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  • Widescreen 1.66:1
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
  Subtitles
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  Extras
    Carry on Regardless
    Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 89 mins . G . PAL

      Feature
    Contract

    In 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a G-rated international success, bringing reasonably high-class comedy to the populous. It just goes to show that comedy can be funny without receiving the restrictive M and MA tags. Even some gags in this flick make you wonder why it didn’t get an M rating. But I guess it’s all in the mind of the beholder, hmm, so that’s my issue. Brush away the filth, brush away the mind... It's not explicitly told, more implied, but still sexy nonetheless.

    The Carry On... series were made back in the “olden days”, well before this young reviewer was a twinkle in his father’s eye. Still, we all get older, and this film’s over 40 years now, while this reviewer is about to turn the scary 20. Wow, isn’t it fun to poke the stick at older people? OK, claws away, the lack of alcohol during this movie has taken it’s toll and it’s not pretty, hence the unnecessary bitchiness. But you try watching a Carry On... film sober! As Michele from Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion perfectly put it, it’s “like really, really old”. OK, enough age jokes, everyone gets old – 20 is just around the corner – arrrrggh!

    So what have we got here? A rather camp multi-linguist, a gobbledygook-spouting landlord, a drunk wine taster, a hospital queue jumper, a demolition squad, a chimp-walking man, a home breaker, a lanky boxer, a lingerie model and a kooky home demonstration expo, all from a twisted odd-job agency called Helping Hands Ltd. So it’s a bit filthy, a bit sexy and a bit funny - but also a bit boring. Some moments zip through with the odd good laugh, however others just float around aimlessly without a laugh in sight. Still, it’s out on DVD now, and is one for the collectors. If you’re not a fan and are bored one rainy afternoon it could pass the day away, but isn’t necessarily a must-see.

      Video
      Audio
      Extras
    Contract

    The video is presented in a widescreen aspect of 1.66:1, which sadly (and strangely) isn’t anamorphically enhanced. Now just wait, before you bite this reviewer’s head off for lies, as 1.66:1 can’t be naturally anamorphically enhanced, look at the recent stint of Disney films - Lilo and Stitch comes to mind, which has a widescreen aspect of 1.66:1, and is anamorphically enhanced, and features some black bars at the side of the image, often not seen on a normal 1.33:1 television. But anyway, the point of this rambling is that wouldn’t it have been an idea to make this transfer like that? Anamorphically enhanced while still preserving (sort of) the widescreen aspect? Oh well, it’s their DVD “suicide”. I mean “transfer”. Anyway, colours are, well, um, black and white, with solid blacks and Napisan whites. Yet, at a few odd moments, the Napisan rules the screen and gives a fairly glary and bright picture. However, the range of tones between these two extremes is a little disappointing, with murky definitions. Still, saying this, it’s not as bad as some more recent releases. Film artefacts are surprisingly good, with the odd fleck and scratch skimming through. For a film of a good 40 years of age, this transfer looks mighty fine. Hey it’s black and white, over 40 years old, relatively clean – all in all it’s pretty neat, just lacking in some definition.

    The solo Dolby Digital 2.0 English track is adequate, but lacking slightly towards the end. There is no channel separation, as it was mastered from a mono source. Dialogue is clear and audible throughout, with no 40-year-old audio nasties hanging around such as the popping often heard in older soundtracks. However, the fidelity of some effects and music is atrocious, with a real hollow feel, as if the soundtrack has been eaten away. Apart from this there are no complaints, well except the lack of a 5.1 track, but it’s a Carry On... film of 40+ years so who really cares?

    After a fantastic surround-encoded Studio Canal logo we have a simple static 1.33:1 menu with no audio, but clear navigation. And this would be it in the way of extra features.

    Fans of the series won’t need to be told to grab this disc. If you’re hard up for some entertainment, it’s worth a watch and gives some life and rudeness to the G rating. Ahh, how devilish it can be! The quality of the video and audio is quite good, but nothing really groundbreaking, and there are absolutely no features at all. So all in all we have a neat package with a few good laughs, yet also some check-your-watch moments. But it’s up to you fans. Oh wait, you’re not there? Ah you’re already in the bargain bins...


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  •   And I quote...
    "See how naughty a G rated movie can be."
    - Martin Friedel
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Philips DVD 736K
    • TV:
          TEAC EU68-ST
    • Receiver:
          Sony HT-SL5
    • Speakers:
          Sony SS-MSP2
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony SS-CNP2
    • Surrounds:
          Sony SS-MSP2
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony SA-WMSP3
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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