Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
There's a lovely irony about the way in which the Carry On films are now revered, not only in the evolutionary story of British comedy, but also as an essential ingredient of cultural history. Derided for years for their low humor and conveyor-belt production values--30 films were churned out in just 21 years between 1958 and 1978--they now embody a cozy, innocent, and less sophisticated time. At the heart of their success are two vital ingredients: a virtual repertory company of Britain's finest post-war comic talents and quick-fire, innuendo-laden scripts which somehow become high-octane fuel for side-splitting laughter.
Public institutions, great historical figures, and established entertainment genres provided the main modus operandi, offering limitless potential for the films' staple themes of lust, adultery, and chicanery. Carry On Sergeant kicked off in 1958 with mainstay Charles Hawtrey. Later the same year in Carry On Nurse and in 1959's Carry On Teacher, the basic team quickly gelled with Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams making regular appearances. Leslie Phillips's insatiable predatory comic persona also figured large in these early films. Perhaps the first major milestone, though, came with the arrival of Sid James in 1960's Carry On Constable. With his trademark raucous laugh and a face like a wizened walnut, James would be a major factor in the ongoing success of the films, in which his leering, lascivious, and amoral character would vary only in name.
In 1962, Carry On Cruising marked the team's first foray into color. The following year, the films grew more adventurous and multilayered. Within their admittedly limited parameters, they did explore relationships and were surprisingly radical in their satirizing of women's roles. Hattie Jacques, for example, is best remembered for her fearsome matrons, but in Carry On Cabby (1963) she plays a downtrodden woman who hits back at husband Sid by forming her own taxi company. Carry On Jack (also 1963) found the team taking to the high seas in a Mutiny on the Bounty-style spoof starring Bernard Cribbins, but the next two films found the team at the real peak of its powers. Carry On Spying (1964) introduced Barbara Windsor's giggly buxom blond, a character who naturally fell hand in hand with James's aging Lothario in many of the subsequent films. In Carry On Cleo the same year, Amanda Barrie's deliciously frothy Egyptian queen and Kenneth Williams's saturnine Caesar set new heights for the series. The year 1965 brought Carry On Cowboy, featuring Joan Sims as a feisty saloon girl, while Carry On Screaming (1966) drove a comic stake through the heart of classic Hammer horror flicks.
Today, the Carry On films are seen as a vital component in the linear development of modern British comedy, influencing everything from French & Saunders to the surreal League of Gentlemen. In their time, they provided a much-needed big-screen vehicle for the greatest comic talents of the age. And today that vehicle has become a legacy of wonderful performances, many of them truly subtle. On that level alone, the Carry On films earn their status as a comic institution a hundred times over. --Piers Ford
Average customer rating: 
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The Carry On Collection
Starring: Sid James , and Charles Hawtrey Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD  General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Classic Comedies
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
( C )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Comedy
| Boxed Sets
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Classics
| Boxed Sets
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
ASIN: B00006JDRW Release Date: 2002-10-22 |
Amazon.com
There's a lovely irony about the way in which the Carry On films are now revered, not only in the evolutionary story of British comedy, but also as an essential ingredient of cultural history. Derided for years for their low humor and conveyor-belt production values--30 films were churned out in just 21 years between 1958 and 1978--they now embody a cozy, innocent, and less sophisticated time. At the heart of their success are two vital ingredients: a virtual repertory company of Britain's finest post-war comic talents and quick-fire, innuendo-laden scripts which somehow become high-octane fuel for side-splitting laughter.Public institutions, great historical figures, and established entertainment genres provided the main modus operandi, offering limitless potential for the films' staple themes of lust, adultery, and chicanery. Carry On Sergeant kicked off in 1958 with mainstay Charles Hawtrey. Later the same year in Carry On Nurse and in 1959's Carry On Teacher, the basic team quickly gelled with Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams making regular appearances. Leslie Phillips's insatiable predatory comic persona also figured large in these early films. Perhaps the first major milestone, though, came with the arrival of Sid James in 1960's Carry On Constable. With his trademark raucous laugh and a face like a wizened walnut, James would be a major factor in the ongoing success of the films, in which his leering, lascivious, and amoral character would vary only in name.
