Product Description

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders take on American television, pretentious foreign films and Madonna and that's just in the first fifteen minutes of this hilarious collection from their fifth series.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46663 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2003-09-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 30 minutes

Amazon.com
Only Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders could possibly bring a humorous light to Ingmar Bergman: "Oh, God, is it going to be another Bergman day?" asks French in the bleak black-and-white takeoff, complete with Death coming to call. Even if you've never seen a Bergman film, you'll know enough to find this skit hilarious. In Living in a Material World, French and Saunders make fun of Madonna (Madonna Jennifer is dared to pretend she's blow-drying her hair), Fellini, Baywatch, Dr. Quinn (remade as Dr. Quimn, Mad Woman), Björk (French does a rhinestone-studded impersonation), young brides planning weddings, art galleries, and so much more. The dynamic duo behind Absolutely Fabulous star in this sketch-format series that succeeds like no other. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews

A French & Saunders MUST HAVE
All of the 4 available French & Saunders DVDs released in the U.S. so far are good, entertaining examples of fine British parodies, but "Living in a Material World" is beyond fabulous. It includes as a BONUS FEATURE the Easter Special that ran on Comedy Central as "The French & the Saunders" . . . which puts a hysterical spin on Peter Jackson's "LOTR" movies that even Ian McKellen reportedly suggested Jackson include on the bumper disc for the trilogy. Especially at amazon.com's low price, you can't afford not to own this DVD if you love F&S or LOTR!

Genius parody
This may be French's and Saunders's finest work of all. Those familiar with them largely through ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS or their broader humor from the earlier French and Saunders series will be surprised at how subtle they are capable of being here. Jennifer Saunders' awesomely controlled imitation of Jane Seymour (in perhaps their most hilarious of all parodies, DR. QUIMN, MAD WOMAN) is a case in point. Who even dreamed that Jane Seymour *could* be parodied at all? (Saunders does it by looking incredibly sincerely at whomever she's speaking to and murmuring vaguely audible comforting things; when at one point she speaks, in a moment of crisis, at a normal human level, she has to turn back to murmur, "I'm sorry I raised my voice at you just now...") Dawn French makes a memorable Pamela Anderson in their BAYWATCH parody (she not only gets the hair and lipstick down perfectly but also the spaced-out look of concern), and then the production staff serves them brilliantly with a Fellini parody that is so exact--even down to the film stock used---that it must be seen to be believed.

Caution: May Be Hazardous to Your Health!
Have you ever laughed so hard that it hurt? I think I broke my face and ruptured my spleen watching this, but I'd willingly go through it all over again. Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have got to be the two funniest comics of our time, and this DVD stands out with their 'At The Movies' DVD as some of their best material. Half the time I was howling over the graceful execution of their humor, and the other half of the time I was just awed by the sheer imagination that went into thinking up this stuff (and the detail - omigod!). There's something for everyone in this DVD, from 'Baywatch' to 'Juliet of the Spirits' to 'Braveheart' to several HILARIOUS music videos (I hope one day they put out a DVD of just music videos). The best thing is, one doesn't have to be familiar with the material their satirizing in order to 'get it.' I've never seen 'Baywatch' or 'Dr Quinn', but the 'types' they were satirizing are universal to anyone who has ever even glanced at television. Do make sure you check out the bonus feature on the DVD. The 'Lord of the Rings' satire is priceless! Just make sure you have a sling ready for your poor, aching face ... you're going to need it by the time you're through!