Collecting Movie Reviews

"The Alfred Hitchcock Collection" is a wonderful item which includes two of the bests films of his author, "Vertigo" and "Psycho", and a special edition of four chapters of the TV Serie "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".

"Vertigo" is a memorable film. Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes create wonderful characters, in this typical catalogue of Hitchcock obsessions. Filmed in San Francisco, the film, romantic, melancholic, desperated, is based on a story by Boileau and Narcejac. It's a strange script, like a dream, a tragic and unhappy dream full of colour.

This DVD edition, in WIDESCREEN it's really wonderful, full of BONUS materials and with a extraordinary quality of image and sound.

"Psycho" is an empty film, a film without message or meaning, a art work which only looks for one thing: the entertainment. A masterpiece of the suspense (a common topic in Hitchcock's films), it has a lot of memorable scenes, and all of it is filmed exquisitely, with a wonderful photography in B & W. With an extraordinary technical quality.

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is the best jewel of this collection, the four best chapters of the best TV serie ever made, full of black humor and suspense. Once again, with excellent image quality.

This is a mixture of Sir Alfred Hitchcock's directorial productions from both the Silver and Television screens. Hitchcock directed several episodes from his half-hour TV series. "Lamb to the Slaughter" is one of the best. Barbara Bel Geddes was excellently cast. In "PSYCHO" and "VERTIGO" we see characters tormented by their own uncontrollable obsessions. In "PSYCHO" Hitchcock attempts to metaphorically unveil some hidden episode in his life that has driven him as a film director. In his masterpiece "VERTIGO," Hitchcock unveils the character within the director to his public in attendance, embodying, in James Stewart's character his own obsessions and desire to physically reconstruct women in an unobtainable image created by his own psyche. This is also peripherally evident in "MARNIE." Kim Novak's character in "VERTIGO" is an actress of disposition, a woman whose role-playing supports one man (Gavin Elster and Hitchcock) in captivating another ("Scottie" Ferguson and the viewer). In "PSYCHO" we see Norman Bates physically alter his own appearance driven by a distorted obsession to satisfy his mother against his own desires for the touch of women. By becoming his mother he frees himself of his own guilt and his failures as a man and simultaneously satisfies his mother's wishes for him by carrying those wishes to fruition. Scottie, the main character of "VERTIGO," and Novak's in the role of a woman who feels compelled to deny her own identity and allow herself to be degraded in order to satisfy the men who ask her to act their schemes and fantasies, is equally intriguing. This is similar in "MARNIE" but with a twist. Marnie satisfies her own hidden passions as she degrades men, in her eyes, by stealing from them. What both Scottie and Hitchcock look for in their perfect woman is the erotic, carnal female disguised within the gray suit and pinned-back hair. Again, this was very evident with Sean Connery as Mark Rutland in "MARNIE." Strutt tells an interested Mark Rutland that "she (Marnie) hides her legs like some national treasure." Scottie (and Hitchcock) are unattracted to Barbara Bel Geddes' candid and thus uninteresting Midge, who clearly lacks feminine mystique. Madeleine, by contrast, is never as forthcoming remaining distant and enigmatic and is all the more alluring because of it. When she tries to reveal something of her true self, Judy Barton to Scottie, he resists her, becoming all the more determined in his obsessive confusion of illusion and reality. Equally, Mark Rutland wants to hear none of Marnie's pleas to release her when she attempts to tell him that she is not what he thinks. "I've got hold of something really wild this time and I don't intend to let go." In "PSYCHO" Norman Bates really has something wild, several things in fact. His stuffs birds in response to a repressed sexual state that his mother has subjugated him to. Bates does have something wild and he equally will never be able to consummate his desires just as Scottie ultimately never will. Hitchcock gives himself an escape route in the character of Mark Rutland, but that is left to the imagination of the audience. By revealing the murder plot midway through "VERTIGO," Hitchcock deepens our psychological understanding of the characters and their romantic dynamics. Freeing us from Scottie's point of view, Hitchcock allows us to study his romantically idealized fixation in an objective light that reveals its hopelessness, at the same time letting us sympathize with Judy, who becomes the victim of his quixotic fixation. As Hitchcock pointed out, Scottie's relentless pursuit of the image becomes a "form of necrophilia." It also makes him a voyeur who observes and imagines rather than acts in the real world. In "PSYCHO" Norman Bates literally acts out his "form of necrophilia." However, Bates does not have actual sexual consummation. His sexual release is symbolic in the form of slashing, cutting and bloodletting. Afterward he is at peace with his mother until the urges of his passions overcome in. His mother remains ever present. In "VERTIGO," when Scottie really does lose his ideal image, Madeleine, to death, he can no longer function and must re-create her in the new Judy. The person under the disguise means nothing to him, however; all that matters is that she looks and act like the ideal woman. His love is in fact not love at all but a romanticized fetish, a yearning for an unobtainable image that is forever lost. A happy ending to his dilemma is not possible. Unlike Scottie, Mark Rutland is able unravel the enigma that is Marnie and in doing so he is released from his own fetish and is given the possibility to pursue real love with her. Norman Bates remains trapped by the fixation of his mother's hold on him. Norman Bates like Scottie is reaching out and trying to obtain the unobtainable. Scottie can not return the love lost. Bates can never satisfy the whims of his mother, which prevents him from love he was never even permitted to explore.

