The Best Bits of Mr Bean DVD with Rowan Atkinson (NR) +Movie Reviews

Grrrr.. These are not full "episodes"; they're snippets.

NICK MEALY | San Francisco, CA United States | 11/03/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a huge Bean fan for years, and it was an easy decision to buy this DVD based on the description. I did my best to put on his homeroom sketch for my high school talent show, and almost got it approved, but anyway, that's another story.
Mr. Bean is indeed an instant classic, and even if you think you hate British comedy, this will probably win you over anyway.
However, beware that you are NOT purchasing 11 full "episodes". You are purchasing a single flashback episode that flashes back to 11 short selections from Bean episodes.
If you dont believe me, note that the total running time is 77 minutes. Subtract the movie trailers, the credits, the intro, and what you have is about an hour of footage, about half of which is the filler between flashbacks. Now, it is quite hysterical filler about Mr Bean rummaging through his attic and playing with his teddy, but it's still filler, and it's still a flashback episode. If you hate flashback episodes then dont bother.
To paint by numbers, the episode "Mr Bean Helps a Street Performer" is about 1 minute and 5 seconds long. Most of the episodes are around 2-5 minutes long. Now, multiply that by 11 episodes, and you have about 40 minutes or less of old Mr Bean highlights for the price of a full DVD. If you ask me, you're money is better spent on Monty Python episodes, or for that matter, the Rowan Atkinson Live tape!"

Wait for the complete series on DVD

B-MAN | Earth, occasionally. Until I get bored. | 05/12/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Don't get me wrong, the footage is 5 stars - hilarious, being made up of skits from the BBC sitcom, "Mr. Bean", starring the brilliant Rowan Atkinson, but it is just a compilation. True fans will save their money for the complete series on DVD. Well, we have Blackadder, now where is Mr. Bean and "The Thin Blue Line" on DVD? Bean is completely opposite of Blackadder and Thin Blue Line in that as Bean, Rowan is all but mute and completely relies on physical comedy, where as in Blackadder (as Edmund) and Thin Blue line (as Inspector Fowler) Rowan talks his head off and the main source of comedy is in the dialogue, although physical comedy is not absent by any means. Those who only know Rowan for being Bean may be shocked when they see Blackadder or Blue line for the first time because of the drastic character change, but trust me he's just as funny with words as he is with physical action. "The Best Bits of Mr. Bean" is fine for a rental or for an extremely casual fan, but bigger fans of Rowan and Bean are still waiting for the complete series on DVD. I can highly recommend the Blackadder 5 disc DVD set, which contains all 4 series (24 episodes), a reunion special, and other goodies (read my review of that item for much more detail) but I recommend saving your money for the complete "Mr. Bean" series. The BBC series' "Mr. Bean" and "The Thin Blue Line" are essential comedy and I can't wait until they are represented as well as the brilliantly hilarious "Blackadder" series."

Hysterical, Just Not The Full Episodes

GameraRocks | Gillsville, GA USA | 11/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you want the entire story of each featured on here, then you'll be disappointed. If you want some of the funniest scenes of the series, then this is the place! And there are a lot of funny stuff on here. This is the Best of Bean. My personal favorite story is when Mr. Bean can't stay awake in church. This is a great introduction to Bean for those who have never watched an episode, for old fans like me, you get the best highlights of the series but just don't expect to get the entire episode.

Overall great to get, especially if you don't mind not having the entire story"

Very Funny

pilotbabe172 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States | 08/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A lot of people are complaining about the length of the clips but if you look in the title it says the best "bits" which means they are only short clips. I think this video does a good job of selecting some of the Classic Mr.Bean moment. All of Mr. Bean is funny but if you want the most popular and most haliarous moment this is a good video to buy."

The Real Deal!

pilotbabe172 | 06/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Best Bits of Mr. Bean" is the real deal, as far as Bean "best-ofs" are concerned. A&E's "Best of Mr. Bean" is simply a combination of four episodes that, yes, are just about the funniest in some cases, with bonus features (The Story of Bean documentary, etc.) that you can already get with the complete series DVD, which is much more worthy of your cash (I haven't actually viewed the DVD but looking at in a Barnes and Noble store has confirmed for me that even for the diehard fan type, it's really not worth it.) This, on the other hand, offers an original and entertaining plot (Bean searching for an umbrella and messing about in the attic) around which to base flashbacks to some of the funniest and most well-known "bits" from the series, as Bean finds reminders of those skits packed away in his attic (i.e. a hymnnal reminding of the time he fell asleep in church.) Bean (Rowan Atkinson), and Teddy actually appear to give us some new material between flashbacks that big fans will want to have. (Also bare in mind that Rowan Atkinson himself was involved personally with this compilation and presumably gave it final approval; almost certainly A&E's chash-in, I mean compilation, was done without an real involvement of Atkinson.)
As for the skits themselves, no they are not full episodes ( and really I can't imagine that anyone who really looked at the DVD, or product details on Amazon, before making the purchase would expect this to be 11 full-length episodes, and anyway with only fourteen total episodes EVER produced, 11 would be such a majority that simply releasing the full series from the start would be a better business idea.) However, there is plenty of funny stuff here: Bean's frenzied rush the morning of his dentist appointment and the actual appointiment that follows this are unquestionably Bean classics, as are the segments in which he drives his mini ( that's what his car is called) from an armchair atop the roof, gets a Christmas turkey stuck on his head, falls asleep in church, and has his mini accidentally crushed by an army tank. Of course the exam sketch is the all-important ( and all-hilarious) first-ever Bean sketch, and the Royal Lineup, while hilarious is one Mr. Bean's more adult-suited bits. The rest (the high-dive, parking garage, holiday packing, and street-performing sketches) are still funny but in many cases, simply not classics at the level of the stuck turkey, and the armchair-mini driving.

Still, between the new gags with Teddy and Bean in the attic ( this really is a fun, creative plot idea, at least in comparison to the flashback episodes on many other TV series), and all the classic funnies, this is worth it, mainly for the serious collecto, but it's also the type of thing that's good for parties, if you want to give "unexposed" friends a light start on Bean, or if you just want the classics. I would also recomend that those just starting on Bean who aren't sure where to go, or are just coming off of the first movie try to find this, possibly at the library or video rental, since the chances of finding it to buy are slim, (it's apparently, and shamefully, out-of-print), and there's a good chance you'll be happy enough with the complete series DVD, after seeing this once or twice. In sum, this is a nice beginners DVD, as it contains bits from almost all points of the show's run (the final year or two are sadly missing, and I for one, feel that that the golfing and insomnia sketches from about that time would be strong contenders); it's also a nice buy for the collector or experienced fan, in order to get both the original material presented here, and to have all the MAJOR classics on one DVD. Either way, as a fan the final score is definite:5/5!"

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