World Famous Comics: Mr. Bean - The Whole Bean (Complete Set)
Mr. Bean - The Whole Bean (Complete Set)
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Matilda Ziegler, Robin Driscoll, Matthew Ashforde, Roger Sloman Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Binding: DVD Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC Label: PolyGram Video Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product. Number of Items: 3 Region Code: 1 Release Date: April 29, 2003 Running Time: 375 minutes Theatrical Release Date: September 22, 1994
Description: He captured the hearts of millions of viewers worldwide. His movie grossed nearly a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide. He's been called the most embarrassing man on the planet. Now the entire Mr. Bean series, the British comic phenomenon created by Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, Four Weddings and a Funeral), is finally available in one complete package.
Amazon.com essential video: Bean, Bean, maniacal nut / The more you watch, you bust a gut! First unleashed in 1989, this sketch series was embraced by PBS viewers in the United States. In the tradition of the great silent clowns, Rowan Atkinson created a character with universal and multi-generational appeal (the sketches have little dialogue and are driven by often ingenious physical comedy). Like Bart Simpson, the resourceful, mischievous, and sometimes malevolent Bean is the inner child incarnate who acts on the impulses polite society normally represses. Atkinson has described Bean as "a 9-year-old boy, with an apparent lack of worldly experience, but an ingenuity that is quite clever in dealing with problems presented to him." These problems include not knowing a single answer on an exam, tactfully disposing of a revolting restaurant meal, changing into his swimsuit at the beach without first removing his pants, and, most hilariously, getting a turkey stuck on his head (a classic bit reprised in the ill-conceived 1997 feature film).
Atkinson has enjoyed some mainstream success stateside. He was the nervous minister ("...your awfully wedded wife") in Four Weddings and a Funeral, and the voice of Zazu in The Lion King. But he mainly enjoys cult status among British comedy aficionados as a founding member of Not the Nine O'Clock News and the star of the Black Adder series. Bean is his crowning creation. In addition to all 14 episodes, this generous boxed set contains previously unaired sketches, Comic Relief appearances, and a segment about Bean's creation, which serves as a nifty introduction for the uninitiated. It also contains a preview for the new Mr. Bean animated series. This seems redundant. As this collection hilariously demonstrates, Bean is already animated enough. --Donald Liebenson
All the Bean you Need This collection has it all. Some have complained that tiny parts have been cut out. While this may be true, the episodes are still hilarious and the funniest parts are still intact. Trust me, I've been a huge fan of Mr. Bean since seeing the original episodes air in the 90s. You won't be disappointed, and you'll find yourself watching these over and over again whenever you need to laugh.
The casual fan will like having all 14 episodes, but the great part about this set is a 40-minute documentary about the making of Mr. Bean and some never-before-seen-on-TV sketches. One is at a bus stop and the other is at a library. Use your imagination, and you'll realize that adding Bean to these common destinations will lead to another dilemma!
Mr. Bean - The Whole Bean (Complete Set) Classic Mr. Bean. Short episodes are extremely funny. My six year old child laughed until she ran out of breath!
All Hail Atkinson!!! To those who are about to die, of laughter, I salute you! I first encountered Mr. Bean on BBC television in the early 90's while stationed overseas with the military. Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) is probably one of this last century's greatest comedians. American audiences have been exposed to him through PBS and through the introduction of two movies in theater's and on DVD. I purchased this box set when it was first released, joyously, and have been intending for years to write a review for my fellow Amazon shoppers.
If you enjoy revisiting Mel Brooks movies, if you enjoy the best sight gags, physical comedy, and intelligent humor delivered via the medium of a buffoon, then you cannot go wrong with this set. You will watch it uninterrupted, one episode after another straight through and will not go 60 seconds at a time without howling out loud. Mr. Bean does not speak much and when he does, it is mostly unintelligible mumbles. His comedy is universal, relying on the visual but also relying on you to think of all the ramifications, hence one wonders at the true nature of just what exactly IS Mister Bean? Mr. Bean points out not only how much we take for granted in human behavior and morality, but he points out the absurdities in our day to day life. We rush through our lifestyles without a second thought as to WHY we do certain things and behave in certain ways, unquestioning even the smallest details, but Mr. Bean accomplishes the very same moments with baby steps, step by step instructions, painfully accomplishing the most minute details without regard to and oblivious to the effects upon those around him, or to the resulting pain to himself. Mr Bean is unquestionably devoid of any common sense or ideas of right and wrong, he is in a sense, a child without adult guidance. He is as nonsensical and silly as Benny Hill (though without Benny's crude and crass humor) or the any Mel Brooks characters. He brings Buggs Bunny and Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin to life in modern times.
"Mr. Bean"s title sequence from the second episode on, depicts Mr. Bean either falling from the sky in a beam of light, or more than likely being thrown to earth literally. The meaning of this has been argued as Mr. Bean being an alien or representing the return of an abductee who's brain is now addled, or to his being an angel either sent to Earth or literally being thrown out of heaven (too bad to occupy the heavenly spheres but too good to be damned to hell). The producers of the show claim that it is intended to show his status as an ordinary man cast into the spotlight. However you take the meaning, Mr. Bean is anything other than ordinary!