You can look up the individual reviews. Of course some individual titles will go out of stock. Others may not be your favorite. However you will have friends and relatives that will want to compare Alfred's various styles. Look for his cameos. A single case makes the movies easier to keep track of and look better on your video storage wall. Being DVDs this is a one-time investment. With the advent of multiple DVD changers you will be able to keep Alfred ready at a moments notice. I tried buying individual as I had the money and found shipping was getting very expensive that way. So bite the bullet and buy the collection. Also check out The Alfred Hitchcock Collection I.

I was one of those people who never had time to catch the series when it was featured on public television due to work constraints. The blessing of technology today has allowed me to "catch up" on this classic courtesy of the DVD's. I really found this "world" relaxing and mildly fun. It is the type of world I remember of sitting in front of a fire, smoking a pipe and perhaps some liquid refreshment at hand talking with friends for hours on end. That is what this show emulates among many visitations to professional veternary emergencies. The characters are lovable, memorable, and reflect a part of the "polite world" which unfortunately today no longer exists. The unhurried atmosphere and the natural beauty of the Yorkshire countryside combine with the lives of rich and poor and animals on the dales. I suggest you read the account by James Herriot first. There is a very good Reader's Digest edition with great illustrations that efficiently condenses and contains the best parts of Herriots original series of "All Creatures Great and Small' books. This will aid you when you see the series because there are a lot of "old world" things that the book will aquaint you with (complete with illustrations that explain what the 'gadget" was used for) and you will see in the show. So you will appreciate the effort of the producers of this series all the more. Robert Hardy is memorable there are also spot characters that make it a very entertaining and wonderful production. You will love this work if you like animals or nature. Well recommended.

My husband and I watched this many years ago. We read the books and loved them. Now that this is available on DVD I bought this for my husband as a birthday gift. We weren't sure the kids would like it, it isn't full of action and adventure, but they all LOVE it! They are 12, 13 and 7. Every night they all ask to watch another show or two - heartwarming, funny, interesting - what more does a family need in a show??

All Creatures Great And Small is by far my favorite BBC series and the #2 with the Christmas segment makes me cry everytime I see it. Set just as WW2 is beginning James is faced with joining the service, and the snow as they head off to midnight mass has begun to fall. The tinkers (gypsies) are camped out in a farmers shed and the young girls pet needs tending but the father doesn't accept charity.......... And then there is the testing the Christmas cake for the senior vet, Siegfried Farnon. The whole cast is 10 star. The main characters are James Herriot (Christopher Timothy), Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy), Tristan Farnon (Peter Davison) and Helen Herriot (Carol Drinkwater, later Lynda Bellingham). The series covers the years between 1936 and just after 1950. This is a DVD that everyone in the family no matter the age will enjoy...........

