Christopher Guest Collection (A Mighty Wind / Best in Show / Waiting for Guffman)

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A Mighty Wind
There's A Mighty Wind a-blowin', along with the gales of laughter you'll get from Christopher Guest's third exercise in brilliant "mockumentary." After tackling small-town theatricals in Waiting for Guffman and obsessive dog-show contestants in Best in Show, Guest and his reliable stable of repertory players (including Fred Willard, Parker Posey, and Bob Balaban) apply their improvisational genius to a latter-day reunion of fictional '60s-era folk singers, a comedic goldmine that Guest first explored 30 years earlier on The National Lampoon Radio Hour. Collaborating with costar and cowriter Eugene Levy (who gives the film's funniest performance), Guest is so delicate in his satirical approach that the laughs aren't always obvious, and the subtlety can be as wistful (as in Catherine O'Hara's performance as Levy's auto-harpist partner) as it is hilarious. Some may wish for more blatant comedy, but that would compromise the genuine affection that Guest & Co. have for the music they're spoofing. --Jeff Shannon

Best in Show
Christopher Guest, the man behind Waiting for Guffman, turns his comic eye on another little world that takes itself a bit too seriously: the world of competitive dog shows. Best in Show follows a clutch of dog owners as they prepare and preen their dogs to win a national competition. They include the yuppie pair (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock) who fear they've traumatized their Weimaraner by having sex in front of him; a suburban husband and wife (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara) with a terrier and a long history of previous lovers on the wife's part; the Southern owner of a bloodhound (Guest himself) with aspirations as a ventriloquist; and many more. Following the same "mockumentary" format of Spinal Tap and Guffman, Best in Show takes in some of the dog show officials, the manager of a nearby hotel that allows dogs to stay there, and the commentators of the competition (a particularly knockout comic turn by Fred Willard as an oafish announcer). The movie manages to paint an affectionate portrait of its quirky characters without ever losing sight of the ridiculousness of their obsessive world. Almost all of the scenes were created through improvisation. While lacking the overall focus of a written script, Best in Show captures hilarious and absurd aspects of human behavior that could never be written down. The movie's success is a testament to both the talent of the actors and Guest's discerning eye. --Bret Fetzer

Waiting for Guffman
One of the funniest films in many a moon was hiding at art house theaters in 1998. Former Saturday Night Live comedian and Spinal Tap member Christopher Guest creates the ultimate parody of small-town dramatics, Waiting for Guffman. Corky St. Claire (Guest), an overwhelming drama director hiding out in Blaine, Missouri, thinks he has found the vehicle to put him back on Broadway: the city's 150th anniversary play, Red, White, and Blaine. As rehearsals start, we learn of the town's history ("the stool capital of the world") including a brush with a UFO. The mockumentary follows the various townsfolk wishing for stardom: Parker Posey as a Dairy Queen clerk, Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard as stage-struck travel agents, Matthew Keeslar as the town's bad boy, and Eugene Levy (who cowrote the film with Guest) as a dentist who dreams of glory on the stage. The film is a hoot from beginning to end, and be sure to watch the closing credits. Fans of Guest's deft dry humor should not miss his other parody of the entertainment world, The Big Picture (Kevin Bacon as a student filmmaker who goes to Hollywood). --Doug Thomas

Description

A MIGHTY WIND: Documentary-style Comedy. Christopher Guest follows up his acclaimed ensemble comedies Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman with a docu-comedy about three folk groups from the 60s who reunite for a memorial concert in New York City following the death of a legendary folk manager. BEST IN SHOW: The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds of eager contestants from across America prepare to take part in what is undoubtedly one of the greatest events of their lives -- the Mayflower Dog Show. WAITING FOR GUFFMAN: A town of Blaine, Missouri is preparing for celebrations of its 150th anniversary. Corky St.Clair, an off-off-off-off-off-Broadway director is putting together an amateur theater show about the town's history, starring a local dentist, a couple of travel agents, a Dairy Queen waitress, and a car repairman. He invites a Broadway theater critic Mr. Guffman to see the opening night of the show

Customer Reviews:

You either love it or hate it----and I love it.......2007-01-03

I admit to an unexplained fondness for clever parody and satire. These three films by Christopher Guest fall right into my slot. Each highlights a different form of unwarranted self-importance, but rarely crosses the line of easy insults or demeaning caricature. The realism is ----well, very real (although it doesn't go to 11 as in an earlier semi-related film).

