mikidiki Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Hey Brock, I just realised that you never did a banner for the release of this DVD set. I think because it coincided with the XMAS banner. Just thought of it now! Just finished watching the 2 specials, onto the extras now. Will post my review a little later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I really enjoyed both specials. You can't compare either, they are both so different. One is comedy, one is dramatic. They are both very well done. It is funny though how many of her specials were "relationship problematic". I give both a 8/10 for different reasons. I did not like the quality of the specials (especially HA & G). Very disappointed in that. I didn't think much of the interviews, I preferred the Joseph Bologna one, he seemed more forthcoming of Lucy. Peter Marshall seemed almost ungrateful in his manner. I hated the way they went back and forth between Peter and Nanette. I wish they had interviewed one at a time. The Mary Tyler Moore interview was sweet. Overall a very good DVD release. Specials: 8/10 Extras: 6/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I really enjoyed both specials. You can't compare either, they are both so different. One is comedy, one is dramatic. They are both very well done. It is funny though how many of her specials were "relationship problematic". I give both a 8/10 for different reasons. I did not like the quality of the specials (especially HA & G). Very disappointed in that. I didn't think much of the interviews, I preferred the Joseph Bologna one, he seemed more forthcoming of Lucy. Peter Marshall seemed almost ungrateful in his manner. I hated the way they went back and forth between Peter and Nanette. I wish they had interviewed one at a time. The Mary Tyler Moore interview was sweet. Overall a very good DVD release. Specials: 8/10 Extras: 6/10 I seem to recall a very long sequence in the dark, that HAD to be a factor in all of you criticizing the quality as darkness never photographs well, it's not like brightly lit scenes or daytime ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I seem to recall a very long sequence in the dark, that HAD to be a factor in all of you criticizing the quality as darkness never photographs well, it's not like brightly lit scenes or daytime ones. I don't recall a long sequence in the dark, I think you're referring to Three For Two, one act was in the dark in that special. It was just the quality of this release, it looked very poor, I mean, clearly it had been improved, but not anything like The Lucy Show DVD which is pristine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I don't recall a long sequence in the dark, I think you're referring to Three For Two, one act was in the dark in that special. It was just the quality of this release, it looked very poor, I mean, clearly it had been improved, but not anything like The Lucy Show DVD which is pristine! Oh yeah, i think you're right, sorry, have not gotten MY copy yet but it's on order, maybe it wasn't FILMED the way The Lucy Show was, maybe it's more of a SLAVE than a MASTER? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 FINALLY GOT MY COPY TODAYThey not only got my copy that i ordered weeks ago but they got a dozen copies for the store and i watched every minute of it today. I agree with everybody, Nanette's story was great, her interview terriic, peter marshall's stank, so he was lousy on the The Lucy Show because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, i'm sure he was the only living person worried about his kids at the time. Happy Anniversary and Goodbye was one of her best specials ever, really well done, well, except for marshall's part, LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Happy Anniversary and Goodbye is really a comedy special. Comedy can be about real dramatic situations but they are presented hilariously. I love the 70s cutting edge diagloue at time. I love Lucy and Art's fight after the wedding, Lucy on the bike and water bed, Art's reaction to Lucy getting a massage from Aaron , the sentimental ending. nanette does a good job here but Peter Marshall's character isn't that great. Overall, a very good special. What Now Catherine Curtis starts out with a first act showing Lucy's best dramatic work besides Stone Pillow and The Big Street. Lucy plays the divorcee on her first night alone perfect and you see all the emotions common to women like Catherine. You see hatred for the other women, saddness for being alone, a housewife, and a saracstic side referring to the good time. You see her blaming herself and trying to deal (without their voices being heard) with one daughter's peroccupance with college and the other one telling her to go back to the father. The second act "First Affair" is almost as good as a lighter drama. Lucy and Art play scared characters that don't know if they are ready for another romance. (He's a widower and talks constantly about his beloved wife.) The skit is done with class. The last skit "First Love" has some great dramatic lines about the age difference between Catherine and Peter, but Peter sings offkey at her when talking about traveling and the show ends with these lines. Catherine: "I left a duck defrosting in the refrigator." Peter: "Send it a postcard." Truly, that diagloue showed Catherine's uneasiness but also was a little too comedic for me. I also love how the opening character show pictures of Lucy and Desi and Lucie which remains us Lucy knows Catherine. She was a divorcee with children wanting their parents to remarry each other and definetaly suffer the same emotions that Catherine did. Therefore this is a look into Lucille's heart. A classic! Note the reference to 23 years of marriage. From I Love Lucy's beginning to Here's Lucy's end was 23 years and maybe Lucy was also showing on screen her frustration of her being out of the series TV circuit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeySanJoaquin Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 ..... Art's reaction to Lucy getting a massage from Aaron , the sentimental ending. Aaron, who? Schwarzenlinger, former California governator?