Billy Connolly-Bites Yer Bum Live/Hand Picked by Billy (1981)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	1981
Running Time	104:33 (Case: 163)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (27:30)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	David Mallet
Studio Distributor	Chrysalis Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Billy Connolly Billy Connolly
Case	?
RPI	$34.95	Music	Billy Connolly

    There are two live shows on this disc. The first is the main feature, Bites Yer Bum, which runs for 104:33 and the second is called Hand Picked by Billy, which despite its title is not a selection of material but a single show that runs for 56:12.

    Both appear to be from sometime around 1981 which is Billy's earlier and much hairier period. Bites Yer Bum was recorded in the Victoria Apollo which is in the centre of London. There is lots of classic material here presented in Billy's very own style, and there is also a little more 'music' than in his later concerts. He serenades us with a solo rendition on a strange stringed instrument as well as a guitar and banjo and is then joined by his band for the final song. The song itself could only be delivered by Billy and is very much in character.

    The second show was recorded at the Cambridge Theatre which is also in London. The video opens with scenes from the foyer as people arrive for the show and features a walkabout magician performing a card trick. Again classic Billy with long hair and stories about everything from parties to various bodily functions.

    I continue to be amazed at the way Billy manages to start a story, interrupt with a diversion, and then interrupt that with another tale without ever losing his place. Each story unwinds properly in its turn with the audience in hysterics.

    While later shows are more polished and there might be a repeated joke or two, this is essential for any collector of Billy's material.

Video

    While there are a couple of small problems, the material is in surprisingly good condition for video material of this age.

    It is presented at what is undoubtedly its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

    The image is reasonably sharp and shadow detail is acceptable considering the limitations of video recording combined with stage lighting. Billy wears a white shirt and particularly in the first show this does have a tendency to flare a little and lose detail. There is only a very small amount of low level noise.

    With a dark stage and a white shirt, colours do not abound in this production, but what is there (such as skin tones) is accurate again considering the lighting.

    There are no MPEG artefacts present in either show. There is a small amount of edge enhancement present such as the halo around Billy's shirt at 65:18 in the first show. The only real problems are some glitches in the source material such as a judder in the image at 10:51 (the first show), some video noise in the second show (15:20) and something rather strange artefacts for a minute or so at the end of the first show which look like video noise bars across the entire image starting at about 101:29.

    There are no subtitles on this disc.

    This is an RSDL disc with the layer change at 27:30 in the first show. It is as Billy is reaching for a drink so is of no real concern.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    Dialogue quality is excellent as is the audio sync.

    The music supplied by Billy is interesting to say the least - boy, can he strum a banjo! 

    The surrounds and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    A simple 1.33:1 menu accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack with two selections, one for each of the shows. The background is a piece of paper with a hole torn in it with scenes from the show playing in the hole.

    There does not appear to be a Region 1 version of this disc. The Region 2 version appears identical to ours.

    A small problem I have had with later Billy Connelly shows is that they try and get fancy with the camerawork and end up making you seasick or worse, close in too closely on Billy and miss both the body language and some of his more outrageous actions. These shows have none of this with most of the material being a simple medium or long shot. My favourite from both shows would have to be the infamous sewage worker story, a great bit of comedy.

    The video is good.

    The audio is perfectly functional.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall