Product Description

Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 09/07/2004

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2617 in DVD
• Brand: LIONS GATE HOME ENT.
• Released on: 2004-09-07
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .40 pounds
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
The Best of Will Ferrell - Vol. 1
The latest in the line of Saturday Night Live's great character players (including Dan Aykroyd and Phil Hartman), Will Ferrell showcases his fearlessness in this 72-minute collection. Whether exposing skin or taking a pause beyond the normal limits, Ferrell induces hard laughs like with the cowbell rocker in the first sketch. The selection includes Ferrell's spot-on impressions of Cub announcer Harry Caray, game-show icon Alex Trebek, President Bush, and Inside the Actor's Studio host James Lipton. As with other SNL Best of... retrospectives, there are short snippets to go along with the full-length sketches that include excellent selections of Ferrell's returning characters Craig the Cheerleader and the swinging Culp brothers. A must for fans, and the DVD includes an intriguing audition footage in which Ferrell leaps from character and character.

The Best of Will Ferrell - Vol. 2
There is no drop-off in laughs from the first to second volume of Will Ferrell's work on Saturday Night Live. Giggle along with his recurring characters, including James Lipton (interviewing Kate Hudson as a wonderfully ditzy Drew Barrymore), a wickedly clever George W. Bush, and one-half of the smarmy Lovers couple. This volume spotlights Ferrell's ability to go successfully over-the-top whether as an overbearing boss (check out how long he keeps stabbing a doomed coworker), a strict airplane pilot, an absent-minded doctor, or the world's oldest baby. There's plenty of unabashed (near) nudity and risky violence, which keeps the SNL tradition of "Not Ready for Prime Time"; check out what longtime hosts of the morning talk show resort to when the much-needed teleprompter fails. All that plus "Janet Reno's Dance Party" (with guest Rudy Giuliani) makes this the perfect pick-up for those who could not get enough of Ferrell with volume 1. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Very Disappointing
I purchased volumes 1 and 2 as a package, and I must say that I don't recall ever being so disappointed in a DVD purchase.

Will Ferrell, in my opinion, is one of the funniest actors to hit the set of SNL. There were mountains of classic sketches from which to choose when compiling these this set, yet these releases are terrible. Volume 1 has one Jeopardy sketch (quite funny, of course) and a very, VERY small snippet of Ferrell doing his Bush thing. Everything else is pretty much trash on Volume 1. Scattered throughout volume 1 are a bunch of three- or four second clips from "C+/C" sketches. I kept getting pissed when one would start and I'd think to myself "finally, one that I can force myself to laugh at", and it would get cut off. Well, in volume 2, some of these sketches are shown in their entirety. You can't but feel double-charged for SNL's double-dip on these clips. Volume 2 is just as empty as volume 1 in that it really doesn't contain Ferrell's best material. Where are the presidential debates? Where are the other jeopardy sketches (remember: out of BOTH releases, we only get ONE)? Where are the sketches of the angry father who lashes out at his kids in sudden bursts of rage? I'm not exaggerating when I say that the entire collection seems like the producers ordered all of Ferrell's sketches from "most hysterical" to "barely made the cut", and then started at the wrong end.

I won't be surprised when volume 3 is released: "Best of Will Ferrell: No, seriously."

This entire collection is just dreadful. I'm a big fan of Ferrell's and this collection is a disgrace. I wouldn't recommend either release to even the most loyal of fans. I'm giving it two stars instead of just one only because it's Ferrell.

A Good Collection, But it Certainly Could Have Been Better
If you are a fan of Will Ferrell, you should get this collection. While some of the recent SNL releases have been pretty lackluster, resulting from the fairly lackluster performers that have graced SNL in recent years, Will Ferrell is truly a character actor that deserves his own set. In fact, my only real complaint of these two DVD's is that they don't provide us with more footage. There is a ton of material that they left out--easily enough for another two DVDs. I'm not holding my breath for volumes three and four, but if you ask me, they ought to be on the way.

VOLUME 1 provides you with some of Will's best sketches, including the Blue Oyster Cult scene, Harry Carey, Jeopardy, Robert Goulet, Inside the Actor's Studio with Charles Nelson Riley, and more. Even more impressive are the extra features. This disc provides us with a glimpse of Will's audition to SNL, two of his hilarious appearances on Conan O'Brian, and the best sketch ever: the Old Prospector. It was a sketch that was cut from one of the aired shows, but it is hilarious. Simply hilarious.

VOLUME 2 fails, in some ways, to keep up the pace. I do not think that the disc is an overwhelming disaster, as others have stated. Often times the second volume of any compilation will lack punch, but I was pretty pleased with this one, due to the depth of Will's career. While not as good as the first disc, this volume picks up several of Will's one-time characters and shorts.

Overall, as I said, I feel that there was a wealth of material that did not make these discs. Of course, that is bound to happen in any compilation. But if these discs are going to be some of the flagships of the SNL series (and I believe they are), why not give us more than 70 minutes of action per disc? Why choose some of his mediocre sketches when you can throw in his better ones? It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

My recommendation: if you are a moderate fan of Will Ferrell and SNL, you can buy VOLUME ONE without any worries that you are missing something by passing over VOLUME 2. If you are a true fan, buy the double pack. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Who made these?
All of the best of from the SNL collection, seem to be terrible. This one is bad as well. Who ever selects the clips and skits that go on these DVD's must be the same people that are destroying the currnt show of today, as that is awful too.

This DVD misses many, many classic and great Will Ferrell skits, like "Get off the shed", which is probably one of his most famous bits.

Very poor compilation of the last funny person from SNL.