Benny Hill was always best at quasi-silent slapstick, so it's no surprise that some of the best stuff on The Best of Benny Hill seems to owe more to the work of Mack Sennett and Fatty Arbuckle than to mainstream TV comedy.... more » It may also be no coincidence that, unusually, this release began life in the cinema. There's some classic material on offer here: the extended opening item, "Lower Tidmarsh Hospital," for example, almost transcends buffoonery to become social comment, but best of all is the sketch which features Hill as a chat-show host (people really used to wear matching shirts and ties) attempting to deal with a West End star and starlet, the former monosyllabic, the latter catastrophically plastered. Among the other items featured, the knowing send-up of the pretentiousness of avant-garde French cinema is also very funny, while the short linking items include a wicked parody of Alan Whicker and a sideswipe at barely literate actresses ("What's that in the road? A head?"). Fans will be pleased to know that Hill's regular supporting cast, including Patricia Hayes, Nicholas Parsons and Rita Webb, are all present. --Roger Thomas« less
Craig S. (InnerMacro) from WAUSAU, WI Reviewed on 9/8/2022...
87 mins; a range of sketches from the Benny Hill Show. A good sampling of what the show was like for those who haven't seen it or don't remember it very well. Much of the humor would be considered politically incorrect by today's standards, so audiences sensitive to that kind of thing should probably skip this one.
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K. K. (GAMER) Reviewed on 12/8/2019...
You can never go wrong watching classic Benny Hill but watch your younger audiences.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Kenneth S. from PINSON, AL Reviewed on 5/11/2013...
Funny
Jeremy G. Reviewed on 1/4/2011...
classic Benny at his best!!
0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Sirry D. (SirryD) Reviewed on 8/5/2009...
Hilarious! Rolling in the aisles funny! This is classic British comedy that everyone will enjoy.
Holly M. (goldiemcgee) from COLUMBIA, MO Reviewed on 9/10/2008...
this is the most fun video in ages, right form england, benny hill had a long running show near the thames river.
Movie Reviews
Very Funny
mistermaxxx@yahoo.com | usa | 05/30/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Benny Hill is One Of the Greatest Comedy Talents Ever!His Vision on His Shows always had me Rolling.He was not Only The Writer&Director but also Wrote The Music as Well.He was A Genius Of Humor.this is a Must."
Benny Hill sampler has some funny material
Scott MacGillivray | Massachusetts, USA | 10/31/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is a feature-length compilation of sketches from Benny Hill's long-running TV series. If you're at all familiar with the genial British comedian, you'll know what to expect: plenty of girls, plenty of puns, plenty of obvious visual humor, and plenty of eccentrics dashing from here to there. Some of the sketches run on a bit longer than necessary, others are short and sweet. Movie buffs will love two sketches in particular: 1) Benny is the star of a 1930s late-show movie, but the print is terrible (Benny and the cast ingeniously simulate splicy dialogue, projection at the wrong speed, etc.); 2) A cineaste -- Hill's straight man Henry McGee in a delightfully over-the-top performance -- interviews famed French director Benny, asking searching questions and getting matter-of-fact answers. Benny's monologues are fun, too -- his story of a little boy who befriends a bird is timed beautifully. A technical note: this was released as a theatrical movie but much of it was originally shot on videotape. Thus the image transferred to film is sometimes a little grainy, but it's nothing distracting. If you like simple, lowbrow burlesque comedy, you'll certainly enjoy this tape."
Uh yeah this IS the best of Benny Hill!
Gary Demirdjian | San Diego, CA United States | 12/15/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having grown up in Sydney, Australia during the 1970's I was exposed to a lot of Benny Hill and this DVD contains but a small portion of the funny and brilliant comedy programming Benny made which I grew up watching. I happen to like his early stuff from the 70's as opposed to the later stuff he did in the 80's. Lucky for me this compilation movie was made in the mid-70's and has made it to DVD. The skits on this DVD represent the original years of Hill's brand of humor and I love it. The only drawback is that since some of the skits were shot on video the quality isn't as good as the superb quality of the skits shot on 16mm. On the contrary the other DVD(s) available that covers Hill's later years contains the boring, mundane humor in my opinion. I am very much hoping that I can get some more Hill programming on DVD from the 1970's, as presented on this DVD because as I said this is but a mere taste of Hill's early era of original and very funny yet risque humor. There's a lot more he did back in the 70's which hasn't made it to DVD yet. A lot more.This DVD is the game and the others are lame."
Of course, the humor loses something across the ocean...
Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 04/23/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"But, that has always been the case with comedy imported from the U.K., as well as what WE send over there, as well as the rest of the world. Some of our jokes don't have the folks in Taiwan, Nairobi, or Milan rolling in the aisles, either.
That said, "The Best of Benny Hill" is a good introduction to the late comic with his ribald brand of comedy. Sure, there are some straight slapstick sketches but most fans of his are looking for the suggestively titillating ones and these are in good supply, from his "commercials" to his double entendre songs to the AMPLE supply of well-endowed ladies.
The latter is for the fourteen-year-old in all of us guys.
Speaking of the "ladies," the highlight is in the last act when Hill dons several wigs and appropriate attire and "impersonates" some of England's most popular (at the time) female singers.
His "Shirley Bassey" is priceless!"
The Best of the Early Syndicated Benny
Newsboyarizona | Phoenix, AZ USA | 02/05/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For anybody who loved those early Benny Hill half-hours that were syndicated in the U.S. in the early 80s, you'll love this tape. It contains some of the best songs, skits and black-outs from that period. I received it as a Christmas present, and it was the best present I got that year. Any true fan of Benny would love it."