Curb Your Enthusiasm-Complete Third Season (2000)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation Synopsis-Episode Synopses Notes-Season Index Featurette-Favorite Scenes From The Stars And Directors Featurette
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	?
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Andy Ackerman Larry Charles Jeff Garlin Bryan Gordon
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Larry David Cheryl Hines Jeff Garlin Susie Essman Richard Lewis Antoinette Spolar Ted Danson Wanda Sykes
Case	?
RPI	$49.95	Music	Wendall J. Yuponce

    The Third Season of Curb Your Enthusiasm starts with a brilliant visual gag before you even turn on the TV. On the front cover of the DVD Larry David peers down at a glass of water on the table. It is half full. Or is it half empty? For Larry David that question could last an eternity.

    Seasons 1 and 4 have already been reviewed by this site. The Season 1 review gives an introduction to Larry David and the show.

    After writing two previous seasons it is clear that Larry David has finely honed his comic formula with the Third Season. Each episode is an exquisitely crafted train wreck as Larry takes a minor problem and turns it into an embarrassing crisis.

    The Third Season features the regular cast, including Larry's long-suffering wife Cheryl and his manager and best friend Jeff. In this season there is a greater emphasis on an ongoing storyline than in the two earlier seasons. Aside from the usual mayhem Larry invests in a restaurant venture with some predictable results. Each episode has some reference to the restaurant and the frantic preparations needed to get it open on time. Another investor is Ted Danson who appears in a number of episodes and gives one of his finest performances as, well, Ted Danson.

    Regular viewers of the show will know that it is to be distinguished from just about every other U.S. comedy show for a few reasons. It is partly improvised as the actors work from a few ideas and a basic script and develop the comic potential of the situation. This style has improved over the years as the actors have learnt to bounce off one another in a more natural fashion. Secondly, it is filmed on digital video with one camera giving it a verite style. Thirdly, it has no laugh track which means that the viewer has to decide what is funny. Laughs can take a while to build, reaching a crescendo at the unbelievable climax. Finally, it is single-minded in its pursuit of the joke to the point where the comedy can be subsumed in the embarrassment of the situation. This is take-no-prisoners humour.

    Season 3 of Curb Your Enthusiasm contains some great moments. As well as Danson there are a number of guest stars. Larry has moved away from the Seinfeld alumni and gone out into the wider community with surprising results. Who would have thought that one episode would feature singer Alannis Morrisette and Paul Reiser and the next Martin Scorsese?

    As the season progresses the humour becomes more subversive and scary. Larry, as usual, is one petty squabble short of a mental home. The tighter story line means that the comedy in the episodes grows until the tenth episode, the opening of the restaurant, where everything coalesces and comes unstuck at the same time.

Video

    Curb Your Enthusiasm was, like its predecessors, shot on digital video at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The DVD is faithful to this ratio.

    Comparing it to previous seasons I can see an advancement over the First Season but the picture quality is fairly similar to the Second Season.

    The transfer is clean and bright. There are no artefacts to be seen and shadow detail is good. Flesh tones are uniformly life-like and the colours are true.

    There are subtitles for the hearing impaired which are accurate to the words spoken on screen. Lip synching is no issue. All in all this is a nice looking TV series without any attempt to make it cinematic.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio for Curb Your Enthusiasm is Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s). This is perfect for a show that depends solely upon dialogue for effect. The dialogue is clear and audible at all times. The sound transfer is clean and there is no unwanted noise. Surround sound and subwoofer effects are not missed.

    Music in Curb Your Enthusiasm is rare except for the jaunty opening theme and occasional similar inserts. Of particular fun is the occasional Wild West shoot out theme whenever Larry is forced to face up to Jeff's wife.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    The Menu Animation is simple but effective.

Synopsis

    These are short guides to each episode. They can actually be more of an annoyance than a help as they give away key plot points in advance.

Notes

Featurette -Favorite Scenes From The Stars And Directors

    This quite lengthy (25.55) featurette is taken from the Aspen Q & A below and several of the cast and crew explain and present their favourite scenes, many of which are from previous seasons. It is an interesting and funny session.

Featurette- A Stop and Chat with the Cast at the Aspen Comedy Festival.

    This is a sizeable extra feature on this DVD (22.04). It is a Q & A session with the regular cast and some of the writers at a comedy festival. Some of the cast are more actors than comedians but this is a fun and often very funny session. Larry explains something of his own history and the development of the show.

    Both Regions get the same treatment on DVD. Buy the local version.

    Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 3 is a classic blast of Larry David comedy. That means that no humiliation is spared and no stone of good taste left unturned. For those who have purchased the previous seasons this is a must buy. For anyone else who likes their comedy horrifyingly real Season 3 is a great place to start.

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Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall