The Dick Cavett Show - Comic Legends

The Amazon staff reviewer (correction: the acerbic Amazon staff reviewer) is as opinionated as I am. And I don't like his opinions. I've watched both the actors and the comics on 2 of the Cavett sets. I preferred the actors (except for comic standouts) because I became glutted on the humor. And here's where Amazon and I part company. The comics set was hilarious. Hope (an older man) was subtle, with an infinite memory (for his own life), and got most of his zingers across with subtle expressions and gestures. He talked funny too. Groucho's interruptions of the Capote interview were negligible, particularly since Capote was given final billing and only on about 15 minutes. Also Groucho did not rail against nudity in films. He just said in his own way that too much exposure dulls your senses and he preferred the real thing. He was lascivious and salacious and delightful. Groucho a prude??? Lucy showed herself as she really is. She was not particularly funny, nor did she try to be. She cussed like a sailor and was arrogant and off-hand and insoucient and hard-knock wise and one of my favorite episodes. It seemed to me (could easily be wrong) that her real personality (sans "Lucy" and a real shock) lost her the audience. No great loss if so. Woody Allen was the truly funny one, he and Bill Cosby, though I get tired of Cosby after a while, and his conceit. Speaking of conceit. Allen had it in truck loads during his first episode, then made a conscious effort to counteract it in his second. I got the impression during his first episode that Cavett (who is witty himself) was actually competing with Allen for jokes, and it brought out the best in him, they were both funny as hell. I'm an Allen fan anyway. I don't like Jerry Lewis. Maybe a better way to say it is I don't like his humor. I can cross my eyes. That doesn't make me witty. But those who do like Jerry Lewis might like his episode because he becomes quite (maudlin) personal and revealing. I guess a little of his schtick punctuating an otherwise serious conversation is funny, relieves tension. Carol Burnett was just a baby and soft and vulnerable and hilarious, this before she became hard and raw in her later years. She and Cavett sang 2 duets. The Smothers Brothers I thought were smug and clannish, Dick seemed affected and conscious of his image, Tom made a few jokes typical of him, but I was disappointed in the brothers, speaking as a big former fan. Jack Benny was interesting, it was a shock to learn that Isaac Stern had asked him to take his place at a concert at the Met or somewhere equal. He really can play. (So can Woody Allen.) I don't remember whether Benny was funny or not, I just remember that I enjoyed listening to him talk. George Burns was a straight man, but still he got a lot of laughs, particularly (as on his radio show in the mid-forties) with his singing and with his jokes about his singing. It was a delight to see the man behind those movies, Mel Brooks (a "motor-mouth"? go eat a lemon), he was funny and creatve and as frenetic as a dozen Robin Williamses. Finally, I liked Bob Hope better without a script that I ever did with one, and why doesn't Amazon hire someone with some sympathy toward their products to review them? I sigh almost didn't buy this because of the Amazon staff reviewer's remarks. I thought it was a great set, funny, tiresomely so, and I expect like the set with actors it will appreciate as time goes by.

This collection is long overdue. Having seen the Groucho interview, I think that it alone is worth "the price of admission." Shout! lists the tracks as below.Disc 11.  September 5, 1969 - Groucho Marx2.  September 19, 1969 - Woody Allen, Ruth Gordon, Gina Lollobrigida3.  October 4, 1972 - Bob Hope4.  Bonus - June 10, 1968 Here's Dick Cavett - Groucho Marx, Bob Hope, Woody Allen, Pat McCormick, Jack Burns, Debbie Drake5.  Bonus - Cavett Remembers The Comic Legends6.  Bonus - Alternate Opening For The September 5, 1969, Groucho Marx EpisodeDisc 21.  October 20, 1971 - Woody Allen2.  April 6, 1970 - Mel Brooks, Rex Reed, Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, Dr. Aaron Stern3.  November 10, 1971 - Bill Cosby4.  Bonus - Outtake Segment From October 20, 1971, Woody Allen Episode5.  Bonus - August 6, 1968 - Joanne Carson InterviewDisc 31.  January 27, 1973 - Jerry Lewis2.  May 25, 1971 - Groucho Marx, Truman Capote, Jim Fowler3.  February 21, 1974 - Carol Burnett4.  Bonus - November 20, 1966 - Dick Cavett on The Ed Sullivan Show5.  Bonus - The Dick Cavett Show Promo - May 25, 1971Disc 41.  February 21, 1973 - Jack Benny, Bill Cosby, Joe Frazier2.  December 15, 1971 - George Burns, The Smothers Brothers, Adelle Davis3.  March 7, 1974 - Lucille Ball4.  Bonus - Cavett Backstage5.  Bonus - The Dick Cavett Show Promo - February 21, 19736.  Bonus - The Dick Cavett Show Promo - December 15, 1971

For decades I have wanted to return to the safe haven that was The Dick Cavett Show. When the Rock Icons collection came out, I grabbed it as soon as I could, but this was the one I was really waiting for.The only one of these episodes that I saw when it originally aired was the one with Jerry Lewis. I still find it the most impressive, which is odd considering that I'm not much of a fan. When it first aired, I was in high school; now, with a long work history behind me, I hear Lewis dispensing many nuggets of wisdom that are true of any line of work and not just show business.The featured comments concerning Groucho are unfortunately true, but people at the time already were aware that Groucho was beginning to lose it and had decided they loved him too much to care, and the shows need to be viewed in that context.

Everything Cavett did was the top bar that no one else has reached in tonight shows. You get to know the actor like they are chatting with you personally. Cavett's style has never been reached and probably never will be. Smart, unbelievable research, and the result is totally exciting and personal entertainment.

I cannot play this DVD in Australia. I can only watch it on my computer.I should have been told it would not be playable i. It stinks and I won't be sucked in again! It's a pity because the show is a trip back in time.