The Best Of Steptoe And Son [1962]

Average customer rating:

Brilliant British Vintage Comdey

Simply the best

Superb

black/white or coloured they are all the same to me.

Good fun that has stood the test of time.

The Best Of Steptoe And Son [1962]
Director: Graeme Muir , John Howard Davies , Douglas Argent (II) , and Duncan Wood
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Steptoe And Son - Series 2

ASIN: B00005M6OJ
Release Date: 2001-10-01

Amazon.co.uk Review

The Very Best of Steptoe and Son is wonderful collection of "Steptoe" moments...but not entirely what it claims to be. This selection, is in fact a collection of five episodes from the two surviving series of the four shot in colour in the 1970s--the four black and white series shot in the 1960s are neglected entirely. However by the 1970s, Wilfred Brambell and Harry H Corbett had been playing Albert and Harold Steptoe for almost a decade and the parts of the greedy needy old man and his witty feeble son were second nature to them. One of the best episodes on show here is "The Desperate Hours", which sets the father and son duo off against a similar couple--Leonard Rossiter's escaped bank robber and the old lag who taught him everything he knows--both couples come to understand the shared dynamic of their relationships. The 1970s episodes included more external shots and opened the show out from its original two-hander format--"Oh What a Beautiful Mourning", for example, introduces us to a large selection of the Steptoe clan, played by a variety of well known character actors.

On the DVD: The DVD is presented in a standard television 4:3 aspect ratio and adds the luxury of Dolby Sound to the show's original mono; the Ron Grainger signature tune has never sounded so good. There are no subtitles, but the DVD includes a short account of the two stars' careers and an extended interview in which Galton and Simpson, the scriptwriters, talk about the history of the show from its origin as a one-off Comedy Playhouse episode through to the eventual decision that after the eighth series it was time to call it a day. --Roz Kaveny

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant British Vintage Comdey.......2007-03-28

In reality, Wilfred Bramble (Steptoe) and Harry Corbett(Son) never got on with each other. However on camera, they were a formidable duo, and some of the acting seemed so natural, you wonder if all the scenes were performed on the first take itself. The two episodes 'Desperate Hours 'and 'A Star is Born are real gems. Steptoe is indeed a crafty character far more cunning than his son who is doomed to follow 'his old man'.
Menu isn't bad but nice extra is the interviews conducted

Simply the best.......2005-01-03

Steptoe & Son was the best comedy (sorry that should say best programme) that the BBC ever made. The writing, acting and production were superb. The Desperate Hours is wonderful as Leonard Rossiter escapes with his father from the scrubs and finds the Steptoe residence as a refuge. Albert and Harold are, of course, even worse off than the escapees and finally Johnny (Rossiter) has to lend Harold a shilling for the meter. Johnny is not amused when Harold says he has no car and offers a horse as a means of escape (well it was good enough for Dick Turpin). Men of Letters is equally strong, as Albert proves he is the definite Scabble player and Harold shows his intellect to the vicar by arguing that Kant was in fact a "berk". All in the best possible taste - no modern comedy effort comes close. This is THE classic. Buy it.

Superb.......2004-07-13

They dont make classic like these any more.Steptoe will always be tops for comedy.

black/white or coloured they are all the same to me........2004-06-03

Steptoe and son is an addictive comedy which proves that bbc comedy is going downhill recently, anyone who witnessed the horror that was Mad about alice bbc's 2004 release of a shameful unfunny and overall sickeningly boring 'comedy' (the word is being used in its loosest sense mind)will know excactly what i'm talking about. Even though Steptoe and son is old it keeps being funny each time you see it. Fair enough it may not be totally 'PC' and unsuitable for new comedies but so was porridge and fawlty towers, two of the best sitcoms ever made. Therefore i suggest strongly that you purchase this hilarious comedy. Ladies and Gentlemen I rest my case.

Good fun that has stood the test of time........2003-02-11

I am not a die hard Steptoe fan, I am too young to have seen them on TV. I was simply looking for something to show my students here in Japan. I thought that it would be dated and stale, how wrong can you be, although these episodes are now 30 years old they still made me laugh, the acting is superb, the scripts timeless. All five episodes are excellent, from the opening scrabble game to the final curtain, a joy to watch.

Amazon.co.uk Review

The second volume of The Very Best of Steptoe and Son contains five excellent episodes from the classic sitcom scripted by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, who created Steptoe when Tony Hancock dispensed with their services in the early 1960s. The story of the acerbic but hopelessly pretentious Harold, would-be man about town longing in vain to escape from his rag-and-bone yard existence and his "dirty old man" of a father, is one of Britain's greatest sitcoms. Its underlying sadness somehow makes it all the funnier.

"The Bath" is in black and white and features a wonderfully disgusting sequence of old man Albert retrieving pickled onions from his bathwater and putting them back in the jar. The other four episodes are from the 1970s and in colour: "Séance in a Wet Rag and Bone Yard" features a young Patricia Routledge as a bogus medium. "Porn Yesterday" has Harold outraged to discover that the young Albert once starred in a "What the Butler Saw" feature. "And So to Bed" has Harold buying a waterbed to impress a new "bird" and having his romantic hopes literally punctured by his old man. The wonderful "Upstairs Downstairs, Upstairs, Downstairs" has the put-upon Harold getting the better of his dad for once when he discovers that the "perpendicular ponce" is feigning a back injury to keep Harold at his beck and call and plans an excruciating revenge--a bed bath. There's only one shortcoming: completists would prefer these old episodes to be issued chronologically and in full rather than in selective "Best of" compilations.

On the DVD: The Very Best of Steptoe and Son episodes are presented in the format in which they were originally shown and all hold up well without any great efforts at enhancement. There are no extras. --David Stubbs

Customer Reviews:

Steptoe & Son.......2004-02-27

Well since ordering the best comedy video's from Amazon.co.uk it's well kept me laughing at the antics of both Harold and father Albert (Harry.H.Corbet & Wilfred Brambell),thanks Amazon and to those who helped me collect master pieces.It's a shame that tv's most famous rag and bone men have departed to the great rag and bone yard in the sky!.My advice to anyone who is collecting tv's best of comedy!,"Steptoe and Son" are well worth collecting and money well spent!,they will always be among the all time tv's greats.Happy collecting and To all at Amazon and those of you who help others collect ther favourite videos..Thanks for your help.

Good, but not as good as volume 1........2003-02-11

Won over to the legions of Steptoe fans by volume one, which is excellent, I bought this volume, although I am not disappointed with this purchase, it is still expertly acted and written, it has to be said that for some reason it doesn't view as well as the first volume, maybe the obvious age difference between the episodes is the problem, one episode being from 1963 the others from 1974, maybe we are watching the birth and the death knell of the series. (all of volume one are from 1972)

Whatever the reason, this remains a must have for the fans, but for those who fell in love with the first volume this could be a disappointment.

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