Rowan Atkinson is both the creator and the deliverer and the personage of Mr. Bean. He created him while still in college, brought him to life in a British comedy series, and has brought him to the big screen, all without a misstep. Atkinson can act in other comedy styles, but his creation, Bean, is the embodiment of mindless or thoughtful (whatever your comedic disposition) pure talented howlingly funny comedy. I dare you to watch this entire set and not be satisfied it was money well spent. I have watched this entire set at least twice a year since it came out. It makes me laugh at the same jokes in the same places each and every time, even after I know them by heart! Atkinson is a genius. How many people start laughing at a joke they know is coming before it's even begun in a movie they know well, but already anticipate the punch! Mr. Bean changes from his street clothes and underwear into his bathing shorts at a public beach, all without ever getting naked. In a public park, Mr. Bean makes a fresh sandwich from raw unassembled and unwashed ingredients with a pair of scissors, a credit card, a drinking fountain, and a sock. Mr. Bean's new television only works when he holds the antenna in a part of the room where he cannot see the screen. How does Bean finally get to watch it without moving the tv itself? Mr. Bean's car is a Mini. He is late for a dentist appointment having overslept, so he dresses, washes, and brushes his teeth while driving. You'll see. Mr. Bean can't fall asleep, so he counts sheep using a calculator. It's funnier than it sounds! They don't sound all that funny, but Rowan's magic is to make the ordinary bizarre, make the commonplace hysterical, and makes the out-of-the-ordinary outrageously comical.
Mr. Bean is obviously smart enough to take a trigonometry examination but when opens up his envelope he finds a calculus exam and panics. He attempts to cheat off his neighbor until, with only a few minutes to go, he discovers that there is a second sheet in the envelope, the trig exam! The lead-in to this fiasco, his preparation to take the exam, the careful extraction of each and every spare pen in his suit, just to annoy the student next to him, would be dumb humor as delivered by a Jim Carey character, but Bean's facial expressions, his hand and arm and eye movements are all carefully calculated to extract every screaming laugh from your cellular inner DNA, you cannot escape Rowan's art, try as you might. And if you have never experienced Mr. Bean, you are really missing a treat.
If you are not familiar with Bean the series, go to YouTube and try some of the short bits collected there, you'll be back here in no time, plunking your money down. [p.s. if you have read reviews pointing out "missing" parts of Mr. Bean episodes in this "complete" DVD set, please be forewarned, it depends upon your point of view: if you never saw a Bean episode it won't matter much to you, if you watched the series on BBC or anywhere other than the USA, you won't be missing a thing, but if you have memorized each and every episode from American Television exposure then you are likely to notice something. Rowan Atkinson was forced to re-insert cutting room floor material into the USA airings in order to fill them out for our time blocks we are used to in the States. If you do any research at all on the internet, you will find that Atkinson was rather displeased with having to do so since he considered the material he reinserted for the American audience, which is included in the older VHS versions of this set, he considered the material to be fecal matter, `nuff said.]
Because Mr. Bean is a silent film character in an audible modern world, the comedy crosses language and culture barriers and can be enjoyed by literally anyone anywhere. This is probably one of the most successful "international" series ever! I only recently discovered that Rowan based his character on a French character named Mr. Hulot created by Jacques Tati in the 1950's and that those French films can be enjoyed by us ugly Americans without the need of subtitles! I plan on visiting those creations for the first time soon. No matter though, the endorsement here, from me is, anyone with a sense of humor, any sense of humor at all, will not be able to stifle the laughter, the tears of laughter, that will be brought about by watching this incredible character. All hail, Mr. Bean!
Two boys' review: Mr. Bean brings the giggles to kids We have two boys, a 5-year old and a 4-year old. They love to watch Mr. Bean episodes. His silliness ellicts giggles from our kids like I've never heard while they watch Saturday morning cartoons. When Mr. Bean gets a turkey stuck on his head my kids roll on the floor laughing.
I know several episodes in this collection are edited and several fans have already noted that in their reviews. As much as I wish the edits hadn't been made this set is still a great buy if you are looking for family-friendly comedy to share your young children.
My sons loved this DVD set so much we also purchased Mr. Bean, The Animated Series, which I also recommend (see my Amazon reviews) here:
Mr. Bean The Animated Series, Vols. 1 & 2 (It's Not Easy Being Bean / Bean There Done That)
Mr. Bean - The Animated Series, Vols. 3 & 4 (Whatever Will Bean, Will Bean / It's All Bean to Me)
Mr. Bean The Animated Series, Vols. 5 & 6 (Grin and Bean It / The Ends Justify the Beans)
Hilarious video for everyone 3 DVDs of hilarious skits featuring a British comedian who finds himself in all sorts of misadventures. Both adults and kids find this humorous.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
