Rating: - Disappointing
If this film footage had the same music as the original album, it would be worth $100, but it doesn't even come close. I bought the album, on its first release when it came out. The Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton collaboration is worth more then the rest of the whole show, if it were the same as on the LP. But it's not, I know, somewhere out there, someone has this footage on film. If they had any respect for great filmed music, they would re-release it, the entire show and give the proceeds to Amnesty International. It would definitely make a bundle, including some from me. And, by the way, the copies of this VHS I have are the MGM/UA originals and they only have 1 out of the 3 songs that Beck and Clapton played together.
Rating: - Something Completely Different from the Original
This edited version of the original (out-of-print) Secret Policeman's Other Ball is disappointing. Some of the choicest bits (including Pete Townshend's incredible acoustic of "Pinball Wizard") have been omitted.
There are still some good sketches ("Cha-cha-cha")and music (Sting, Phil Collins, Jeff Beck, Clapton), but overall it was a very disappointing experience. If you want to support Amnesty International, send them a check. If you want to see The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, find a rental or buy a used copy of the original.
Rating: - Comedy and music all in a good cause.
The first, unaccountably legendary 'Secret Policeman's Ball' was in effect a showcase for the comic Old Guard - Monty Python, Peter Cook, Billy Connolly etc. - with only Rowan Atkinson's participation hinting at the new directions British comedy would take. This sequel is much more representative of the early 1980s, adding to the cast the likes of Victoria Wood, Jasper Carrott, Dame Edna Everage and the 'Not the Nine O'Clock News' team. The refusal of these performers to taint the dignity of a charity fundraiser (for Amnesty International) with humour or imagination results in another hour and a half of stale and tedious routines (Atkinson actually reprises the classical music mime from the first film). What's worse, the 'comedy' is far more frequently interrupted by an aging gaggle of musical hypocrites, most notably Phil Collins, a famous fundraiser for the ruling Tory Party, who, at the time of this concert, ... Read More
Rating: - 2 DIFFERENT VIDEOS
O.K., here's the deal. The video for sale here is in fact the Secret Policeman's Other Ball (SPOB) by Rhino (1998, 88 minutes). The one everyone seems to be looking for is the SPOB by MGM/UA (1982, 100 minutes). The MGM/UA version contains all of the Rhino SPOB but is preceded by 12 minutes of The Secret Policeman's Ball (SPB). The entire SPB is also available from Rhino (1998, 90 minutes) here on Amazon. And yes, it (SPB) does contain the Cheese Shop and Schoolmaster skits.
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- Something Completely Different from the Original
- Comedy and music all in a good cause.