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Mc Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 I got my copy on special on Amazon -- I thought Lucy was sensational in both, that Ahnold in one of his first acting roles brought a lot of moronic charm to his role (reminded me very much of him in "Twins") and Art Carney was great in both shows. The look of those shows was exactly how they looked when they first ran on tv, and a lot better now on dvd. What Peter said about Lucy behind the scenes was only very slight, nothing to get too offended about. What did make me nearly spontaneously combust was Mr. Bolognia, a great actor and writer, saying that Jackie Gleason 'phoned in his performance' in "Three for Two". He may feel slighted as he and Renee wrote the entire show and he may not have given all he had (in their opinion) and the fact that his career had bottomed out at the time, months before "Smokey and the Bandit". He suggested that Lucy felt the same way -- I thoroughly disagree with both of them. What everyone forgets is that Jackie Gleason had been giving magnificent dramatic performances since movies like "The Hustler", "Soldier in the Rain", "Requiem for A Heavyweight", "Gigot" and numerous tv productions -- by the time of this 1976 tv special he'd been doing dramatic roles for years beforehand, and this was one of Lucy's first in many years -- maybe they thought he may not have brought the same amount of intensity that the rest had, but I disagree that he was 'phoning it in', so to speak, and that he was just as good as Lucy on that special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 I got my copy on special on Amazon -- I thought Lucy was sensational in both, that Ahnold in one of his first acting roles brought a lot of moronic charm to his role (reminded me very much of him in "Twins") and Art Carney was great in both shows. The look of those shows was exactly how they looked when they first ran on tv, and a lot better now on dvd. What Peter said about Lucy behind the scenes was only very slight, nothing to get too offended about. What did make me nearly spontaneously combust was Mr. Bolognia, a great actor and writer, saying that Jackie Gleason 'phoned in his performance' in "Three for Two". He may feel slighted as he and Renee wrote the entire show and he may not have given all he had (in their opinion) and the fact that his career had bottomed out at the time, months before "Smokey and the Bandit". He suggested that Lucy felt the same way -- I thoroughly disagree with both of them. What everyone forgets is that Jackie Gleason had been giving magnificent dramatic performances since movies like "The Hustler", "Soldier in the Rain", "Requiem for A Heavyweight", "Gigot" and numerous tv productions -- by the time of this 1976 tv special he'd been doing dramatic roles for years beforehand, and this was one of Lucy's first in many years -- maybe they thought he may not have brought the same amount of intensity that the rest had, but I disagree that he was 'phoning it in', so to speak, and that he was just as good as Lucy on that special. What did he mean again by "phoned in"? I agree - I love 342! I think Jackie was great in it as was Lucy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 What did he mean again by "phoned in"? I agree - I love 342! I think Jackie was great in it as was Lucy. Phoning it in means not taking the time to do it better, just doing it easily and without effort and not taking the time or care to make it the best performance one could give. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 Phoning it in means not taking the time to do it better, just doing it easily and without effort and not taking the time or care to make it the best performance one could give. I don't think that's true at all. I think his performance is fantastic and Jackie would never "phone it in" - he was a true professional and Lucy loved him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 I don't think that's true at all. I think his performance is fantastic and Jackie would never "phone it in" - he was a true professional and Lucy loved him! Hey, i never said he did, i was just SPLAINING the term to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 Hey, i never said he did, i was just SPLAINING the term to you. I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 I know You have to remember though that Gleason was the same as Dino, just hated rehearsing, and that's how SOME people make their parts or acting better. By refining and embellashing and finding out what works and what doesn't, sure worked for Lucy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark bale Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Had this DVD yesterday, and have now watched HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AND GOODBYE. My opinion - a very funny special, with Lucille and Art in fine form . I was very surprised to see dear old Florence Lake as one of Art's patients - she was one of the old dears in the last Jack Benny/Here's Lucy episodes, and fondly remembered as Florence Kennedy in the wonderful RKO Edgar Kennedy shorts. Pity Vivian couldn't have done the Nanette Fabray role. I will give this first special 8/10. Will now watch the second special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark bale Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Just finished CATHERINE CURTIS. Didn't like this at all. I prefer Lucille doing comedy, and that was absent in this special. I suppose it was a dramatic tour de force for her, a throwback to her pre 1950 Hollywood days. This i'm sorry to say will unlikely to be watched by me again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvsbway Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 We fans are so different in our likes. I love Catherine Curtis and rank it in my top 10 things Lucy ever did . I was so happy to see this on DCS finally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark bale Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 We fans are so different in our likes. I love Catherine Curtis and rank it in my top 10 things Lucy ever did . I was so happy to see this on DCS finally I can understand a lot of people liking this as it was more of a dramatic role for her. But I love her in comedy, so it was not my cup of tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 I can understand a lot of people liking this as it was more of a dramatic role for her. But I love her in comedy, so it was not my cup of tea. As much as i agree totally with Shel, i also see YOUR point as i hate watching those old B movies of hers, so dull and lifeless, most of them anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark bale Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 I think though that a lot of her comedy-only fans (like myself) may have been misled by it being a Lucille Ball Special expecting a comedy, especially with co star Art Carney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 I think though that a lot of her comedy-only fans (like myself) may have been misled by it being a Lucille Ball Special expecting a comedy, especially with co star Art Carney True, very true, but she wanted top show she had more to her than that, like all great comedians did, from Gleason and Berle to Carney, who won an Oscar for a dramatic role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 And she wasn't bad as a dramatic actress. It's nice to see she had a broad range, not just comedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 And she wasn't bad as a dramatic actress. It's nice to see she had a broad range, not just comedy. Well, that was all proven by her superb performance in The Big Street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvsbway Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 It's what was mentioned on the LIN doc when critics said it wasn't classic Lucy. To which she said basically she was an actress and did have a range to her acting , just look at her old movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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