Product Description

John Cleese and Connie Booth star in this delightful tale of comic romance based on the short story by Anton Chekhov. On a hot summer's day a musician (Cleese) decides to skinny dip in the royal lake, not knowing that the princess (Booth) has done the same. A passing thief steals both their clothes, and their attempt to return to the castle proves to be a hilarious adventure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30627 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-07-15
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 40 minutes

Customer Reviews

Comedic genius in czarist Russia.
This film doesn't deserve to be lost in the depths of cinematic memory. Based on a short story by Anton Chekhov, the tale of a Russian musician and a beautiful princess is delightful even after repeated viewings.

While the humor isn't painted with quite so broad a brush as Monty Python or "Fawlty Towers," it certainly captures Cleese's trademark humor. "Romance With a Double Bass" is a charming film, one I recommend highly.

Unusual romantic comedy
John Cleese is a put-upon double bass player in an orchestra which has been engaged to play at the engagement party of a Russian princess (Connie Booth). When Cleese arrives too early for the party he is turned away by a haughty footman, so he goes off to bathe in the lake. The Princess has also decided to take a dip in the lake, but while they are swimming disaster strikes and a thief steals their clothes. John Cleese is faced with the daunting task of getting himself, the princess and the double bass back to the house without anyone seeing them. How he accomplishes this is very funny, and the journey is frought with peril. This is a slight but very amusing comedy with a charming ending, based on a Chekhov short story, but it has greatly improved on the original.

Cleese at his absolute finest
When this aired many years ago I was spending an evening alone, with nothing to do, and bummed out about it. This came on, and so completely turned me around I was smiling for days. John Cleese's absurdity gets its full range here, and his wife at the time, Connie Booth, co-stars. A period piece, Cleese is a bass player, who is quite inept. His big break is to play for the princess' engagement party. Unfortunately he goes for a swim in a nearby lake, and his clothes are stolen. The same theif takes the princess' clothes. Finding each other, stark naked, they must make their way to the castle, retrieve her clothes, and still make his rehearsal for the big event. But it is the small touches, as always, that make this so memorable. It's a wonderful piece. Go for it.