The Two Ronnies In Australia (Umbrella Entertainment DVD Set/Region Zero/0/PAL)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C- Episodes: B-
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD can only be operated on
machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Zero PAL format
software and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the
website address provided
at the end of the review.
In a very
pleasant surprise, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker are constantly funny and
even hilarious in The Two Ronnies In
Australia (1986) in this brief series from Australian TV where they do a
series of in-character skits throughout each episode. Six hour-long shows are here and they are
hilarious. Both had long, great comic
histories to begin with, appeared in separate episodes of the Roger Moore Saint and the late, great Barker was
hysterically memorable as Cheshire in the brilliant Diana Rigg Avengers episode The Hidden Tiger.
Their
comic wit and capacities only grew over the years and they are in fine form
through all the episodes, which go from thing to thing to thing and remain very
funny. Without any introductory piece
like Benny Hill or music breaks like
so many such shows, the skits start and never stop, giving you 100% laughs and
100% unpredictable situations form end to end on each show. The simple fact is that they were brilliant
and together had strong chemistry that simply pumped up the laughs. Popular in Europe and Australia, a
rediscovery in the U.S. and elsewhere is long overdue. This set could help that cause.
The 1.33
X 1 PAL color videotaped image has good color and can show its age, but the
real problem is some strange stripping across the frame where the block
breaking into seven distinct ribbons and become mismatched often throughout. What happened? Besides missing an episode, how these are the
only remaining masters and why the damage is a big mystery. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is equally
problematic with sound down a few generations and a warning that it might be
too loud when switching to another audio source is something to keep in mind,
but technical problems in both cases is worth tolerating for the laughs. Two trailers for other Umbrella DVD releases
are included.
As noted
above, you can order this PAL DVD import set exclusively from
Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
- Nicholas Sheffo
