DVD Reviews: The Very Best of Benny Hill

Benny Hill is the legendary British comedian who inspired countless comedians all across the globe from Europe, Australia and the United States. Although his style of humour was quite risqué and sometimes childish, it was enjoyed by more than 140 million viewers worldwide that made the Benny Hill Show an English institution. The Very Best of Benny Hill DVD features over  90 minutes from original television series that spanned over 30 years. The DVD features two special programs that include "Benny Hill's Greatest Hits" and "The Crazy World of Benny Hill" which feature some of the funniest moments of the Benny Hill Show.

One of the major problems with humour is that it can date fairly quickly and what was funny twenty years ago may not even get a smile today. This is not the case for the Very Best of Benny Hill but quite the opposite, this 90 minute DVD is guaranteed to have you in stitches. One sketch that comes to mind is when Benny Hill is spying on a girl next door when his wife approaches and says "if you keep that up, you'll get a headache", Benny shrugs it off and says "no I won't" when his wife hits him in the head with a rolling pin. The look of Benny Hill is priceless!

The majority of sketches on the Very Best of Benny Hill use visual comedy that must be seen to be appreciated. Benny Hill has easily one of the cheekiest and funniest looks of any comedian and you are instantly drawn into his world of humour. With extremely funny humour, scantily dressed dancers and the Benny Hill theme of "Yackety Sax", how could you not enjoy this DVD?

The video quality of the Very Best of Benny Hill contains the original 4:3 aspect ratio of the television show that appears to have been cleaned up for DVD. For a show that is almost twenty years old, the video quality still holds up today. The DVD also features Dolby Digital 2.0 for some great sounding music and special effects that is really a trip back down memory lane.

When it comes to extras, the Very Best of Benny Hill features a wide variety of extras that include production notes, biographies, photo galleries, a sketch selection and Umbrella propaganda (the company that released this DVD) I would recommend Benny Hill to anyone who loved the original television show and proves that Benny Hill is still King of comedy.

- Andrew B