In 1962, Carry On Cruising marked the team's first foray into color. The following year, the films grew more adventurous and multilayered. Within their admittedly limited parameters, they did explore relationships and were surprisingly radical in their satirizing of women's roles. Hattie Jacques, for example, is best remembered for her fearsome matrons, but in Carry On Cabby (1963) she plays a downtrodden woman who hits back at husband Sid by forming her own taxi company. Carry On Jack (also 1963) found the team taking to the high seas in a Mutiny on the Bounty-style spoof starring Bernard Cribbins, but the next two films found the team at the real peak of its powers. Carry On Spying (1964) introduced Barbara Windsor's giggly buxom blond, a character who naturally fell hand in hand with James's aging Lothario in many of the subsequent films. In Carry On Cleo the same year, Amanda Barrie's deliciously frothy Egyptian queen and Kenneth Williams's saturnine Caesar set new heights for the series. The year 1965 brought Carry On Cowboy, featuring Joan Sims as a feisty saloon girl, while Carry On Screaming (1966) drove a comic stake through the heart of classic Hammer horror flicks.
Today, the Carry On films are seen as a vital component in the linear development of modern British comedy, influencing everything from French & Saunders to the surreal League of Gentlemen. In their time, they provided a much-needed big-screen vehicle for the greatest comic talents of the age. And today that vehicle has become a legacy of wonderful performances, many of them truly subtle. On that level alone, the Carry On films earn their status as a comic institution a hundred times over. --Piers Ford
Customer Reviews:
The Carry On Collection.......2007-01-13
The Carry On Collection.......2007-01-09
A retrospective that leaves you wanting more..........2005-10-01
Laugh Riot.......2005-07-15
The Carry on Collection.......2004-12-16
Average customer rating:
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The Carry On Collection - Volume 3 (Carry On Loving / Carry On Spying / Carry On Behind)
Manufacturer: Jef Films ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Product Features:
ASIN: B000OYHXAW |
Product Description
Carry On Loving: If you decide to look for romance, don't expect to find any joy at the Wedded Bliss Agency. If you're looking for laughs, on the other hand, this should be your first port of call. Sid & Sophie Bliss are the proprietors and they are living a romantic lie, they aren't even married! Their computer system is a "miracle of modern technology" and certainly comes up with some hysterical pairings. Carry On Loving is just one thing on top of another and it has one of the best slapstick finales in the series. / Carry On Spying: "My name is Bind, James Bind". Charles Hawtrey has a license to kill - to kill you with laughter! He's on the trail of The Fat Man - an enemy agent who stole a top secret formula. Trainee Barbara Windsor joins the novice spy-catchers on the road to Morocco. She has three main assets, one is her photographic memory, and the others are classified For Your Eyes Only! / Carry On Behind: This time the jokes really are ancient! Roland Crump, played by Carry On favorite Kenneth Williams, is an eminent archaeologist excavating a Roman town that just happens to lie beneath a caravan site at the height of the summer season. In Carry On Behind, the gang leave no stone unturned in their ruthless pursuit of laughter!Customer Reviews:
wonderfull sense of humor.......2007-06-25
Average customer rating: 
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The Carry On Collection - Volume 4 (Thats Carry On / Carry On Nurse / Carry On Henry)
ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Product Features:
ASIN: B000QSLMP8 |
Product Description
Thats Carry On: From the original, military mayhem of Carry On Sergeant, through to the really ancient archeological gags of Carry On Behind, our saucy hosts get their titters out for this laugh-a-second gallop through the most successful series of British comedy films ever made. ~~~~~~~~~ Carry On Nurse: This was the second 'Carry On' film, and a huge hit in the United States. The patients in a men's hospital ward decide to revolt against the staff, as led by the indomitable Matron. Troublesome patients include Kenneth Williams, Leslie Phillips, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey. ~~~~~~~~~ Carry On Henry: Carry On Henry is the (almost) true story of the love life of that much-married English monarch, King Henry VIII. A right Royal flush is guaranteed when flirty Bettina becomes a favorite at court much to the displeasure of Queen Marie. Discover previously hidden details of Henrys private life, such as his hatred of garlic and his love of hunting (wenches, that is!). Sid James turns in a majestic performance and is given noble support by Carry On greats Kenneth Williams, Terry Scott, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Connor as his not-so-loyal courtiers.DVD:
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Fables of Bah Ya Bah - 2 DVD Collector's Set with CD-ROM Game
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