All the characters are clearly drawn from real life. Although employing many of the same actors in diverse roles, the films allow each individual improv performer to shine a unique light that fully illuminates the target subjects. My two 20-ish daugthers and I often quote from these films. The biting wit is timeless. Outstanding talent, craftsmanship, and creativity forms the heart of all these stories. Very, very funny stuff.

i've talked about brittish comedy at its best but now here's american comedy at its best.......2006-08-18

great and hillarious!!! a mighty wind, best in show, waiting for guffman...i have watched theses movies countless times and it still shockes me how funny and side splitting these perfectly hillarious movies are!!!

a must get for everyone out there!!!

great films, poor packaging.......2005-02-04

The DVDs are great. They have lots of great extras, including commentary on additional scenes, insightful commentary in general, cast bios, etc. I was disappointed in the packaging -- flimsy cardboard and are smaller than more traditional packages.

I received these as a gift, and I think that as a gift, they are great.

I have watched these films over and over again and enjoy them each time. The acting is incredible and it amazes me that it's improvised -- the actors make it look so easy, which means it must be difficult! In A Mighty Wind, all the actors sing and play their own instruments, with some learning just for this film. Great dedication to their artform.

Three great movies, but what's so special about the price?.......2004-01-12

I'm tempted to dock one star mainly because you'd actually pay LESS buying them separately than in this "special" package. ($14.99 each for Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, $23.76 for Mighty Wind = $53.74). The three-fer costs over $55. What gives? Well, I suppose you save something on shipping.

Regardless, these three films are easily worth the money at either price.

Fantastic Movies, Terrible Presentation.......2004-01-09

Boo, Warner Brothers!!!

You've taken three amazing movies and packaged them terribly.

I was extremely excited to have received this "box set" for Christmas, until I unwrapped it. It's three seperate loose DVDs with no box to tie them all together. And to add insult to injury, all of the DVDs are encased in the old-school type packaging with the cheap cardboard cover and black "snap" latch.

Very disappointing. Warner Brothers SUCKS! They really need to work on how they showcase their work on DVD in the future. They could take a real hint from New Line which always releases their best films with pride and flair.

Customer Reviews:

Best of Guest!!.......2006-08-18

Of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, "Best in Show" is definitely the best. The characters and story gel in a perfect comic concoction. "Best in Show" is very different than "Waiting for Guffman" (the first film in the Guest trilogy), although it brings back many of the same actors. While Guffman has a cruel streak in it, "Best in Show" is a little kinder to the characters it skewers -- without losing the laughs.

The third film in the trilogy (A Mighty Wind) departs from the formula quite a bit. More of a bittersweet drama, "Wind" is just not that funny.

If you are Jonesing for a mockumentary fix, search for "G-Sale" -- a quirky comedy very much in the Christopher Guest vein. It got a lot of great reviews and was even labeled "the movie Christopher Guest should have made instead of A Mighty Wind."

Mockumentary classics.......2005-01-18

The Christopher Guest mockumentaries are, with half-sibling production "This is Spinal Tap," some of the most unique and hilarious comedies out there. "Waiting for Guffman" and "Mighty Wind" are unalloyed excellence, while "Best in Show" limps in places. But all three are entertaining and enjoyable.

"Waiting for Guffman" introduces us to the quirky but proud town of Blaine Missouri, the Stool Capital of the world and a pre-Roswell UFO landing site. Disillusioned writer Corky St. Claire sees the perfect vehicle to get back to Broadway: The town's anniversary celebration, which will now host a musical called "Red White and Blaine." Among the actors: A dentist who dreams of stardom, a husband-and-wife team, and a Dairy Queen clerk. The stakes are upped when Corky is told that they might end up on Broadway, if Mr. Guffman likes the performance...

Who is "Best in Show"? Hard to say. At a major dog show things start going wrong. Among the contestants: A yuppie couple who think they scarred their dog with their Kama Sutra sex, a rather dull ventriloquist hick with a bloodhound, a bored bubblebrain trophy wife with a poodle, a gay couple, and a guy with two left feet (literally) who is haunted by his wife's colorful past. As they arrive at a hotel for the competition, human neuroses threaten to derail the dogs...

"A Mighty Wind" is blowing through the folk music world. Guest gets himself back on track with this film. The great folk music icon Irving Steinbloom has just passed away, and his son Jonathan wants to pay tribute to his daddy with a special memorial concert. To do that, he calls together various quirky groups (and ex-groups) for one last concert: aging ex-lovers Mitch and Mickey, odd Folksmen, and the color-coordinated "New Main Street Singers." Let the show begin...

"Waiting" is absolutely hysterical, brimming over with quirky jokes and likable weird characters. "Mighty Wind," while not as good as "Guffman," is nevertheless quite engaging and full of giggle moments. Both are affectionate even as they poke fun at their subjects (small towns/musicals and folk music), like the pal who is a goofball even though you like him for his oddities. "Best," however, stumbles a bit. The stereotypes go over the top at times, and jokes become a little repetitive (like the ex-boyfriend-in-every-town joke). It's still amusing, just not up to Guest's usual standards.

Fans of those kooky rockers in "Spinal Tap" will eat up the Christopher Guest collection. Funny, weird, occasionally a little deranged, these three mockumentaries are definitely keepers.

Average customer rating:

"Mighty," though not quite "Best"

A Mighty Wind / Best in Show
Starring: Bob Balaban , Michael Baser , Marty Belafsky , Paul Dooley , and Tyler Forsberg
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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This Is Spinal Tap (Special Edition)

ASIN: B0001WTX1O
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Customer Reviews:

"Mighty," though not quite "Best".......2004-06-08

Actor/director Christopher Guest first stole moviegoers' hearts as the dumb-as-a-brick rocker Nigel in "This is Spinal Tap." Since then, he's been recapturing their hearts with his kooky, hysterical mockumentaries, two of which are folk-music spoof "A Mighty Wind" and dog-show mockery "Best in Show."

"Best in Show" is the title all these dogs are striving for. Or, to be more specific, their owners are striving for it. One of the biggest dog shows is turned inside out with the arrival of a bisexual socialite and her twitchy trainer/girlfriend, a ventriloquist hillbilly, a pair of deranged yuppies, a gay pair dripping with joie de vivre, and a guy with two left feet. Literally. And the show can only promise to provide more mayhem.

"A Mighty Wind" is blowing when folk-music mogul Irving Steinbloom dies. As a homage to dear ol' dad, his son arranges for the biggest former folk groups to return: ex-lovers Mitch and Mickey, the Folksmen, and perky folk-group New Main Street Singers (who now include ex-porn stars and color-obsessed witches). Things aren't quite as they used to be -- they're older and a bit crazier -- but things get along with a few minor problems...

"Best In Show" and "Mighty Wind" are unique spoofs in a world of gross-out comedies. They keep a straight face, while revealing stuff like WINC (witches who worship cosmic color), cross-dressing folk singers, and yuppies who met and fell in love at two Starbucks' from across the street. One of the funniest moments in both movies is when an air-headed socialite says solemnly about her geriatric husband, "We could not talk or talk forever... and still find things to not talk about."

However, "Best" isn't quite up to the level of "Wind," or of Guest's other forays into mockumentary territory. The humor is more blatant and repetitive, and the characters are less quirky than outright weird. It's funny, but not up to Guest's usual standards. However, Guest has clearly regained his footing in "Wind," which approaches the affectionate nudge-winking of his "Waiting for Guffman." The characters are more likable and yet quirky, and they don't fall into caricatures like "flamboyant gay couple," "idiot trophy wife" or "backwater hick."

Description

Charlie Rose interviews Christopher Guest, director, writer and star of the film The Mighty Wind, about a disbanded folk music group's reunion for a benefit concert.Also, the mountain climber Ed Viesturs discusses his sport, his quest to summit the world's 14 tallest peaks, and his new book, Ed Viesturs on the 8,000 Meter Giants: Himalayan Quest.

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