Monday, October 7, 2013

Don Knotts Reluctant Hero Pack



Four classic Don Knotts comedies from the late 1960s
Don Knotts is a national treasure, one of the most naturally gifted comic actors the world has ever seen. As big a Don Knotts fan as I have always been, and as many times as I have seen all of the old episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, I had actually never seen any of Knotts' classic comedies from the late 1960s. This Reluctant Hero Pack has helped alleviate this problem. Sure, I could have spent four times as much money and acquired each of these four films on individual DVDs, but frugality is one of the many small-town American virtues Don Knotts' characters usually embodied. These films have been compressed so that they will all fit on one double-sided DVD, but there is nothing wrong with the picture quality of this disk whatsoever. It's not like you're missing out on any special features on the individual offerings, either; unfortunately, there are also next to no special features on this Reluctant Hero pack - all you get are three of the four films' trailers. Still, what...

Don't be reluctant about grabbing up the Don!
This DVD is a true bargain compiling 4 of Don Knotts' most popular films onto one nicely priced disc! This DVD collects 4 of the 5 films that Knotts made in the 60s where he had the lead role (the exception being 1964's "The Incredible Mr. Limpet"). The DVD is a flip disc with two films on each side. Side A has "The Ghost & Mr. Chicken" and "The Reluctant Astronaut", while side B has "The Shakiest Gun in the West" and "The Love God?". Another great aspect is that these films are in chronological order of original release from 1966-1969. In other words, these 4 films were released back to back. For those that are fans of Knotts' films or the live action Disney films of the 60s & 70s, these will be a rare treat to own. Great fun, exceptable for the entire family (with the possible exception of "The Love God?" which contains some mild adult humor, obviously tame by today's standard, but still maybe inappropriate for some ages). Knotts plays almost the same character in every film...

Great bargain with minor snags
This set is bargain-and-a-half for anyone who grew up watching these silly but charming comedies on Saturday afternoon TV.

For a ridiculously low price, you get 4 films with astonishingly good quality picture and sound (sound is mono but the video transfers are bright, colorful and sharp as a tack). True, they are all on a single "flipper" disc, but for this price it's a small qualm at best.

The only thing I would mention to parents buying these for their children (which I assume many of you are), is the 4th film in this set, "The Sex God", is a PG-13 rated sex comedy made in 1969, and as such is a strange inclusion in a set of movies more-or-less made for children. It's pretty tame by modern standards (and not terribly funny either), but all the same I doubt you'd want your 8-yr old watching it. Still, a killer bargain on films I wanted, but didn't want to spend 20$ apiece for. Recommended.

Click to Editorial Reviews

No comments:

Post a Comment