Starring: George Maharis Directed By: Arthur Hiller, George Sherman Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Box set, Black & White, NTSC, Closed-captioned Label: Infinity Entertainment Group Number of Items: 4 Region Code: 1 Release Date: February 05, 2008 Running Time: 780 minutes Theatrical Release Date: October 07, 1960
Product Description: ROUTE 66 is a classic American TV series that only gets better with time. The first season alone boasts appearances by Lee Marvin Leslie Nielsen and E.G. Marshal as well as tough thought provoking storylines penned by Academy Award-winner Sterling Silliphant. The series follows the experiences of the poor boy/rich boy duo of Buzz and Todd as they hit the road in the 1960s' spirit of self-discovery. While everyone can whistle the Nelson Riddle tune about "getting their kicks" this show has much more to offer than trivial pop-culture references.System Requirements:Running Time: 810 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSIC Rating: NR UPC: 617742203196 Manufacturer No: IEG2031
Amazon.com: The irresistible call of Route 66, the classic TV anthology series and the venerable Mother Road herself, is best summed up in a bit of dialogue in the episode, "Welcome to Amity," one of the 15 episodes that concluded Season One contained on this four-disc set. Yet another stranger in distress urges self-proclaimed "searchers and look-arounders" Tod Stiles (Martin Milner) and Buz Murdoch (George Maharis) to help her. "Where are we going?" Tod asks, as she bids them to follow her. "Let’s find out," Buzz replies. Viewers happily followed Tod and Buz for four seasons on their cross-country odyssey in search of roots. Each week brought a new location, a new job, and new personal dramas in which they found themselves involved. In the gripping "An Absence of Tears," they unwittingly help a vengeful blind woman buy the exact brand of gun and bullets that thugs used to kill her husband during a botched gas station robbery. In "Most Vanquished, Most Victorious," they have 24 hours to find the daughter of Tod’s dying aunt. In "The Newborn," they help an expectant Pueblo woman escape the clutches of the wealthy and powerful rancher whose late son impregnated her. No wonder that in the more lighthearted "Eleven the Hard Way," Tod suggests to Buz that they take "a 48 hour furlough from other people’s problems" (no such luck; they no sooner find themselves in Reno helping two men win enough at the crap tables to save their dying town). Compelling stories, a vivid sense of place, and literate scripts were signposts of Route 66. While Tod and Buz "give lumps to some well-deserving people" (a climactic encounter with a street gang in "Most Vanquished, Most Victorious" is a great rumble), the show (and the cast) truly shine in the more emotional and dramatic moments. In "Like a Motherless Child," orphaned Buz bonds with a lonely woman who fronts as a shill. While Tod is the studied one, it is Buz who gets the bulk of the scripts’ great, glorious riffs, as in "The Opponent," when he and Tod visit a once-legendary figure from Buz’s Hell Kitchen neighborhood ("Would you take a detour to see Caesar or Napoleon? Those are the big boys you met in books. I met my own kings, face to face, in the back alleys"). Along for the ride are some great character actors, many in their earliest screen appearances, including Robert Duvall as "a trigger-happy kook" in "The Newborn," Darrin McGavin as a boxer on his last legs in "The Opponent," featuring Ed Asner (with hair!) as his trainer and Al Lewis (Grandpa from The Munsters) as a gym owner, and Walter Matthau at his schlubby best as a disreputable gambler in "Eleven the Hard Way." As in Volume 1 there are no commentaries or interviews, but vintage TV and classic car buffs will cruise through nearly 20 minutes of commercials for Chevrolet and Bayer Asprin. --Donald Liebenson
Reformatted to 16:9--Aaaaaargh! The title says it all. Now that I've opened the package it's unreturnable. I never imagined at this time that a company reissuing an iconic tv series would even consider doing this, especially since Vol 1, is correctly formatted. The only indication of the reformat is in the fine print, and the reviews, which, unfortunately I didn't read. I would not have purchased this set if it had been clearly identified as reformatted. I think this information should be prominently displayed at the top of the page as part of the title, for example "Route 66: Season 1, Vol. 2 (Reformatted)."
Route 66 series still timely I am emjoying watching the old shows on Route 66. The odd bits of wisdom and the insights into people's behaviour are still timely after all these years.
fakes beat the studios Out of curiosity, I read the reviews of this set. Three years ago, I bought an import set of the entire series off of internet's favorite 'auction' site for a bit less than a hundred dollars. Now, I realize that I made a wise decision. Sad to think that people making these compilations have no clue as to what they are doing to classic media. Cutting the 4:3 into a letterbox to simulate widescreen for people with big screen tv's? And losing part of the picture? Are they crazy? Glad I have the 'old' set, monophonic soundtrack and all. Maybe it's got all the ticks and pops of old time TV, but that's what we're after, isn't it?
Route 66 Very good series from the early 60's for those who have wondered what was over the next hill or around the bend.The shows were good at keeping your attention.
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY THESE WERE GREAT TO REVIEW ONCE AGAIN,BROUGHT TO MIND WHY I LIKED SO MUCH,MARTY AND GEORGE WERE SUPER TOGETHER AND THE STORIES WELL WRITTEN, WHERES"DID YOU EVER RIDE THE WAVES IN OKLAHOMA"
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