Of late, I have developed an interest in Bergman movies. I can't seem to get myself away from them, as the "artfullness" of Bergman's movies transcend time and even Bergman's weightly "popularity". When he was allowed to pursue his "art" by being given the "poetic license" of his popularity i.e. he could write, direct, attract stars that he wanted, I feel he produced what one would hope, all he was capable of as an artist.
Yes, this sounds grandiose on my part to give such an uninhibited glowing review of what would seem to be such stark movies. But folks, these DVD's are worth it, because the viewer is given the opportunity to see the behind the scenes making of the movies, and more than a peek at Bergman himself. Bergman appears to be an artist not afraid to look at himself beyond the curse of Narcissus. What he was able to see and show through these movies is remarkable.
I bought these DVD's with some trepidation, thinking that I may be pursuing my interest to nurture my proclivity to wallow in depressive affect or worse to try to in my older middle aged years imbibe as much art as I can tolerate as the trash that is produced and maketed by the media is exponential. I'm afraid to say that much of the "art" sits on my bookshelves or in a pile here or there, gleaned once and put away for another time. I could not do that with these movies, or any other Bergman DVD's that I have watched. I bring up the DVD issue, as the VCR versions are nice, but do not offer the "extras" of the DVD's i.e. interviews with Bergman, etc. I have VCR versions of some of his movies, but will buy DVD as well of some of them i.e. Persona when they are available. Enough said, anyone with an interest in Bergman should own this exceptional Trilogy plus "Ingmar Bergman makes a movie".

Despite the comment of "a viewer", the disc of THE SILENCE in this set is completely uncut and full-length. Criterion's earlier laserdisc featured the shorter US theatrical version, but this new DVD edition is the complete, unedited, original version of THE SILENCE.

The two scenes reinstated for this DVD involve Anna's rendezvous with the waiter. In one scene, we see Anna's son Johan looking through the keyhole of a door behind which are his mother and the waiter. Cut to a full frontal, waist-up, nude shot of Anna who walks towards the camera and over to the bed. This shot, lasting a few seconds, was absent from the laserdisc, but is present on this DVD and has been fully restored.

Later in the film, we return to Anna and the waiter. This time, Anna's sister Ester enters their room to confront Anna. After Ester leaves, Anna now in tears wrestles with the waiter, struggles and eventually leans over the foot of the bed frame with the waiter behind her. The laserdisc also did not include the full length of this particular shot. In the new DVD, you can see the complete shot, lasting 23 seconds longer.

Beautifully packaged, with excellent features, the trilogy is pretty mind blowing in its bleakness and (deferred) promise of salavation. Take a quiet evening (preferrably in the Winter) and watch these three in reverse order (Glass Darkly is the least bleak, and most redemptive) to really get a handle on an important aspect of Bergman's work.

Another triumph for Criterion's work.

For those of you who don't know, Sailor Moon is an anime series about a group of girls with the ability to transform into warriors so that they can battle the forces of evil. It sounds like something that's been done to death, but this series pulls it off nicely. Each episode of the series contains a good deal of dramatic action, with some comedy thrown in to make the series a bit more appealing. Originally it was intended for pre-teenage girls in Japan, but it has drawn in fans from many age groups and nationalities. The series began airing in America as early as 1995, but the episodes were horribly edited, and the dialogue was butchered. The poor time slot didn't help things ever, and eventually it vanished without a trace, until it was picked up by the Cartoon Network, which aired several new episodes, but these suffered the same flaws as their early North American predecessors. But at long last, Pioneer has created the solution to the problem - DVDs of the series, in all their original uncut glory.

Now on to the DVD itself. You get several episodes, which you can view in English or Japanese (if you choose the latter, subtitles have been provided.) However, I was hoping to find more extra features than this.

Overall this is an excellent DVD release for an excellent anime series. Contrary to popular belief, THIS DVD IS NOT OVERPRICED. It is slightly longer than most standard episode DVDs, so the slght price increase shouldn't be a problem. Fans of the original uncut Sailor Moon series, I strongly recommend you buy this item.

Im a 17year old girl in the 11thgrade and watches Sailor Moon. Everyone i know thinks sailor moon is Boring and not very good. Ive been a huge moonie fan since i was in the 8thgrade thanks to tonnmai wich got me hooked to Sailor Moon and Tenchi Muyo. Other good animes are Super Gals, Love Hina, Cardcaptors, Mao-Chan, Ranma1/2 and a few others im in to. But Sailor Moon is defentiley the best anime around! Usagi Tsukino is the coolest! I have all 200episodes of Sailor Moon and all 3movies on DVD.

well i been a sailor moon fan since i was 10 and still today! this was a great dvd! so hope you will buy this one today or any day!

I am not going to explain the whole DVD to you, as it has been explained in many other reviews, but all I can say is, this is the best DVD for any Weird Al fan. If you are a fan, and don't have this, stop reading now, and buy it! The bonus videos are worth the price alone! Get it NOW!

