Bob Newhart – Button-Down Concert (DVD)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Concert: B-
Long
before his biog hit TV show in the 1970s, Bob Newhart was the unlikely star of
hit record albums. No, he did not sing,
but hit comedy album The Button-Down
Mind Of Bob Newhart was #1 for an amazing 14 weeks back in 1960 and the
follow-up album The Button-Down Mind
Strikes Back! Had to compete with it later that year and managed a week at
#1 itself. The two even set a record for
holding the top two spots for the most weeks, until Guns N Roses two Use Your Illusion volumes broke it
1991, though only one of those volumes was a chart-topper. Bob
Newhart – Button-Down Concert is a 35th anniversary stage
revisiting of those early hits, now on DVD.
Running
62 minutes, Newhart shows that after three TV series and a seemingly endless
string of amazing successes in several media, he has not lost his touch. Some of the routines are politically
incorrect, a point he jokes about and makes changes to that keep them as
politically incorrect as ever. The crowd
loves it, but it proves a point. You
should never, especially as a person and artist, change yourself by any means. Doing otherwise makes you obsolete. Newhart was way ahead of his time and that
the comedy endures and is ever-bold without any holding back shows why he has
lasted and endured so long. As a matter
of fact, to live up to the title, he should do nothing less or it would still
feel buttoned-up.
The 1.33
X 1 image is not bad for its age and that it was shot on professional, analog
NTSC video, but it still has some softness and color limits typical of the
format. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is
sufficient here to hear Newhart’s jokes and routines. Extras include a stills gallery and interview
featurette.
- Nicholas Sheffo
