The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins [DVD]

This set of seven short comedy narratives on the sins of modern man is a joy to watch. It is far cleverer than at first it may appear and it took me a couple of viewings to pick up all the satire in this richly written series of sketches. They are all directed with a sense of real fun and show a flair for visual comedy. The scenarios are mostly sharp and some are very funny. Some are stronger than others for sure, but they're all good in their own way. The fluidity of it all is suddenly challenged by the sixth sketch on sloth, written and performed by Spike Milligan, which is undeniably brilliant, but just looks out of kilter with the others with its almost existentialist humour and its black and white silent comedy format (although no doubt intended to emphasise the effects of sloth, so it's all clever stuff). Overall though, well written, funny, satirical, showing some great character actors in their prime, and containing some nice cinematic injokes. Add to this the obvious nostalgia value this comes with, and an excellent cheesy jazz score and there is plenty to enjoy in this spirited and vivacious movie.Best of the sketches must of course be the celebrated Galton and Simpson penned 'Pride' which sums up the rivalry and snobbery between the upper and lower British classes, and this is a fine short in its own right. However, my personal favourite has to be a toss up between 'Gluttony' and 'Wrath'. Wrath is the final sketch and a great way to end this fun movie, letting two respectable character actors run riot in a flurry of visual buffoonery asthey pursue a deadly vendetta when their honour is besmirched. But I think my favourite has to be the satirical sketch on Gluttony, starring the incomparable Leslie Phillips. Without giving anything away, the sketch is basically one big 'in joke' using our presumption of LP's stereotypical character trait, but not in the way we might expect it - the result is both clever and hilarious. All three of these sketches are real jewels, and the others aren't a bad bunch either. It may not have the gloss and production values we expect of a movie today, but its sheer fun factor will more than compensate.

This film hit cinemas in 1971, right about the time that British cinema took a nose-dive from which it has never really recovered. It was therefore something of a gamble to invest in this DVD and one which I have to say has paid off. Nowhere else on film will you see Harry H Corbett, Ronnie Barker, Marty Feldman, Bernard Bresslaw, and Stepen Lewis, to name but a few; and with writing credits including Galton & Simpson, Barry Cryer and Graham Chapman, there is enough here to whet the appetite.The film needs no explanation and is essentially 7 shorts linked together by some budget-cutting, but hideously bad and annoying animation. Top of the pops will be Ian Carmichael and Alfie Bass in 'Pride' which had some very funny moments and the potentially risque topic of 'Lust' is treated with some dignity in a very under-stated sketch starring Harry H Corbett. The genius that was Spike Milligan is also here choosing to depict 'Sloth' in a sepia-toned silent movie. It's up to you whether you think this is madness or genius, but my money is on the latter.It loses stars mainly because of the poor construction (i.e. the animated sequences) and also because of the inclusion of gratuitous nudity. The opening scene shot in a meadow with a beautiful young blonde-haired girl running freely, who, rather inevitably disrobes allowing all us red-blooded men to leer at her naked bottom with a ribald "phwooooaaaar" grunting from our male-chauvinist jowls rather makes a mockery of everyone involved; especially this particular male who prides himself on being distanced enough from political correctness yet still able to find overt sexism to be an embarrassment.That said, it is, after all, a product of its time and I am glad to have seen it.

Hit and miss British comedy based around the seven deadly sins - in case you need reminding, they are lust, gluttony, sloth, envy, pride, avarice and wrath ( all of which I've been guilty of at various times in my life, though thankfully not at the same time ). An all-star cast - Bruce Forsyth, Leslie Phillips, Harry Secombe, Ian Carmichael, Ronald Fraser, Stephen Lewis ( as a 'Blakey' like park keeper ), Harry H.Corbett and Spike Milligan - does its best with the varied material on offer. The best segments are 'Pride' ( written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, a remake of a B.B.C. 'Comedy Playhouse' entitled 'Impasse' ) and 'Sloth' which features Spike Milligan in 'Running, Jumping and Standing Still' mode. Ronnie Barker, Marty Feldman and Graham Stark ( the film's director ) pop up briefly. Julie Ege ( how many British films of this era wasn't she in? ) is around too, and looks gorgeous. The segments are linked by Bob Godfrey animation featuring a cartoon Stark. This has been released on D.V.D. before, but Odeon's print is nice and shiny and has a trailer. Not magnificent perhaps, but it never commits the sin of being dull.

7 different tales of which Pride and Spike Milligan's Sloth are the best.Delivered on time and in perfect condition.

This is one that got away for me, for I have absolutely no knowledge of this film from the past. I bought it purely out of sentimental reasons and didn't expect much, but was pleasantly surprised. Several moments and situations I found very funny, and it was both original and very snappily directed. I expected it to be along the lines of Bedazzled (the original Pete Cook & Dudley Moore) but found it to be somewhat different. It comprises of seven, unrelated,scenarios, each one depicting one of the seven deadly sins. It boasts a host of comic stars from the 60s/70s and was very entertaining considering its age. It you are of a certain age, and of a sentimental nature, then you could do a lot worse than giving this a view. It certainly brings light relief to the usual boom, bang, whoosh, crash of more recent years and represents good value when purchased at a reasonable price.