All of Weird Al Yankovic's music videos are now on this DVD..from "Ricky" to "The Saga Continues" You'll howl with laughter over "Eat It", "Jurassic Park", "Beverly Hillbillies/Money For Nothing" & "Like A Surgeon"

finally it's here all 23 of Al's videos including
Bob this is worth every penny you spend on. If
your a true Weird Al fan this is for you. There
not much to say about it because everythings
perfect. there is nothing wrong with it
Fat 5/5
Amish Paradise 5/5
It's all about the Pentiums 4/5
Smells like Nirvana 5/5
You don't love Me Anymore 4/5
Bedrock Anthem 4/5
Gump 5/5
Jurassic Park 5/5
Headline News 4/5
Dare to be Stupid 5/5
Eat It 5/5
Like a Surgeon 5/5
Uhf 4/5

Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies 4/5
One More Minute 4/5
I Lost on Jeopardy 5/5
This Is The Life 5/5
Living With a Hernia 4/5
Spy Hard 4/5
Ricky 5/5
Christmas At Ground Zero 5/5
I Love Rocky Road
Bob 4/5
The Saga Begins 5/5

When "Your Show of Shows" aired in the early 50's, I was 15 years old. I thought it was the funniest variety show I had ever seen. This was in the heyday of Uncle Miltie and Jackie Gleason. I loved them all, but the one I loved the most was the great Sid Caesar and his peerless ensemble cast of comic geniuses and writers. I lived for Saturday nights when these wonderful people did what no one since then has done so well. Everything they did was screamingly funny, and the high level of comic madness they sustained has never been equaled since. It truly was a golden age, and those of us who were priviledged to see it live were blessed beyond measure. Thank God these priceless treasures were preserved for future generations. If you never buy another DVD set, let this be your last one.

I wasn't much of a Sid Caesar fan until I saw parts of "The Sid Caesar Collection" as a fund-raiser for PBS. I had never watched his shows in my childhood, but after seeing several sketches this time around, I absolutely had to have the whole set!
A few months later I bought the second boxed set, called "The Fan Favorites." I play a tape every day -- a great mood lifter.
It is said that Sid Caesar owns probably 400 sketches from "The Admiral Broadway Revue," "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour" in kinescope (thank heaven they were preserved!) and I hope someday they will all become available. (Admiral, by the way, was an early TV manufacturer, and the story is that their "Broadway Revue" was so successful they had to cancel it in order to save their financial resources for supplying the huge new demand for TV sets.)
The Caesar sketches are the first of their kind and have many descendents but no equals. For example, check out "The Five-Dollar Date" (dated January 1949, when he was 26), a solo masterpiece from this first collection. What comedian does such virtuoso work today?

Sid Caesar was the most talented comic performer of the live television era with his classic programs "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." Caesar also had the greatest ensemble cast of all time headed by the late Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, and others. Add to that a writing staff that included, at various times, Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Neil Simon and Larry Gelbart and how could it not be the best Comedy Variety show of all-time? The three volumes in this DVD collection include some of the best comedy sketches from both shows, digitally remastered from the original kinescopes. Caesar picked the sketches personally and interviews with the cast members and writers are used as introductions. Sketches included on this first volume, "The Magic of Live TV," includes "The Commuters in '7 Dwarfs Bet,'" "The Professor in 'Board Rooms of hollywood,'" "The Five Dollar Date," "Sid Plays Sax with Benny Goodman," "The Clock," "A Fella Needs a Girl," "The Haircuts--'So Rare' and 'Flippin','" and my favorite, "This Is Your Story." The second volume, "Inside the Writer's Room" has the Hickenloopers in "The Sleep Sketch," "Boy at First Dance," "The German General," and "Aggravation Boulevard." The final volume, "Creating the Comedy" includes the immortal sketch "From Here to Obscurity," as well as "The Cobbler's Daughter" and "Argument to Beethoven's 5th," along with the "Commuters" in "The Fur Coat" and Progress Hornsby in "People to People."

Milton Berle was Mr. Television, but Sid Caesar was Mr. Comedy. I have waited decades for these treasures to be available, my appetite whetted by seeing that infamous "From Here to Obscurity" clip of Sid and Imogene getting hit by all that water. Thank goodness these priceless shows have been preserved. They deserve to be as well known as episodes of "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners." Besides, just look at all the bonus stuff that comes when you get all three DVDs instead of picking them up separately. The Sid Caesar Collection establishes a standard for how classic television should be preserved on DVD. Hopefully we can expect similar collections for Berle, Bob Hope, Ernie Kovacs, Nat King Cole. Arthur Godfrey and similar giants from the first era of network television programming.

