Rising Damp - Complete Collection [DVD]

Before anyone says a thing...the only topper was Porridge...Vienna the cat stole several moments on his own...but this was a first rate cast in every sense of the term...The nymphomaniac who would sleep with everyone else but not the poor schmuck chasing after her...The "African Prince" from Norwich...The college student who couldn't catch a romantic break with everyone barging in on him...Then we had the landlord who made Ebenezer Scrooge look like a spendthrift...with a slightly sharper tongue... He's after our friendly little nymphomaniac so she could live with him and rent her flat out at the same time...Perhaps it's not the most PC series out there...but it's funnier than hell...

Very good Rossiter sitcom, but either watch the series episodes or the film, which is why I have only given it 4 stars.

Great for an old Birthday present

Rising Damp is a classic sit com with laugh out loud comedy and moments of touching pathos that were very well played by the cast.

Excellent

A gem of a boxset, full of nostalgia for a lost era.

I sometimes think Rising Damp is forgotten when the role call of great UK sitcoms from the 70s is read out. Fawlty Towers certainly casts a giant shadow and is rightly held to be near the top of the pile, but Rising Damp is at least joint equal. Rising Damp created an eternally enduring comic monster in Rupert Rigsby in the same way that Fawlty Towers created Basil Fawlty, and both characters were played with manic energy and razor sharp comic timing from the actors who brought them to life. Rigsby is mean, self-deluding, arrogant, lonely, lascivious, racist and generally horrible to everyone and everything (poor Vienna!) but we still get a thrill the minute Len Rossiter walks through the door of Alan and Philip's room or Miss Jones's room as we know we are witnessing a comic genius at work. He didn't half take it out of himself playing Rigsby I fear but Len on behalf of a grateful nation can I say it was worth it!!!The supporting cast in Fawlty Towers was gold: especially Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs, and Rising Damp is the same with Leonard Rossiter being so ably supported by Frances De La Tour, Richard Beckinsale and Don Warrington.Don Warrington's Philip is a bit like Polly in Fawlty Towers - a minor character who is there to move the action along - although that is not to say that he doesn't have some excellent exchanges with Rigsby normally over the subject of him being black. If this sounds a bit too racist and 70s then it is worth mentioning that Rigsby always comes out worse after their exchanges. Philip is everything Rigsby wants to be but is not: sophisticated, charming and intelligent.However Philip doesn't have as much screen time as the other three characters and lets face it it is the sparring between Len's Rigsby and Beckinsale's Alan or De La Tour's Miss Jones that we remember and so look forward to.Beckinsale played Alan as a good natured wide eyed innocent and De La Tour played Miss Jones as someone who was dying for the opportunity to be naughty and not so innocent. They each had their frustrations which they bounced off Rigsby and his many many frustrations. Only Philip seemed happy although even he is not what he seems. I suppose that only leaves Vienna the cat who was probably only happy when it was fish night! But the frustrations of these 4 characters: social, sexual, aspirational, political are never sad or depressing: instead they are simply very very funny. There is no other way to put it.I worried when Beckinsale left at the end of the 3rd series that the 4th series would not be so good but it is still very funny with only a couple of weak episodes.The movie is incredibly poor: very little about it is original. It just recycles whole scenes and lines from the TV series and because someone else is playing Beckinsale's part only nowhere near as well the whole thing feels empty and flat and the permanent absence of Beckinsale is very keenly felt. British comic movies are usually disastrous and sad to say this is no exception. But watch the movie once just to say you have and then never again. Instead go back to series 1 and start from the beginning and enjoy this little piece of comedy heaven. The movie may be a sad affair but the 4 series as a whole easily merit this 5 star review.

Looking back, it’s troubling to see what was thought to be both funny and acceptable not so long ago. Most will be familiar with the story of Rigsby, landlord of an attic flat which he rents to two young men; one black, one white. And on the floor below is Miss Jones, Rigsby’s potential love interest.In their own way, each steal the scenes throughout the series. Rigsby is uptight, racist and pretentious. Miss Jones is, in many ways deeply unpleasant and the attic tenants are the constant foils for numerous jokes, usually based on racism, sexism or class. Much of it would not be broadcast now. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t watch it and take from it what we will. It’s certainly an interesting and often accurate reflection of attitudes and food for thought. In many ways, little has changed.