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Overall | Holiday on the Buses (1973) | Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Holiday on the Buses/Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

Holiday on the Buses/Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

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Released 27-Sep-2004

Cover Art

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Overall Package

     With the huge success of the British sitcom On The Buses on television, Hammer Productions made three feature films based on the series in the early seventies. This DVD double feature contains the films Mutiny On The Buses and Holiday On The Buses and will delight fans of the hugely popular sitcom.

    Both films still stand up quite well in the humour stakes and provide good light-hearted entertainment, in a similar vein to the Carry On series of films.

    While we don't get the extra disc containing the film On The Buses (as is the case with a UK R2 edition), at least the transfers are good for both films.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Steve Crawford (Tip toe through my bio)
Friday, July 21, 2006
Other Reviews NONE
Overall | Holiday on the Buses (1973) | Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Holiday on the Buses (1973)

Holiday on the Buses (1973)

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Released 27-Sep-2004

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy None
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1973
Running Time 83:14
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Bryan Izzard
Studio
Distributor

Universal Pictures Home Video
Starring Reg Varney
Stephen Lewis
Doris Hare
Michael Robbins
Anna Karen
Bob Grant
Wilfrid Brambell
Kate Williams
Arthur Mullard
Queenie Watts
Henry McGee
Adam Rhodes
Michael Sheard
Case ?
RPI ? Music Denis King


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Not 16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The following five paragraphs provide some brief background information about On The Buses and the three spin-off feature films that were made in the early seventies. They are duplicated from my review of Mutiny On The Buses, which is also featured with this film as a double feature on the DVD.

    On The Buses was a long running, much loved British sitcom made between 1969 and 1973 which spanned some seventy four half-hour episodes. The series was created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who had previous success with The Rag Trade and Meet The Wife.

    On The Buses was initially rejected by the BBC, but was swiftly picked up by ITV where it became a huge hit with television audiences. Coming from a time prior to the age of political correctness, the brand of humour is typical of so many UK sitcoms from the era and is still delightfully funny by today's standards.

    The basic premise of the series centred on the day-to-day activities of the Luxton and District Traction Company, in particular one of their bus drivers, Stan Butler (Reg Varney) and his conductor mate, Jack (Bob Grant). Stan and Jack are easy going bachelors with a passion for the ladies and for slacking off on the job as much as possible. This is a constant source of anguish for their work supervisor, Inspector Blake or Blakey (Stephen Lewis). Stan and Jack are always scheming ways to outsmart Blakey and he is always scheming ways for retribution.

    Stan's working class family also played a major part in the sitcom. Stan lives in a small house with his mum (Doris Hare), his frumpy sister Olive (Anna Karen) and his brother in-law Arthur (Michael Robbins). Living in the confined space of their small abode also created many of the amusing situations in the series.

    With the huge success of On The Buses on television, Hammer Productions made three feature films based on the sitcom in the early seventies. In fact, all three films, On The Buses (1971), Mutiny On The Buses (1972) and Holiday On The Buses (1973) made decent financial profits for Hammer. Two of these films, Mutiny On The Buses and Holiday On The Buses are presented as a double feature on this DVD.

    Holiday On The Buses (1973)

    Stan, Jack and Blakey are all sacked from the company due to a major mishap with one of the buses. All three head down to the employment office where they all get new jobs. Blakey is very relieved to be finally free of Stan and Jack at long last.

    Stan and Jack have picked up jobs at a holiday village, with Stan driving the village bus and Jack its conductor. The bus collects the holidaymakers from the railway station and delivers them to the village, while also occasionally transporting the patrons on day trips.

    Life seems to have taken a good turn for the two bachelors with the large amount of single women holidaying at the village. But they are dealt a cruel hand when they discover Blakey also has a job at the village as Chief of Security. After he finishes lecturing Stan and Jack about not pursuing the female staff, it is revealed that Blakey and the holiday village nurse (Kate Williams) are fast becoming more than friends. This sets Jack with a devious challenge.

    Stan encourages his mum, Olive, Arthur and little Arthur Jnr (Adam Rhodes) to drive down and stay at the village for a week. Following a mishap on the motorcycle and sidecar, they all arrive with no useable luggage and have to borrow clothing. This is only a sign of things to come, as mishap after mishap follows Stan's family.

    Stan's mum, Mabel, lets her hair down when she is swept off her feet by the charming Bert (Wilfrid Brambell). Olive's plan to treat the holiday as a second honeymoon is constantly interrupted, much to Arthur's relief. And even Stan is having trouble getting some privacy with his many female acquaintances.