Scandously overlooked in my native Uk, with no DVD's available and most albums out of stock, this is a great and varied collection of live performances,video extracts and interviews from their career 1978-2002.
Video's from the early years that you seldom see on the vapid,useless commerical video channels are intriguing whilst the set of live performances shows how good a band they were.
Its a shame they didnt include the releases in date order(vids and clips? was confusing as there were no clips...everything was its proper length).More chat about how songs were written would have been good but you can't fault this amazing collection from the best band in the world

If you are a Midnight oil fan you need this DVD. Great video clips, i was looking for their video clips and just found 2 videos online. beds are burning and the dead hearts. The only song they didn't perform in this Video is my favorite (Warakurna). But still i give them 5 stars they really know how to rock the hose i love to have my beers on saturday watching them play again and again. Get it!! is worth the Bucks ...@!

The volume of work in this DVD makes it a great buy compared to other band's DVDs.The 20000watts R.S.L. collection DVD has clips, their production videos and videos which are live song performances. I watched the DVD yesterday with my wife and enjoyed the chance to relive their early video clips. Midnight Oil's raw sound was wonderful and reminded me of the days when I waited up late on weekends to catch them on the U.S.A. channel Night Flight(young MTV rarely showed the alternative bands at that time). If you are recent fan of midnight oil this will give you a broad spectrum of their musical works.I was able to show my daughter the songs she danced to as an 18 month old child (she's 13 now.)My wife still laughs at the way I would try to dance like Peter. I saw them at Red Rocks in 1990 and am happy that they included their live performances for those that have not been at their concerts.Take time to enjoy it for yourself.

I started to write a really long review describing the brilliance of Absolutely Fabulous thanks to the key writer Jennifer Saunders. How there's nothing on our stations that come close to it. Then I realized that not everyone will get it! Sure, Saunders doesn't pull any punches when busting on everyone from The Queen to Madonna. How she shows the world how silly we can be when going threw our mid-life crises! And how honest she portrays her character, Edina Monsoon, a twice divorced upper-middle class single parent (and I use the word parent lightly) who just wants to party, party and party! That's it and nothing else. Anytime she gets an attack of reality, her best friend Patsy, played by Joanna Lumley, yanks her back into the little world they created where they exonerated themselves of all responsibility. All I can tell you is 2 things:
1)Absolutely Fabulous is the most entertaining satire I have ever had the privlidge to watch. I've seen every episode so many times, I've lost count, and still laugh in all the spots I laughed the first time. They never get old or tired.
2)The extras (and I'm not an extras guy) are as entertaining, every disc shows bloopers and outtakes from that season. They also included the original skit that Jennifer Saunders did, with her then partner in comedy, Dawn French. You get to see how the show came about and it is worth it! The last great extra is a skit that Saunders wrote for a Variety Show using the entire cast of ABFAB. It's fun to see the whole cast playing in different roles.
That's it, that's all I can say about this. If you are a fan of Absolutely Fabulous, you must get this. If you are a fan of funny shows, than you must get this, or If you are just looking for a breath of fresh air and want to take a chance on something that could be that... This is it![.]

A terrific compiliation, missing only AbFab : The Last Shout. As fast paced and as irreverent as one could hope for, Saunders wrote a series which makes most comedies pale by comparison. Booze - soaked and drugged to the hilt at times, Patsy is a terrific sidekick and partner for Eddy, who reminds me of a very bad modern art canvas come to life. The daughter, Saffy, remains as always, the moral compass...while managing some of the best and most sarcastic lines in the series. Some episodes may drag a bit, but it's well worth the time to sit and laugh at these women who somehow make it the day. Kudos to the writers and the cast.

This is a MUST OWN cd for all Jennifer Saunders fans. It is truly hilarious. I especially like her voiceover which tells you all the behind the scenes info.
This is the best purchase I have made on Amazon.

GREAT TALENT!
Not to be repeated... SHAME he left us...
This dvd just shows his pure class...the track in my defence is a fitting song to end this dvd... god bless you FREDDIE...
thanks for leaving us with a great reminder of your talent..

