SNL - Best of John Belushi (1985)

A new slapstick comedian is born.

One of the wonders of the original five year run of Saturday Night Live was how it served as a launching pad for so many entertainers. Clearly, John Belushi was one of these. His performances in The Blues Brothers and Animal House, to name his two biggest hits during that period, were classics that go beyond the slapstick moniker.

This little gem, SNL - Best of John Belushi, is best described as "a taste of Belushi" (John, not Jim). As a regular on SNL those first five years, he developed characters and comedic performances that still are popular today (the Blues Brothers). Others went splat (the Bee Band). His athleticism, facial expressions, and attention to detail (note the Joe Cocker spoof/imitation) were his strengths.

This collection has some favorites... his imitations of rocker Joe Cocker, actress Elizabeth Taylor (the portly version), the Hulk, and his appearances on the SNL news program. This collection also contains the piece of him as an old man visiting the graves of his former SNL colleagues. Ironically, he was the first to die.

This DVD is a great bargain as a sampler. If you like what you see, start collecting the complete SNL seasons (seasons 1 and 2 are out at the time of this review). February 3, 2008

Young fan

Im only 16 and me not knowing the original SNL to well, I find this DVD great. Iv become a big Belushi fan, he was a genieus that died so young. I read other of the coments and saying that they should have put more skits on the DVD and I agree Iv downloaded some clips off limewire and I love it, he was great. SNL should do what they did for Will Ferrell make volumes Belushi is 20x better then Ferrel and desierves more Best of DVD's January 25, 2008

Quality Stuff, But...

I simply didn't laugh out loud (except for "Little Chocolate Donuts.") Everyone should RENT this, but must OWN "The Blues Brothers." Belushi on SNL was monumental in establishing some out-there American humor, but this collection has nothing on Monty Python. I think early SNL was more about the excitement of being a late-night show with funny people rather than actually being chock full of 'knock-you-outta-your seat' laughs. I see this more as a blueprint for what he did in 'Blues Brothers'--every single nuance he gave in that movie was sheer brilliance--rather than itself being the definitive John Belushi. April 12, 2007

Belushi still rocks

the DVD is sadly too short, but gives us a worthwhile reminder of John Belushi's most excellent talent. April 11, 2007

Please give us COMPLETE rather than BEST

Yes, this is a funny DVD and John Belushi really was an amazing character with both comic antics (eye brows!), mannerisms (H & L BROCK Tax Consultant with reason#3, "We lie for you...) and musical performances (Joe Cocker!!!!). However, consumers want the COMPLETE skits rather than what someone judges to be the BEST skits. Even if all seasons of SNL are released, the COMPLETE skits would sell as many of his comedic performances touched so many people in different ways. One Flew Over the Hornets Nest...... butter, butter with Raquel Welch as the infamous Nurse. February 3, 2007

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