    Another series of disastrous blunders finds Stan, Jack and Blakey back where they started - unemployed. But fate seems determined to never let these three lives ever separate.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The video transfer for Holiday On The Buses is quite good.

     Holiday On The Buses is presented in the correct aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is not 16x9 enhanced.

    Sharpness and clarity was generally very good, with just the occasional glimpse of grain. Blacks were clean, deep and free from low-level-noise. Shadow detail was also of very good quality.

    Colours were nicely rendered on the disc and appeared very well balanced.

    There were no MPEG artefacts evident on the disc. Film-to video artefacts were well controlled in general. Some minor reel change markings were noticed at 56:04, 75:07 and 75:15, but these were not at all disruptive.

    There are no subtitles available on this DVD.

    This is a single sided, dual layered disc. I could not locate the layer change either when viewing the disc or with the use of software.

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

Audio

    The audio transfer is also very good.

    There is one audio track available on the DVD, English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s). This audio track is the original mono track.

    I had no problems hearing and comprehending the dialogue during both films.

    Audio sync was very good in general, although there was an obvious slip up with the ADR process at 50:30.  Stan, Olive and Arthur all say their goodbyes to Blakey, but their lips don't move.

    The music score for Holiday On The Buses is provided by Denis King.The score is light and jovial, which sets the mood for the film very well.

    The surround channels and subwoofer were not used.

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

Extras

    There are no extras on this DVD.

Menu

    The menu is very basic, static and silent. It only gives you the option of selecting either film.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    In the absence of an R1 version to compare with, I will compare this R4 double feature with an R2 triple feature.

    This R2 triple feature has all three On The Buses films spread over two DVDs. The first disc features On The Buses while the second disc contains Mutiny On The Buses and Holiday On The Buses.

    The R2 triple feature has the same mono audio track and also has no extras.

    If you're a big fan of the films and the series of On The Buses you might want to track down the R2 triple feature simply for the added bonus of the inclusion of the first film in the set.

Summary

     I shamelessly enjoyed the chance to view Holiday On The Buses again after so many years. The film provided a nostalgic return to my younger days, watching  On The Buses on television. As previously mentioned, Holiday On The Buses is presented together with Mutiny On The Buses on this DVD, which should certainly please fans of the films and the sitcom in general.

    The video and audio transfers are quite good.

    Unfortunately though, there are no extras on the DVD.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Steve Crawford (Tip toe through my bio)
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Review Equipment
DVDJVC XV-N412, using Component output
DisplayHitachi 106cm Plasma Display 42PD5000MA (1024x1024). Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080i.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer.
AmplificationPanasonic SA-HE70 80W Dolby Digital and DTS
SpeakersFronts: Jensen SPX7 Rears: Jensen SPX4 Centre: Jensen SPX13 Subwoofer: Jensen SPX17

Other Reviews NONE
Overall | Holiday on the Buses (1973) | Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD

Released 27-Sep-2004

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy None
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1972
Running Time 84:40
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Harry Booth
Studio
Distributor

Universal Pictures Home Video
Starring Reg Varney
Doris Hare
Michael Robbins
Anna Karen
Stephen Lewis
Bob Grant
Janet Mahoney
Pat Ashton
Kevin Brennan
Bob Todd
David Lodge
Tex Fuller
Caroline Dowdeswell
Case ?
RPI ? Music Ron Grainer


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Not 16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    On The Buses was a long running, much loved British sitcom made between 1969 and 1973, which spanned some seventy four half-hour episodes. The series was created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who had previous success with The Rag Trade and Meet The Wife.

    On The Buses was initially rejected by the BBC, but was swiftly picked up by ITV, where it became a huge hit with television audiences. Coming from a time prior to the age of political correctness, the brand of humour is typical of so many UK sitcoms from the era and is still delightfully funny by today's standards.

    The basic premise of the series centred on the day-to-day activities of the Luxton and District Traction Company, in particular one of their bus drivers, Stan Butler (Reg Varney) and his conductor mate, Jack (Bob Grant). Stan and Jack are easy going bachelors with a passion for the ladies and for slacking off on the job as much as possible. This is a constant source of anguish for their work supervisor, Inspector Blake or Blakey (Stephen Lewis). Stan and Jack are always scheming ways to outsmart Blakey and he is always scheming ways for retribution.