This DVD demonstrates Freddie Mercury's artistic talent as well as his musical talent. He seemed to really enjoy each performance, and the audience can see he was a perfectionist. It's an excellent addition to any Queen fan's DVD collection.

This compilation of Freddie Mercury's "solo" efforts is a true celebration! Songs and music videos on GRAND scale, from the exquisite performances with Montserrrat to the daring and notorious "Living On My Own," anyone who truly appreciates the joy an artist shares with people will never tire of this DVD.

The muck that MTV/VH1 tries to pass off as music videos is a crime, and it's more a crime that the videos on this DVD were largely ignored in the United States. These are what music videos are all about: sound and vision...and care. Freddie had a lot to do with the concept of each video, and never once do they overpower the music itself. Rather, the concepts accent the music. This is evident in the detail that went into recreations of past Queen and solo video sets to put together "The Great Pretender" (both video versions included), and the sets and costumes for masses of extras in every production.

As director David Mallet said, this was "Freddie being Freddie" and wow, Freddie was a wealth of ideas and talent. I found myself feeling very touched by the end of viewing this collection, and when the personal moments during "In My Defence" and the extended version of "The Great Pretender" were shown, I couldn't help but get a bit teary-eyed. Just seeing the faces on the extras in "Time" were priceless--these people loved Freddie immensely and I'll bet an experience they'll cherish forever.

"Living On My Own" was, as the CBS record company claimed, banned from US television due to the "perceived promiscuity"--I saw right through that load of bull immediately. Why is it okay that so many rock videos are saturated with "fantasy lesbian" sequences but showing the sheer joyous fun of "Living On My Own" is not? Because showing moustached and bearded men dancing together, many in leather, is somehow threatening (still) to people, or actually, straight men to whom the media feels we must make feel comfortable about what they watch. It's a fact a party (which this music video was) with a gay atmosphere is more honest and liberated than what you see on those advertisements for "wild party girls" college events...here, friends and fellow Queen members show what having a good time is all about!

The live performances with Montserrat show the true appreciation the world has had for Freddie Mercury. Seeing all those people cheering and the performers obvious delight in participating is overwhelming to see and hear.

As director Mallet also said, "Freddie was one of the really great originals of the second half of the 20th century. There was nobody like Freddie. There was no-one even a bit like Freddie. There was just nobody like him at all." Bravo!!!!!

Even if you weren't a big fan of Freddie Mercury or even Queen, this compilation will have a positive effect on you. I've never seen anything quite like this!

A delightful romp with Johnny and Ed. Truly wonderful moments that we all know and love. A hilarious collection of one of the funniest shows in television history.

That quote is from Jerry Lewis (and he should know having given us some of the best and worst television and films of all time, but I digress) and its spot on. Along with Saturday Night Live, Johnny Carson pushed the boundaries of television in terms of what topics could be discussed and what could be said in the company of thinking adults. Yet he never aspired to be some eggheaded intelligentsia-only PBS discussion show - he wanted to sit around, talk about what was going on in the world and tell some jokes, a cocktail party of the air if you will. He never set out to shock and offend - he was a visitor in our living rooms and bedrooms after all - but he was no prude either. He was casual, unpretentious and very very funny. ... Not all of Johnny's bits were winners, but that's okay - he could turn disaster into hilarity with a sly look or off-the-cuff remark, and this DVD has moments like that in spades - the Ed Ames incident, the Robin Leach monologue joke, animals gone nuts, all great spontaneous moments. An embarassment of riches is on this set, but alas the video quality is weird - movement on video clips is not fluid like it was mastered with iMovie or something (my ten year old Laserdisc of this set looks much better). Perhaps this was done to make this set playable in other regions I do not know. The extras make the set, from the special "Johnny Comes Home" to the behind the scenes angles. The menus are well designed but sometimes don't work properly. If you don't have this stuff, get it and you won't notice the flaws because you'll be laughing.

No matter what happens, Johnny Carson was, is and always will be the greatest late night host ever and one of the most towering figures in television history. David Letterman is terrific, but even he pales next to Carson. It's amazing to think that it's already been ten years since Johnny retired. This DVD collection brings it all back and reminds us all of just how great Carson was. (The Ed Ames tomahawk throwing segment just might be the funniest moment in TV history) The only disappointing thing about this set is that it does not include that much material from the first ten years. It's sad that so much classic material was lost. However, the set has a very comprehensive sample of Carson's funniest moments from over the years and show why Johnny will always be the King of Late Night.