Review(s): DVD Bob Hope - The Vietnam Years (1964-1972)
John Duffner
I rated The Vietnam Years 1 Star due to the problem of a defective disk 1. I was unable to view Years 1965 and 1966. T rate the 1964 and the other years 5 stars. I ordered the Bob Hope - The Vietnam Years (1964-1972 on two different occasions and returned them to Amazon.com. I am still waiting for a non defective replacement. I recommend that Amazon.com customers consider this before making a order for this set.
A Salute to the Troops
This DVD set is amazing. Any Vietnam Vet - or family member of one, will want to have this time-capsule DVD. It's 9 hours long on 3 DVD's, and includes Mr. Hope's yearly visits to entertain the troops from 1964 - 1972. These shows are historic in their presentation, as Bob Hope narrates what's going on. It's really more like a documentary, showing Bob and his celebrity friends traveling to their destinations, their on-stage antics performing and bantering with the troops and more. These shows are also entertaining in a very retro-way, with the likes of Racquel Welch, Joey Heatherton, Connie Stevens and other "groovy chicks" from the 60's and early 70's. However, the most impactful element is how touching and emotional so much of this material is. It's quite obvious how much these visits meant to the troops...you can see it on their faces. Plus, Bob visits many of those wounded and hospitalized throughout these 9 programs. This is quite a piece of history in a box. Buy it for yourself or for someone it will be very meaningful to.
a great gift for anyone who saw one of these shows
I caught a glimpse of Bob Hope's 1967 TV show on a set in the transient terminal at Cam Rahn Bay. I thought that I was in one of the audience close up shots and I've wondered since then if indeed it was me. A small mystery to carry through life. So, I bought this DVD and--question answered last night--it wasn't me.
But it was a treat to see the 1967 show and especially Raquel Welch again. She was gorgeous (and still is).
A lot of the humor was corny, and seems even more so now. But I remember sitting down by myself after catching the show in person at the air base in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, and just feeling good. That feeling didn't return watching the show again, but the memory of it did and with it a feeling of gratitude to Hope and everyone who traveled with him.
There are shows in this set from Korea, Germany and other places far from southeast Asia. But none of the people in any of the audiences shows signs of regarding themselves as pitiful victims, which might surprise people who only know about the war or service to country from the media and what they are told in school. Particularly noteworthy is what is revealed by the audience wideshots in Vietnam: the number of young black Americans in Vietnam was not disproportionate, including in combat outfits like the First Infantry Division.
Related DVD's Bob Hope - The Vietnam Years (1964-1972)
The item was received in a timely fashion and was in good condition, as advertised. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Sid Smith (III) DVD Release Date: Released the 26 October 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $12.99 Your Price: $11.99YOU SAVE $1!
Buy it
The Ultimate Bob Hope Collection features over six hours of highlights from over a half-century of television specials by a true legend in American entertainment. In his staggering 50 years on NBC, Bob Hope created such a formidable mass of comic clips, bloopers, and salutes to troops, that a mere three-DVD set can barely contain them. Still, the collection brings together, for the first time on DVD, timeless sketches with such notable wags as Dean Martin, Phyllis Diller, Johnny Carson, and Jack Benny, and celebrates countless moments of hilarity with some of the biggest stars of the century, including John Wayne, Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra. While this DVD set is, for the most part, a compilation of previous collections that have aired on NBC over the years, it... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Bob Hope DVD Release Date: Released the 13 May 2003 Special Order
List Price: $47.98 Your Price: $43.18YOU SAVE $4.8!
Buy it
So many years later, this is still funny. I have long been a fan of the Jack Benny Program on old time radio, but had never seen the television shows. I was surprised though, how good the first episode looked and sounded. Frankly I expected worse.
While the New Year's show is only so-so, the Christmas episode is superb. It's a testament to both how well developed his character miserly was and to the writing that made him so. It's easy to see why he was quietly one of the giants of comedy. He works the comedic pause better than anyone.
While the DVD itself offers pretty much nothing more than the two episodes, I recommend it based on the relatively cheap price and the merits of the Christmas show alone. I suspect that this will become regular holiday viewing for... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jack Benny DVD Release Date: Released the 09 November 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $7.98 Your Price: $7.98YOU SAVE $0!
Buy it
In this era of television warts-and-all biographies, true Hollywood stories, and Punk'd, one fears that This Is Your Life is about due for an unfortunate extreme makeover. But as this wonderful three-disc set demonstrates, it would be sacrilege to tamper with the testimonial tone of this venerable series. This 18-show compilation spans the years 1953 (Roy Rogers) to 1987 (Betty White). Here are represented a diverse gallery of 20th-century icons--some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of. The stellar roster includes show business legends (Milton Berle, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Dick Clark), World War II heroes (Rear Admiral Samuel G. Fuqua), Olympic champions (Jesse Owens), and music greats (Johnny Cash, Bobby Darin, Richard and Karen... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $49.99 Your Price: $44.99YOU SAVE $5!
Buy it
