Tommy Cooper-The Best of

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	None
Rating
Year Of Production	?
Running Time	48:22
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Geoff Miles John Bishop Bruce Millard
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Tommy Cooper Michael Parkinson
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Ken Jones

    Dying unexpectedly in 1984 after a heart attack which occurred in the middle of a televised act, Tommy Cooper was a comedian who was much loved in Britain during his heyday, and still is. I can remember as a schoolboy in the UK his catchphrases and mannerisms being repeated or mimicked in the playground by all and sundry. A big, ungainly man with a face only a mother could love, Cooper had none of the polish or smarm that seem to be prerequisites for stardom these days, but the truth is he was just plain funny.

    The fact that he was such an impersonated character (something that is actually mentioned briefly in this feature) could be something to do with the fact that it was hard to actually put your finger on what made him funny. His jokes were nothing to write home about, the delivery was mumbled, sometimes badly timed, and punch-lines often hard to even hear. His magic tricks were clumsy and generally failed (deliberately), and his movements and actions were laboured and stiff. There weren't many ingredients there for a successful career in showbiz, but as so many people have said over the years - he just WAS funny. He could walk out on stage and people would start laughing straight away - something I've never seen happen to the likes of Jerry Seinfeld.

    So how do you pick a selection for a "Best Of" feature, when all the material follows the same formula, and it's just the man himself whose presence makes you laugh? Well, what we have here is the bulk of an interview between Cooper and Michael Parkinson, broken up by a number of segments taken from his many TV appearances. These even include a couple of Royal Performances where Cooper was a guest speaker at dinners celebrating royal birthdays.

    There aren't any segments that are bad, although I was a bit disappointed at the absence of some of his more "classic" acts, which have appeared in many tributes to the man since his death. However, it's a small complaint considering how easy it is to laugh out loud at one of his simple bewildered looks, or a failed magic trick.

    My main complaint is the value for money that this disc provides. It's a very short feature (coming in at just under 50 minutes), and combined with the total lack of extras this just doesn't seem to be worth the asking price. However, if you're one of the many people who can't keep a straight face while Tommy bumbles around on stage, then this requires at least a rental. Hard core fans no doubt will be purchasing anyway, no matter what I say.

Video

    The video transfer is taken from a number of sources, but all are aging video recordings of television broadcasts. As such, you wouldn't have very high expectations, but the BBC have done their usual professional job in making this transfer as watchable as possible.

    This transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which is the original broadcast aspect ratio.

    Sharpness is good when you consider the source material, which is 1970s and 1980s TV video recordings. We get some noticeably soft images (such as 21:11), and even some out-of-focus shots while the cameraman adjusts the focus, but for the most part the sharpness levels of the transfer are more than acceptable. Shadow detail is not particularly good though, and there is one excellent example of this at 38:04 where a black-suited man becomes almost invisible in the shadowy background.

    Colours are indicative of the age and quality of the source, having that slightly washed-out look of so much TV material of that era. There is also occasional bleeding, most noticeable in the reds (12:21 and 26:50).

    Film to video artefacts include aliasing (such as 26:45 and 43:26) and quite a lot of cross colouration (1:11 is the first of many examples I noticed). There are no film artefacts, as you'd expect.

    There is just the one stream of subtitles on this disc; English for the Hearing Impaired. I sampled these and found them to be pretty accurate (and sometimes very useful when Cooper is mumbling), but the font was too small and quite hard to read.

    This is single layered disc, and hence there is no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is one track on this DVD; English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).

    Dialogue is clear enough as far as the transfer is concerned. However, due to Cooper's habit of mumbling/slurring, there are occasional difficulties understanding what's being said, but it's inherent in the source material. There are no problems with audio sync.

    Music by Ken Jones, and The Harry Stoneman Band, is limited to a mix of short intros played live on the set. It's not a significant part of the presentation.

    There is no use made of either the surrounds or subwoofer.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    None whatsoever.

    There's quite a selection of Tommy Cooper collections available in Region 2, but despite some very similar titles, this exact feature is not yet available there (or any other Region for that matter). Apparantly, however, the Region 2 version will be coming out in May. I'd imagine it would be an identical presentation to ours, but if it isn't I'll update this section appropriately.

    There are some good memories of Tommy Cooper and his unique acts here. Maybe not all his best stuff, but then I don't think any of his material could be considered bad. Too short for my liking, this disc still has more than enough laughs to warrant a rental. Only real Cooper fans should consider a purchase at full price though.

    The video transfer has been done well, considering the source.

    Audio is all you could expect from something of this nature, and does its job.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall