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Steptoe & Son - Series Five [1970] [DVD]
	Artists: Wilfrid Brambell, Harry H. Corbett, Ed Harris, Casey Siemaszko, Julianne Nicholson Studio: 2 Entertain Video List Price: ~~£12.99~~ Buy New: £3.40 as of 10/9/2010 09:33 EDT details You Save: £9.59 (74%) New (23) Used (5) from £3.40 Seller: Sounds&Technology Rating: 11 reviews Format: PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Universal, suitable for all Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 54 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5034217416106 Release Date: January 5, 2009 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 1 2 3 Next » Steptoe & Son Season Five February 26, 2010 J. Goodwin Absolutely fantastic ! I know they should have been in colour originally - if it wasnt for Galton and Simpson recording many of the episodes themselves we would have had nothing to watch ! The writing is on top form throughout this season and for the time it was made quite daring - particuarly when viewing episodes like 'Any Old Iron' and 'Steptoe and Son and Son'. They dont make 'em like this any more - not sure they would be allowed !!! They may not be the best picture quality in the world - but the razor wit and gritty perfomances from Wilfred and Harry H shine through !!! This Put Steptoe And Son Back As The Nation's Best Loved Comedy March 23, 2007 Scott Fraser (Sheffield, England) 8 out of 9 found this review helpful I must say that I agree most strongly with the recent reviews of the quality of the episodes and have gone into detail about this in my review of season six. That review was titled "We Must Be Thankful That We've Got Them" and it's as simple as that. It boils down to the straight fact that some people are never going to be happy with the quality of the episodes while others like myself are just thankful that they are there and blow the quality. Now that is out of the way onto the episodes themselves, seasons five and six have always been the most fascinating Steptoe and Son serials for me due to the fact that they were missing for years, I have had copies of all the sixties and colour episodes for years but this was a huge gap in my collection until their rediscovery and transmission on BBC2. Comparing the transmission tapes that I made to this DVD release it is apparent that some restoration work has taken place on the episodes as they do seem clearer and sharper. A DEATH IN THE FAMILY was the first episode to be transmitted since the original run ended in 1965 and involves the demise of the horse, Hurcules this is a very funny but also one of the more moving episodes that had been shown to that point , there is real grief displayed by the characters and is more emotive than usual. One thing is for sure, it is as if Wilfrid Brambel and Harry H Corbett had never been away, they slip back into their old roles as brilliantly as ever. A WINTER'S TALE is the annual episode about Harold wanting to go abroad for his holiday and the old man trying to stop him, it is very good but a little predictable as we have seen this type of storyline before. ANY OLD IRON? is the absolutely corking episode of Harold being introduced to an antique dealer, Timothy who turns out to be gay. This was quite radical for the time and must have been particularly dificult for Wilfrid Brambel to act as though he despised gay people when in actual fact he himself was gay in a time when such things were considered taboo. STEPTOE ANS SON - AND SON sees a heavily pregnant young woman looking for Harold, whom she then claims fathered her child. Harold's behaviour borders on pathetic when he sees this as an opportunity to escape from his father even when he learns that things are not quite as they seem, another great episode. THE COLOUR PROBLEM is an attempt by the old man to con Harold into buying him a colour television, the only problem Harold wants to buy a car, cue one of the old man's must cunning plans ever. The best episode on the disc. In the episode T.B OR NOT T.B Harold decides to blame his father for their poor health and forces them both to go for a check up, the results come back a few days later with information that will shake Harold to the core and for once he decides to take advantage of it and stay off work and in bed, much to the old man's disgust, but things don't work out as he hopes. The final episode on the disc MEN OF PROPERTY sees Harold learn that the freehold of their house is about to run out and he cons the local bank manager for a loan, at the the cost of a massively expensive meal the bank manager agrees but Albert has othe plans for the money. This season re-established Steptoe and Son as the nation's best loved comedy and it is for that reason that we should forget about the various quilty of the episodes and just enjoy it for what this and the rest of Steptoe and Son is, sheer brilliance. Steptoe and son January 28, 2007 P. Wharton (County Durham) 2 out of 5 found this review helpful So what if the picture quality isn't perfect, can any of you actually remember what the original picture quality was like, instead of whingeing about picture quality why not review the actual programme which is one of the greatest comedy series this country has ever produced, very funny with just enough pathos not to be mawkish and some superb acting from Harry H Corbett. Given the BBC's record for wiping stuff from the 60s be grateful that these episodes (and all the others) exist in any form. The episodes are what's important... January 17, 2007 Plonka 3 out of 4 found this review helpful Ideally, the original broadcast copies of these episodes (created when the series returned in colour in 1970) would have been retained. They weren't... However, (as most people may know) early open reel format domestic recordings were recovered from the basement of one of the writers, so we do at least have something visual by which to appreciate these classic episode. The picture quality of course is generally poor asother people have said, but considerable effort was put into transferring them for the early 90s repeats. Furthermore, if you compare these DVDs with copies of those transmissions you will find that audio & video quality HAS been slightly improved, but there are limits. So don't expect HD and 5.1 surround sound, but just class writing, performances and laughs. Picture Quality of "Archive Material" January 11, 2007 M. Hevingham (BIRMINGHAM, WEST MIDLANDS United Kingdom) 3 out of 4 found this review helpful Many of the reveiwers of this and related Steptoe titles have spoken about how awful the picture and sound quality are compared to releases of other shows such as Doctor Who and Hancock. I think it should be pointed out that all the Black and White "Who's" and "Hanckocks" are sourced from 16mm or 35mm telerecordings that have a much greater depth of picture than the Steptoe recordings. These episodes are recovered from their only (known) existing tapes - those being a domestic recorder tape that was made in the early 70s. These tapes in NO WAY reflect how the episodes WOULD have looked on transmission. If you want to know how they WOULD have looked,watch a colour episode or if you were watching in BW in 1970, turn off the colour on one of the other episodes that exist in its original format. These recordings are similar to if you recorded a VHS on long play and then in 35 years time someone with access to a much better Hi Def system compared the quality of the 2042 recording with the 35 year old tape from today. Today's recording would be rubbish! Therefore just live with the fact that at least we can watch these remarkable shows once more Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 1 2 3 Next »

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Steptoe & Son - Series Five [1970] [DVD]