The Cliff Richard Collection (2001)

The three nostalgic British musicals in the Cliff Richard Collection are a good reminder that, thanks to a few short years in the 1960s, Sir Cliff can legitimately include "film star" on his already exceptional show business résumé. The Young Ones (1961), Summer Holiday (1963), and Wonderful Life (1964) would make tame fare for a teen audience today, but they retain a polished and honest charm that might surprise the sharpest of cynics.

First and foremost, of course, they were Cliff Richard vehicles: designed to showcase his all-around talents and capitalize on his first, heady wave of pop chart success. They are also unashamed homages to the heyday of the MGM B-musical with familiar themes: let's put on a show/save the youth club/make a film. But with up-and-coming directors Sidney Furie and Peter Yates making imaginative and sophisticated use of wide-angle camerawork and fresh, snappy choreography by Herbert Ross and Gillian Lynne, they also have plenty of assets other than Richard's wholesome appeal. There are some fine set pieces and surreal flashes, notably the history of cinema in Wonderful Life and the extraordinary mime sequence in Summer Holiday. They also tap into the very British energy of a group of young actors and dancers including Una Stubbs, Susan Hampshire, Melvyn Hayes, and Richard O'Sullivan, as well as Richard's band at the time, the Shadows. For sheer verve, the films deserve to be seen on their own merits. --Piers Ford Amazon.com

Absolutely delightful

As a teenager in the Philippines, I saw the movies when they were first released, and Cliff Richard was the singing idol then. Getting hold of them through Amazon thrills me to pieces. This may not qualify as a review because I'm totally biased. I simply say that this DVD set is absolutely delightful. I'll never get tired of watching Cliff. February 4, 2008

Craving for more

In my teens, I missed watching The Young Ones and Summer Holiday because I was an Honor Student and refrain from watching too much movies, so now that I have been given the opportunity to have this collection, I appreciate it so much. I brought it to my sisters' house and watched all three movies on their big screen and everybody enjoyed them. The songs, the dances, the story line. Cliff may not be an actor worth receiving awards for his acting, but I think he is a natural. He just acts like normal teenagers would in his time, and his singing is superb and his dancing doesn't get behind all those dancers that were with him in the films. I wish I could get hold of 'Finders Keepers' too. December 31, 2007

COLLECTABLE FOR CLIFF'S FANS -JUST 60's NOSTALGIA FOR THE REST OF US!

Looking at all the other reviews, I'm certainly in the minority when I say this collection of Cliff Richard movies doesn't hold up well today. The very essence of a good musical is good songs and I mean GOOD, MEMORABLE and ICONIC songs! In this case it was the title songs themselves, these were the big hits not to mention the big hit instrumentals from THE SHADOWS. Unfortunately, the movies were designed to highlight Cliff and not the greatest guitar group of them all. Now thats purely subjective on my part, but looking at THE YOUNG ONES, SUMMER HOLIDAY and WONDERFUL LIFE on a cinematic basis, they are as the main reviewer points out, just British versions of old MGM B-musicals. And when the Beatles came along in 1964 with A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, that old wornout musical formula was totally blown away.

At the time when I was a kid, I actually went to see all three movies at the ABC cinema in my London neighborhood. ABC even produced them at their own studio. They were BIG hits and Cliff Richard was the biggest singer on the British pop charts. But all that was before pop groups REALLY started to take off both in Britain and the US. Unlike Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, Cliff's acting skills and charisma were not so electrifying. However again, if you're a long time dedicated Cliff Richard fan, anything he does is great. For me, THE SHADOWS should have been in the spotlight more!

Looking back at the time in which they were made in the early 1960's, they were all-so innocent and naive to what was going on in the REAL world. The Cuban missile crisis, the Profumo sex scandal that brought down the British government, the JFK assasination and so on. What a contrast, but then movies are mostly made to be escapist entertainment. With that in mind, this collection is a good value moneywise at least. And like a lot of things that seemed so good when you were young, well you know what I mean...
October 21, 2007

And About the Picture Quality

I bought this collection because I'm a big Cliff Richard fan, and these musicals are a lot of fun. I was expecting an OK picture transfer onto DVD, because these are pretty old and I figured no one would really care.

What a pleasant surprise!

I had just bought a new HD-DVD player, and even though these aren't in HD, the picture quality is just stunning. All three are fine transfers, with good sound too.

Like the other comments say, "Summer Holiday" is the best of the lot, but all three are good nostalgic fun.

If you like 1960's era musicals, you can't go wrong with this set. April 6, 2007

A Great Find

I was very happy to see this item on Amazon. I had watched all these movies as a child growing up in the UK and wanted my kids to see them. They were in great condition and the movies ran without any problems.
I am very happy with this purchase January 11, 2007

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