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List Price: $29.99 | | Label: R2 Entertainment
Salesrank: 11028
Released: October 1, 2003 |
| Our Price: $18.52 |
| Used Price: $7.99 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Studio: Respond2 Entertainment Release Date: 05/04/2004
Description of Sonny & Cher - The Ultimate Collection:
It's not what you'd call high art, but there are some highly enjoyable moments in this nicely packaged box set, featuring nine complete shows (plus ample bonus material) spread out over three discs.
Beginning as a summer replacement in 1971, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour earned its own regular time slot that same year, running for three straight seasons and then returning in 1976 (as The Sonny & Cher Show), after the couple's divorce. The show's formula, which had already been established both onstage and on the small screen (their '69 pilot episode is among the extra features), includes plenty of music (duets, Cher's solo performances in typically outlandish Bob Mackie gowns, various guest shots); lots of shtick (consisting mostly of Cher's put-downs of the minimally talented but good-natured Sonny); and sketches and skits (ranging from lame to inspired, including a mock-opera based on All in the Family and starring Metropolitan Opera tenor Robert Merrill as a warbling Archie Bunker). Guests range from the obvious (TV stalwarts like Harvey Korman, Ruth Buzzi, and Don Knotts) to the downright weird (then-California governor Ronald Reagan). It's all fairly middlebrow, but Sonny & Cher's unpretentious, unself-conscious charm carries it; and once in a while everything congeals into one surreally entertaining package, like the '72 show featuring the Jackson 5 (led, of course, by Michael, who was then 14 and still apparently normal), who are followed to the stage by Reagan (telling jokes, sort of) and singer-actor Howard Keel, veteran of numerous movie musicals.
Bonus features include 2003 audio commentary by a nostalgic Cher, interviews with the producers, the '69 pilot, bios, discographies, and a show history. The DVD set also comes with a music-only CD, featuring live performances of "The Beat Goes On" and "I Got You Babe." --Sam Graham
Sonny & Cher - The Ultimate Collection Reviews:
sonny and cher 
2009-08-28 - Most of it was good - Cher was fabulous - some of the skits were a little lame.
GREAT TIME CAPSULE, BUT COLLECTION IS ONLY OKAY 
2009-08-09 - Sonny and Cher, review of DVD box set
First let me list the highlights of each disc:
1st disc
Harvey Korman, and brief appearance by Carol O'Connor.
A very handsome Burt Renyolds, and look for a young Steve Martin (thick hair, sporting beard and mustache). Martin's primary function is writer (he's in the credits), but he has some screen time here.
Merv Griffin
2nd disc - best of the three
Jackson 5 performs "Lookin' Through The Window"
(too bad they didn't perform one of their big hits)
Michael performs "Ben"
Michael has brief conversation with S & C
Ronald Reagan
Teri Garr
Howard Cosell
George Foreman (I own his grill and it's great!)
Chuck Connors
Danny Thomas
Ken Berry
Chastity (S & C's toddler)
Miss USA
Miss Universe (she looks very average to me)
3rd disc
1969 Pilot and other extras
Donny and Marie (she's majorly cute!)
Ruth Buzzi
Alex Karras
Farah Fawcett
Don Knotts
Glen Campbell
Tina Turner
As a previous poster mentioned, these discs should NOT have consisted of entire episodes! Should include the best segments from the show's entire run, and it's absurd that the discs were not orchestrated that way. Had these discs been created properly, I probably would have given 4 stars instead of 3.
Much of the humor is dated, and to be blunt, too much of it wasn't funny the first time around. Still, this series shines as a great time capsule of 70's American culture. Cher dons a plethora of lavish costumes, some of which are very odd, but she always looks great. The show's writing is uneven, but Cher's delivery is usually right on. Sonny is, well, Sonny. Actually, he has some shining moments, but he's dwarfed (literally and figuratively!) by Cher.
Without Sonny and Cher's singing ability, they would have never been offered a TV show. Yet when the two of them stand next to each other and sing, they look stiff and awkward, like teenagers giving their first school performance. Cher, via her later commentary, refers to Sonny and herself in one of the early episodes as "wooden."
In light of Michael Jackson's untimely passing, I'm interested in vintage Jackson 5 footage. After MJ's demise, Cher told Larry King that the J5 had never been on the Sonny and Cher show, only on her solo Cher show. Obviously, she is mistaken, because the J5 is here.
In closing, most people should derive some enjoyment from this set, but keep expectations in check.
Brings back childhood memories
2009-01-29 - When I was a child, I loved this show. I worshipped Cher and tried to dress and sing like her.
Watching the show now as an adult 30 something years later is interesting. The humor is very dated. There are alot of groaners.
But its fun to see the costumes and see people who weren't famous yet, like Steve Martin, in the skits.
I wish it came with a booklet though that told you who was in each episode and some info about it.
All in all it is well worth the money for a trip down memory lane.
sonny and cher video 
2008-11-22 - I was very pleased with my product. It came in a very timely manner, and in perfect condition.
Sony & Cher is not a 'best of' collection
2008-08-06 - I never realized how dated this variety show could be in its entirety. Carol Burnette had the right idea... Splice the BEST parts into 1/2 hour shows. Parts of these shows are really good but not entirely so. Cher's comments run about 5 minutes.
This SHOULD have been "The Best of Sonny & Cher, Volume One"
