听 Mr Grimsdale!!! Twelve of Norman Wisdom's star vehicles - "Trouble in Store", "One Good Turn", "Man of the Moment", "Up in the World", "Just my Luck", "The Square Peg", "Follow a Star", "The Bulldog Breed", "On the Beat", "A Stitch in Time", "The Early Bird", and "Press for Time" - are rounded-up for a slapstick-laden boxset.
All of the films were initially released on vanilla DVD editions in 2001 and although this boxset contains four commentaries by the man himself, they're probably not gripping enough to recommend an additional purchase for fans. Still, Albanians and British comedy fans with a sweet tooth will probably find this hard to resist.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture Although some of these movies possess noticeably superior picture quality to others, none of the transfers here are unacceptable. The two colour movies, "The Early Bird" and "Press for Time", are the pick of the bunch, but even the 50-year-old "Trouble in Store" still looks good for its age.
Sound All of the films have a mono soundtrack, with little to do other than provide appropriate sound effects for Norman's pratfalls and capture his hysterical laughter. They're all decent quality, though, and you'll have no problem hearing all the gags. Whether this is a good thing is, of course, a matter of taste.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary There probably aren't many people older than Norman Wisdom who've recorded a DVD commentary (he's 88, you know), but Norm's presence here isn't the catalyst for a laugh-in.
He watches four of his movies - "Trouble in Store", "On the Beat", "A Stitch in Time", and "Press for Time" - contributing the occasional comment. "That Jerry Desmonde! What an egotistical !" is just one of the sentences Norm doesn't say. Instead, he tells fellow commentator Robert Ross what a charming bunch his co-stars and directors were.
While Norm comes across as a thoroughly nice chap, it's Ross who makes the commentaries worth persevering with. He clearly knows his subject matter well (he's become an expert in British comedy in recent years, penning several books about the Carry On movies). Even so, you definitely won't be listening to these more than once.
Additional Features Trailers for eight of the films are available, most acting as simply a 'these are the best bits' selection for their respective movies.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Region: 2
Chapters: various
Ratio: various
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono for each film)
Audio Tracks: English
Subtitles: English
Captions: None
Special Features Subtitles: None of the special features come with subtitles.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.
