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- Cert:
- Cat.no: BBCDVD 1069
- Running time: 173 minutes
- Year: 1989
- Pressing: 2001
- Region(s): 2, 4 (UK PAL)
- Chapters: 36
- Sound: Stereo
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English, Dutch
- Fullscreen: 4:3
- 16:9-enhanced: No
- Macrovision: No
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: None
Director:
- Richard Boden
Producer:
- John Lloyd
Screenplay:
- Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Music:
- Howard Goodall
Cast:
- Captain Edmund Blackadder: Rowan Atkinson
Private S. Baldrick: Tony Robinson
General Sir Anthony Hogmanay Melchett: Stephen Fry
Lt. The Hon George Colthurst St. Barleigh: Hugh Laurie
Captain Kevin Darling: Tim McInnery
Driver Parkhurst: Gabrielle Glaister
Lord Flasheart: Rik Mayall
Baron von Richthoven: Adrian Edmondson
Nurse Mary: Miranda Richardson
Smith: Bill Wallis
Field Marshall Dougie Haig: Geoffrey Palmer
Black Adder Goes Forthsaw the cast head into the realms of the First World War as they were placedon the Western Front in 1917, in a bunker awaiting their orders to go over thetop and kill the enemy.. or get shot full of holes in an instant – whicheverwould be quicker. Not the greatest prospect for Captain Edmund Blackadder(Rowan Atkinson), who attemps to think of one way after another toescape his destiny. Being referred to, in one episode, as “Cat-pain Black-udder”will not be one of them.
This series was held in even higher regard than the previous ones becauseof the way it dealt with the atrocity of war and the final moments of man asthe cast go over the top at the end of the final episode, which itself wasvoted the 9th most memorable TV moment for Channel 4 in September 2000.
In fact, the Blackadder franchise went from strength to strength until…they decided to releaseBlack Adder: Back and Forth
The first episode, Captain Cook, begins with the stupid Baldrick (Tony Robinson)explaining the first of his cunning plans, by carving his own name on a bulletbecause “you know when they say there’s a bullet with your name on it?” -and you can guess the rest. General Melchett (Stephen Fry) has a planof his own to invite one of the men to paint a cover for the next issue of”King and Country” to inspire the men for that final big push. The followingepisodes continue to be packed with one-liners, the second one, CorporalPunishment finding Blackadder eating the pigeon messenger in an attemptto avoid the firing squad, while the next, Major Star, brings a newplaymate for Edmund in the form of “Bob” aka Driver Parkhurst (GabrielleGlaister)
Another attempt to escape going over the top comes in Private Plane after Lord Flasheart(Rik Mayall on first-rate form) appears and teaches the men to flyin the Royal Air Corps, aka the “Twenty Minuters”, the life expectancy ofa new pilot(!) Could be worse – you could be captured by Baron von Richthoven(Adrian Edmondson) after you crash-land. In General Hospital,Blackadder seeks out a German spy on behalf of the British service in the localhospital under the care of Nurse Mary (Miranda Richardson), but whenthe final episode, Goodbyeee comes around it’s a last-ditch attemptto avoid the big push when Blackadder sees a way out: claim insanity bywearing underpants on your head and sticking two pencils up your nose. Whenthat fails he has to call in a favour from Field Marshall Dougie Haig (Geoffrey Palmer),but when even that doesn’t work, Baldrick might just have one last cunningplan…
If you plan to watch this DVD while drinking a brew make sure it’s real andnot concocted from coffee substitute (mud), milk substitute (saliva) andsugar substitute (dandruff).
Quotable quotes include Blackadder’s “I think the phrase rhymes withclucking bell.” and on Captain Darling’s arrival at the trench in episodesix, “I only wrote one word in my diary today. It simply says… ‘Bugger'”
Just time for one more cunning plan?
The picture is better than the first two discs and as good as the third.There are no visible print scratches but it can occasionally look a littledark. The soundtrack is in stereo like the last disc, but again it’s purelyfunctional, giving clear dialogue.
36 chapters spread out the series, the menus have some animation showingclips from the episodes but only the main one has the theme tune, whilethe subtitles come in English and Dutch.
As with the second series, there are no extras, but it’s still worth£19.99 for the full series.
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.