Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Episodes: 83
Duration: approx 30 min (per episode)
‘Allo ‘Allo (DVD) – Series Review
‘Allo ‘Allo is one of those series that has aired countless times over the last few decades. If you haven’t heard of the series, you’re either quite young or you have been living under a rock for quite some time. Many people have viewed the series over the years, but more than often many viewers only saw snippets, missed some episodes or even saw them in a wrong order. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has rereleased a complete box-set of ‘Allo ‘Allo for our entertainment, probably aiming at viewers wanting a quite humorous trip down memory lane. As always, we will not only discuss the series, but also the package you’re getting when buying a complete set.
The package of the complete series looks a bit cheap, or like a very old release. You’ll have a very flimsy cardboard shell protecting the plastic case of the discs. The case looks a bit like an old-school VHS case, which isn’t necessarily bad, it just doesn’t go well with the cardboard shell. The inside of the case has 15 DVDs inside, and there are different trays with two spindles each. Sadly there aren’t enough trays for each separate disc, meaning that every spindle has two discs on it. As each tray has two spindles, that means that sometimes you’ll have to take out three discs in order to reach the bottom one. As this is the same company that recently released the very good-looking House of Card box with separate trays, we feel a bit disappointed that they approached this release in a much cheaper fashion.
For those still oblivious to the plot of ‘Allo ‘Allo, it’s all about a bar ran by René Artois (Gordon Kaye) in the middle of the Second World War. In this bar there will be various figures, including German soldiers, members of the resistance, British airmen and even the Gestapo. You’ll see how René gets involved with the resistance, while doing odd jobs for the Germans, while hiding British soldiers in his attic. Not only will you see how he handles all this in the middle of the war, but also his escapades with different women, making sure his wife knows nothing. While the overall topic is very serious, things are brought in a comical way that is often associated with BBC series.
While many of the episodes could be seen loosely, there is a bigger plot in the series, and many of the episodes actually follow the events of the previous episode(s). On the one hand the flow is ideal for those watching separate episodes to have their daily dose of humor served to them, while those seeking a bigger story will also be saturated. Even though some parts of the series feel dated, the overall package is still worth watching and still feels very witty to this day. Like many BBC series, ‘Allo ‘Allo has a specific type of humor which is not for everyone.
Acting performances are quite typical for an older BBC series, as there is a lot of overacting, slapstick humor and stereotypical behavior to be found. While in other series there are often characters that deserve their time in the spotlight, all the cast members in ‘Allo ‘Allo do a formidable job in presenting themselves and the character(s) they are supposed to be playing. It’s clear that some cast members have more experience than others, but still, it all comes together as a great bigger picture.
The full box-set of ‘Allo ‘Allo doesn’t come with any special features on the discs themselves. You’ll have to make do with a small physical episode guide that gives you a short summary of what you can find on each disc and a bit of information of what each episode is about. It would have been nice to have some actual bonus content, but we imagine it’s hard for a series this old to have bonus features. Nonetheless, we feel like something is missing.
Conclusion
There is no denying that ‘Allo ‘Allo is a very amusing series to watch, even though some of the remarks in the series are deemed offensive nowadays, we just expected a bit more of the package of the rerelease. For a reasonably steep price you’ll get a box with 15 DVDs, with all the episodes and a small guide with a summary, which feels a bit lacking in comparison with other box-sets out there. Nonetheless, if you’re looking to finally binge-watch the series, then this box might be interesting.
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