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List Price: $39.99Amazon.com's Price: $34.99 You Save: $5.00 (13%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION
EAN: 0826663016499
Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
Label: Shout Factory Theatr
Manufacturer: Shout Factory Theatr
Number Of Items: 4
Publisher: Shout Factory Theatr
Region Code: 1
Release Date: February 21, 2006
Running Time: 90 minutes
Sales Rank: 18746
Studio: Shout Factory Theatr
Theatrical Release Date: May 26, 1969
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
1. The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends Disc 1 - 325:252. The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends Disc 2 - 325:253. The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends Disc 3 - 325:254. The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends Disc 4 - 325:25Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS UPC: 826663016499 Manufacturer No: D4D30164
Amazon.com:
840 minutes (that's fourteen hours, including various bonus features). Four discs. Twelve shows. Eleven famous guests. The Dick Cavett Show – Comic Legends boasts some big numbers, but what it doesn't have, surprisingly, is a whole lotta laughs. The lineup is certainly impressive, from old school stalwarts like Groucho Marx, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, and George Burns to relative youngsters (at least at the time; the shows were recorded from the late '60s to the mid-'70s) like Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, and the Smothers Brothers. But this is not a procession of mirth-meisters coming out and doing five or ten minutes of one-liners and standup shtick. There are no performances, per se; like guests on Leno, Letterman, or any other TV talk show, the 'legends' converse with and are interviewed by the host, sometimes by themselves, sometimes in the company of other celebs. This casual format yields decidedly mixed results. Take Groucho. Pushing 80 at the time of the first of his two Cavett appearances included here (in 1969), he's sharp and witty, telling many stories, offering up a few good lines ('I liked Perry Como's singing, when he was awake'), even warbling a song or two. But his '71 appearance, in which he reveals himself to be a testy old curmudgeon, railing against nudity in movies and feminism ('As long as women are willing to take alimony, they have no right to women's lib') and unwilling to cede the limelight to anyone else (Cavett's conversation with author Truman Capote is ruined by Marx's refusal to shut up), is tedious at best. Cavett fawns over Hope, who tells some nice anecdotes but, in the absence of his writers, simply isn't very funny; nor is Lucy, whom Cavett describes as 'a tough, hardened showgirl.' But Jerry Lewis is a riot, peppering the conversation with his trademark mugging and slapstick and engaging in an entertaining Q&A with the studio audience; Mel Brooks is manic and motor-mouthed; Benny's deadpan routine, including the usual zingers about his age, cheapness, and bad violin playing, is charming; and Cosby, then in his mid-thirties and years away from becoming the sweater-wearing sage of The Cosby Show, is hip and relaxed in the presence of Cavett, who at other times comes off as stiff and ill at ease. Meanwhile, other guests range from veteran actress Ruth Gordon and cheeky film critic Rex Reed to the two sullen young stars of the film 'Zabriskie Point,' who manage to bring the proceedings to a grinding halt. Bonus features, as is the case with Shout Factory's various other Cavett compilations, include Cavett's new introductions to each show, along with interviews, outtakes, and more. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great Series
This series of interviews is head and shoulders above what you get on TV these days. Get it!
Rating:  - Dick Cavett is Maddeningly Unprepared
The thing that comes through on all of these interviews is how woefully unprepared Dick Cavett was to discuss these brillant comedians life's work.
Cavett did minimal preparation for his guests' appearances, and it showed. Often times Cavett would have an hour to fill, and he would rely solely on his guests to be "on" and fill the hour as if by some magic. I can see where he would make this mistake once, but as he makes it over and over again it was incredibly fustrating to watch.
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Rating: - Forgotten Talk Show Host
Dick Cavett was a popular talk show host in the 1970s. His name has faded away through the years, but looking back on this DVD collection, one can see that his charm and personality have not faded through the changes in time. Although his guest were often classic stars, his interviews with them remain fresh and exciting to modern audiences. Here we have his vibrant and lovable style opposite such famous names as Woody Allen, Jack Benny, Bill Cosby, George Burns, The Smothers Brothers, and Jerry Lewis. ... Read More
Rating: - A sweet walk down memory lane.
Dick Cavett was a breath of fresh air when he first hit the TV scene. These DVDs let us breathe that air again. Always a pleasure to watch him work. And it is also sweet to see how much the guests love and respect him. Great meets great!
Rating: - Cavett At His Best
I loved this collection of Cavett comedic greats.
These are a special treat, well worth purchasing.
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