Porterhouse Blue [VHS]

A thing of joy - delicious, intelligent satire relished by old masters of British character acting. This is glorious stuff, a mixture of savage satire (and it is not the old buffers who get the worst of it), wild farce and a celebration of Latin. They don't make 'em like this any more, because the dead lack of humour of political correctness would not be able to laugh enough at the blinkered, truncated world of its creation. The author, Tom Sharpe, offers us a modern-day Aristophanes: merciless satire combining high intellect and low comedy to glorious effect. This adaptation just got everything right and the ensemble of actors, relishing their various roles and showing us how it's done, are all at the top of their talented games. Unfortunately, the passage of time and changes in technology mean that the picture isn't as comfortably sharp as we have become used to, but the dialogue certainly is, and that is what will reward repeated viewings. This series won huge plaudits and awards, and rightly so as it is superbly crafted as well as enormous fun. Everything from the orotund vowels to the music is cherishable.. For those who do not know the plot - an Oxbridge college rather better noted for the quality of its life than the quality of some of its students, gets a prissy and resentful new Master with a wife who embraces Issues. His plans for the College and the views of the staff do not coincide, and it is up to the long-standing servant, Skullion (David Jason in the role of a lifetime), who knows everything, to try to stop the destruction of everything they hold dear. No-one gets away unscathed in Tom Sharpe's work, but some attitudes are definitely more appealing than others.There are types still easily to be recognised today, and not just in academe. This series is rarely brought out for reshowing, so get your own copy to enjoy whenever you need to watch the forces of heedless modernity get their comeuppance (and to laugh out loud).

Deeply, darkly funny. I was only 14 when this was originally televised, so not allowed to watch it. I came across it recently when browsing for a couple of new dvds to watch while I was ill, and bought it on the strength of the reviews, having never seen it. A cast headed by David Jason and Ian Richardson, two of my favourite actors, was reason enough to buy it but having watched it I have to say it's one of the best things I've ever seen. Parodying the politics of academia, it reaches into the deep recesses of human nature, combining moments of soaring hilarity and aching tragedy. It's a battle of wits between porter Skullion (Jason) and the new Master (Richardson), as the latter tries to impose sweeping reform on the college. Who wins, or if there is a genuine winner, is a question very much left hanging. Very funny, but darkly so.

I haven’t found all Tom Sharpe novels entirely to my taste, but “Porterhouse Blue” made me laugh out loud when I read it as a student. The TV adaptation was first shown in 1987 on Channel 4 and I found that equally hilarious.I was, therefore, eager to purchase a DVD version of this production on Amazon, especially as I managed to pick one up at a bargain price, and was intrigued to see whether I would find it equally funny nearly 30 years on. The answer, I am pleased to report, is a resounding “yes”.This is a very classy production; it is well filmed and directed and features a clever and literate script by Malcolm Bradbury which if anything improves on Sharpe’s original. The main reason for the success of this DVD is, however, its extraordinary cast. “National Treasure” David Jason is not always my cup of tea, but he is on career-best form here as the irascible but strangely sympathetic head porter Skullion, while the ever-watchable Ian Richardson proves an implacable foe as the new Master of Porterhouse, Sir Godber Evans, backed up by Barbara Jefford, perfect as his battleaxe Lady Mary. We also have John Sessions as the hapless postgraduate Zipser, Paula Jacobs as his buxom bedder Mrs Biggs, Griff Rhys-Jones as the TV presenter Cornelius Carrington and one of my all time favourite voices, Charles Gray, as the splendidly named Sir Cathcart D’Eath. My personal favourites are, however, the marvelous roster of character actors of embody the various eccentric and grotesque members of the academic governing body. Headed by the inestimable Paul Rogers and John Woodnutt as the Dean and the Senior Tutor, they include Harold Innocent as the unctuous Bursar, Willoughby Goddard as the obese Professor Siblington and the opera singer Ian Wallace as the Praelector, whose orotund Latin utterances make me laugh out loud. Pride of place, however, must go to Lockwood West (father of Timothy) as the sex-obsessed Chaplain; he really is quite priceless!A great cast, then, and a splendid script. This DVD will give a lot of people a great deal of pleasure.

Superb. David Jason and Ian Richardson at their best, and every other character effective. The reactions and the counter-scheming of the dons in the face of the new Master's, to them, dangerous reforming zeal set up a classic and absorbing clash of opposites. The satire works so well you don't notice the hole in the film's basic premise: how did Hooray Henrys with no qualifications come to be competent to deal with the professional challenges and complexities of government, big business, etc? It hardly seems to matter, so well does the world of Porterhouse work for itself.