterclass in comedy. Sheer Brilliance September 29, 2007 Mr. T. D. Davis (Southampton) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful This DVD is pure brilliance. It's a pity about the missing episode but Amazon got it wrong saying this was his last series, he also did a series of 13 episodes in 1963 Recommended for fans of early British comedy March 2, 2009 R. Marshel Stout (New Albany, Ohio) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful In a recent New Yorker article, author Zadie Smith contemplated post war British comedy in light of her father's recent death. Her focus was her father's love of the comedic looser. Her starting point was the largely unknown Tony Hankcock, and without Hancock's eccentric-abrasive brand of humor there would be no Monty Python, Fry and Laurie, Fawlty Towers, Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan), Ricky Gervase or Ali G. br / br /Tony Hancock sits at the head of this esteemed table and this five episode DVD is his influence on future generations of comedians, an influence projected in the first moments of the opening episode, "The Bedsitter." br / br /Viewers in the United States will be unable to view via their DVD player, but can access the contents with a MacBook or other laptop. The five episodes center around Hancock as the unknowing, plodding nobody from East Cheam who seems to offend everyone within camera range (Ricky Gervase must have these scenes memorized). From the little I know of Hancock's personal life, he died in the mid-1960's without seeing his influence spread to other character comedians. However, view one episode of this DVD against Gervase in "The Office" or anything done by Coogan as Alan Partridge and you will immediately see the creative influence of this still unappreciated talent. Showing reviews 1-5 of 10 1 2 Next »

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