    Stan's working class family also played a major part in the sitcom. Stan lives in a small house with his mum (Doris Hare), his frumpy sister Olive (Anna Karen) and his brother in-law Arthur (Michael Robbins). Living in the confined space of their small abode also created many of the amusing situations in the series.

    With the huge success of On The Buses on television, Hammer Productions made three feature films based on the sitcom in the early seventies. In fact, all three films, On The Buses (1971), Mutiny On The Buses (1972) and Holiday On The Buses (1973) made decent financial profits for Hammer. Two of these films, Mutiny On The Buses and Holiday On The Buses are presented as a double feature on this DVD.

    Mutiny On The Buses (1972)

    Stan gets engaged to Suzy (Janet Mahoney) and they plan to move into a flat together. However, Arthur loses his job, which puts an additional financial burden on the household. This in turn puts Stan's plan of moving out on hold until Arthur can find himself a new job. Stan is now the only significant means of support to Mum, Arthur, Olive and the baby.

    Stan and Jack concoct a plan to teach Arthur how to drive a bus so he might get a job with the company. Without the knowledge or consent of Blakey they teach Arthur to drive during working hours and much to their surprise, he eventually gets a driver's job.

    A new Depot Manager, Mr Jenkinson (Kevin Breenan), arrives to return some order to the running of the depot. At first he appears to be the saviour Blakey has been long hoping for, as he demands the highest possible standards from his staff. Unfortunately though, all the plans for an efficient and disciplined change in staff attitude goes by the wayside as the tables are again turned on the hapless Blakey.

    With Arthur now finding employment, Stan and Suzy's plan to move in together is back on. But this is delayed a second time when the flat's rental price has been dramatically inflated.

    Stan and Jack manage to cleverly persuade Mr Jenkinson that Stan should drive the bus for the company's newly created  Safari Tour, which also attracts a higher wage. All seems to be going to plan until Stan discovers just who has been given the job of bus conductor on the tour.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The video transfer for Mutiny On The Buses  is really quite good.

    Mutiny On The Buses is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, which is not 16x9 enhanced. This is not far from the correct ratio of 1.85:1.

    Sharpness and clarity was generally very good, with just the occasional glimpse of grain. Blacks were clean, deep and free from low-level-noise. Shadow detail was also of very good quality.

    Colours were nicely rendered on the disc and appeared very well balanced.

    There were no MPEG artefacts evident on the disc. Film-to video artefacts were generally well controlled. To my surprise, film artefacts were very minor, with the most obvious example occurring for a few seconds at 33:40.

    There are no subtitles available on this DVD.

    This is a single sided, dual layered disc, with one movie per layer. I could not locate any evidence of a layer change either when viewing the disc or with the use of software.

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

Audio

    The audio transfer is also very good.

    There is one audio track available on the DVD, English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s). This audio track is the original mono track.

    I had no problems hearing and comprehending the dialogue during the film. Audio sync was also very good in general.

    The music score is provided by Ron Grainer.The score is quite jovial in style and sets the mood for the film very well.

    The surround channels and subwoofer were not used.

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

Extras

    There are no extras on this DVD.

Menu

    The menu is very basic, static and silent. It only gives you the option of selecting either film.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

   In the absence of a R1 version to compare with, I will compare this R4 double feature with an R2 triple feature.

    This R2 triple feature has all three On The Buses films spread over two DVDs. The first disc features On The Buses, while the second disc contains Mutiny On The Buses and Holiday On The Buses.

    The R2 triple feature has the same mono audio track and also has no extras.

    If your a big fan of the films and the series of On The Buses, you might want to track down the R2 triple feature simply for the added bonus of the inclusion of the first film in the set.

Summary

     I shamelessly enjoyed the chance to view this film again after so many years. Mutiny On The Buses  provided a nostalgic return to my younger days, watching  On The Buses on television.

    The video and audio transfers are quite good.

    Unfortunately though, there are no extras on the DVD.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Steve Crawford (Tip toe through my bio)
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Review Equipment
DVDJVC XV-N412, using Component output
DisplayHitachi 106cm Plasma Display 42PD5000MA (1024x1024). Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080i.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer.
AmplificationPanasonic SA-HE70 80W Dolby Digital and DTS
SpeakersFronts: Jensen SPX7 Rears: Jensen SPX4 Centre: Jensen SPX13 Subwoofer: Jensen SPX17

Other Reviews NONE