The Best of Benny Hill (1975)

Benny Hill was always best at quasi-silent slapstick, so it's no surprise that some of the best stuff on The Best of Benny Hill seems to owe more to the work of Mack Sennett and Fatty Arbuckle than to mainstream TV comedy. It may also be no coincidence that, unusually, this release began life in the cinema. There's some classic material on offer here: the extended opening item, "Lower Tidmarsh Hospital," for example, almost transcends buffoonery to become social comment, but best of all is the sketch which features Hill as a chat-show host (people really used to wear matching shirts and ties) attempting to deal with a West End star and starlet, the former monosyllabic, the latter catastrophically plastered. Among the other items featured, the knowing send-up of the pretentiousness of avant-garde French cinema is also very funny, while the short linking items include a wicked parody of Alan Whicker and a sideswipe at barely literate actresses ("What's that in the road? A head?"). Fans will be pleased to know that Hill's regular supporting cast, including Patricia Hayes, Nicholas Parsons and Rita Webb, are all present. --Roger Thomas Amazon.com

Lacking

Benny Hill fans will be disappointed. Lacks some of the better skits, and the quality of the video is lacking. August 3, 2008

Hill's "dumbstick" style of comedy is underappreciated

When I was putting this tape in the VCR, my wife, unfamiliar with the comedy of Benny Hill, asked me if it was slapstick. My response was that it is "dumbstick." To me, that one word sums up the zany antics of Benny Hill. Hill is English, so some of his routines are more targeted to a British audience, yet Americans will also find it funny.
The scenes are a combination of wry looks at the camera and blatantly stupid actions combined with a lot of head-patting. One of the characters is an elderly man with a bald head and it gets "tender-patted" a lot. There is also a great deal of silly and mild sexual innuendo, Hill was the master of the stupid sexual situation.
Hill was also "original" enough to sometimes have his comic bits filmed without sound and sometimes even in black and white. His usage of what most would consider an archaic tactic forces his players to perform to a higher level. The exaggerated body motions in the skit involving doctors and a hospital was the primary factor that made it hilarious.
If you are not familiar with the comedy of Benny Hill, you should examine this tape. While his humor is not for everyone, if you like a combination of dumb jokes and slapstick, then he will make you laugh.
May 27, 2008

benny's the man

I love Benny Hill. This dvd features alot of the older skits I never saw. They were very fun. Like I said Benny's the man. April 12, 2008

The absolute worst of Benny Hill

I knew that not all of his sketches were gems, but Benny Hill has done a great number of hilarious chase scenes, pie gags, and cheeky humor. Why didn't we get THOSE sketches?
Instead, this dvd is filled with mostly low energy bits that fail to inspire a chortle. The sound and picture quality are bad too, but the sketches themselves are the greatest insult. The worst of them is saved for last, when Benny comes out dressed as an Asian man with a supreme intolerance for all races. The issue of racial intolerance itself is an unpopular one now, but if the bit was funny, one might forgive it as a classic joke from an earlier era. It's not funny, just offensive. April 11, 2008

a good comedy

I can't say it is the best of Benny Hill in my opinion, but that's only my opinion.... the biggest problem is the quality of the picture... not so good. December 30, 2007

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