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Audience With Dudley Moore (TV) (An)
R2 - United Kingdom - Network Review written by and copyright: Paul Lewis (3rd July 2008). |
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The Show
 LWT’s (now ITV London) long-running series An Audience With… began in 1978 with An Audience With Jasper Carrott. The format of the show has remained consistent throughout the last thirty years: a comedian, musician or raconteur is invited to ‘do their thing’ and field questions in front of a live audience of recognisable faces from the worlds of film, television and music. The show has run the gamut from the superb to the downright bizarre, featuring shows revolving around figures as diverse as Peter Ustinov (in 1988), the children’s puppet Sooty (in 1996) and Diana Ross (1999); there have also been occasions in which actors or comedians have performed as their most well-known characters, including 1997’s An Audience With Alf Garnett, in which Warren Mitchell gave a live performance as Alf Garnett, the character he played in the sitcoms In Sickness and In Health (1985-1992) and Till Death Us Do Part (1965-1975). This 1981 recording entitled An Audience With Dudley Moore was the third instalment in the series. It features the always likeable Dudley Moore performing music and comedy in front of a live audience of recognisable faces from the world of film, television and music. From his entrance, Moore is warm and self-deprecating and not afraid to poke fun at his persona. The young man from Dagenham who acquired a scholarship to study music at Magdalen College, Oxford, Moore’s entrance speaks volumes about his style of comedy: the camera follows a white Rolls Royce as it drives up to the studio. We expect the Rolls to stop and Moore to get out, but the car continues past the camera. Moments later, an iconic red London bus pulls up and Moore, wearing a flat cap, steps off it and says ‘Thank you, squire’ to the conductor. It’s a moment that both serves to remind us of Moore’s witty and reflective style of comedy and instantly endears Moore to the viewer. Moore’s guests and audience members include Peter Cook, who delivers a recorded introduction in his ‘Pete’ persona from the ‘Dagenham dialogues’ (the introduction has been filmed on the ‘Jayne Mansfield memorial balcony’, no less), Lulu (with whom Moore sings a song), Bob Hoskins, Rolf Harris, Clive James and Christopher Cross, who with musical accompaniment from Moore sings an effective rendition of the main theme from Arthur (‘Best That You Can Do’). Topics under discussion range from a very amusing story about Moore’s experiences being nude on camera to Bob Hoskins’ bizarre question ‘If I was a bird, and you really fancied me, what sort of music would you play to put me in the mood?' All in all, this is a very warm and light-hearted way to spend 45 minutes: some of the An Audience With… programmes can seem terribly sycophantic, but thanks to Moore’s down-to-earth persona and the mixture of music and comedy this instalment avoids that trap completely. The original break bumpers are intact. The programme runs for 43:47 mins (PAL).
Video
The presentation is more than adequate for a show of this vintage. The show was shot on video and is well-presented on this DVD release from Network. The programme is presented in its original 4:3 screen ratio.
Audio
Audio is presented via a two-channel stereo soundtrack. The audio track is clear and problem-free. There are no subtitles.
Extras
The sole extra is a documentary: a 1993 episode of The South Bank Show focusing on Dudley Moore (35:00 mins – PAL). The documentary is missing The South Bank Show’s iconic titles sequence and music: a card at the outset states that ‘certain edits’ have been made to the documentary for copyright reasons. The documentary largely focuses on Moore’s career in music and features interviews with people such as Moore’s ex-wife Brogan Lane, director Blake Edwards, conductor Sir Georg Solti, Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook. Moore comments on his music and the reasons why he is drawn to the field, and he also discusses topics relating to his parents, his life in Dagenham, the ways in which his education alienated him from his roots and his experiences of returning to Dagenham. This is a great little bonus feature and complements the main feature on this disc.
Overall
An Audience With Dudley Moore is a wonderfully light and amusing way to while away 45 minutes or so, and Moore proves wrong the people who suggested that Moore was little more than a foil for Peter Cook. If you’re a fan of Dud, this release is a must-buy, especially considering the inclusion of the Moore-focused episode of The South Bank Show.
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