Billy Connolly-Live: The Greatest Hits (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation Web Links
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	141:52
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Billy Connolly
Case	?
RPI	$36.95	Music	None Given

    Billy Connolly needs no introduction from me. He is without a doubt one of the most successful comedians of our time. As well as his stand-up routines, he has produced some fascinating, and of course humorous documentaries and has also branched out into movies, both serious and comedic.

    On this disc is a very interesting journey through time. It is a Greatest Hits compilation with the earliest footage coming from a show in 1975 (yes, over 26 years ago) and then advancing through time to 1999. Put back to back like this it is fascinating to see both Billy and his comedy change and evolve through the years. The only thing you miss out on is that ebb and flow that is contained within his shows. I always sit amazed as he starts a story, gets diverted, get diverted again from that, but always unwinds each story fully and delivers the final punch line for the original story right on cue.

    I recognised many of the sections that are on this disc from other videos and from the live shows that I have attended, while other parts were new to me, particularly the early material. It was also fascinating to spot some early material that has obviously grown over time, for example the routine about toilets on aircraft is on this disc in an early form, which I can remember being longer and more involved in a later show.

    In order we have excerpts from:

• Big Banana Feet 1975
• Bites Yer Bum 1981
• Pick of Billy 1982
• Billy And Albert 1987
• Parents For Safe Food 1989
• Hammer Smith Live 1991
• Glasgow 1992
• World Tour of Scotland 1994
• Live 1994
• World Tour of Australia 1996
• Two Night Stand London 1997
• One Night Stand Down Under 1999

    The camerawork is interesting. In the early shows, Billy is nailed to the one spot by a microphone on a stand. This allows for reasonable close-ups, but later, when he has changed to a radio microphone, a close-up is near-impossible. Billy has so much energy on stage and in later shows that once freed from the mike stand he moves around quite a lot. This means that the camera has to pull back somewhat to a longer shot. One cameraman in Australia seems to have missed this point and has attempted to keep a tight close-up on Billy. The result can leave you feeling a little seasick. To be fair, this is only for a short time but it was an exciting ride while it lasted.

Video

    The material is presented at 1.33:1 and is not 16x9 enhanced.

    Sharpness varies, being reasonable at the start and quite good at the end, particularly during close-ups. There is a measure of low level noise present. Shadow detail also varies depending on the source material. Stage lighting in some scenes, where Billy is wearing a white shirt, results in overexposure.

     There is not a great deal of colour to be seen. Most of Billy's costumes are fairly plain and there is not much else to be seen. Some of the later shows have a backdrop but nothing that would distract from the purpose of the show - seeing and listening to Billy.

    There is a fair amount of pixelization present in the image. An example can be seen on Billy's shirt and hand at 30:30. There is over 140 minutes of material on a single layered disc and even considering that the backdrops are often monochrome the image has suffered a little. There is sometimes a little video noise present but in reality none of these problems really distracts from the show.

    There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There are no problems with the dialogue quality. Even the early material is clear and easy to understand.

    There are no problems with audio sync.

    The only music is during the menus, the opening sequence and one song that Billy sings. The opening sequence music is a twangy banjo number, a favourite instrument of Billy these days.

    There is no surround or subwoofer activity.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    There is a great deal of fun on this disc, with two hours and twenty minutes of side-splitting laughter. To old and staunch fans there is no new material here, and those that already own many of Billy's shows on tape might be disappointed. For a new generation, even though the video on the disc is not the best, you will not notice the artefacts through your tears of laughter.

    The video quality is acceptable.

    The audio is spot on for the all-important dialogue.

    Nada, zip, no extras at all.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall