Dad's Army

Trailer—Dad's Army

In my opinion dads army is thee best British sitcom of all time. I believe that if you just watch one episode of the show you cannot judge in completely on that one episode, (this include the movie) You must at least watch a series of this show, get inside the characters, become familiar with there surroundings and the situations which they are in. When you become familiar with the show then it will start appealing to you. Now the movie has a few changes to the series which is slightly disappointing, but it still works. Watch a series or two of the show first before you watch this. You'll not be disappointed. Good episode to watch is "No Spring for Frazer"

Im a die hard Dads Army fan and nothing will ever change that. I got all the tapes, DVD's and audiobooks and every time i watch/listen to them its brand new. The film. The film is a re run of certain episodes, Man and the hour, Enemy within the gates, Battle School and numerous others with a different edge. Introduction of a new General instead of Captain Square was a brilliant move - especially when he wouldn't cash the cheque (something that is rarely done now). It follows through the early years of getting equipment and uniforms, starting up and training. All in all, its a great film for a boring Sunday afternoon. Two draw backs. One is the Germans bogus dodgy accents (come one, Germans cant pronounced the letter "W" like us) and Two The casting of Liz Frazer instead of the familiar Janet Davis. I like Liz in other films like the carry ons but she doesn't carry it correctly in this and Janet Davis would have been the better choice.

Dad's army truly stands the test of time, it's as fresh and funny now as its always been. My only problem with this movie is the odd changes that columbia pictures insisted on, little things like Jones van, pikes mom and that it restarted from the beginning. I feel if they'd have done the movie set after the series it would have been better but still this movie is brilliant. The cast were absolutely amazing. A true British comedy that will always be entertaining.

Often when TV series are transferred to the big screen, they lose their appeal. Not in this case! The historical accuracy in costumes, equipment and general art direction, like the TV series, is outstanding. A good example of comedy and farce, with excellent script and comedy actors in the right parts. Based on a classic TV series that stands alone in British TV Comedy history.

Overall, the Dad's Army movie is very funny, although the humour isn't quite as catchy and sparkly as in the TV and radio series. So where does this leave us, the viewers? If you've never seen Dad's Army then the movie is a good way of bringing yourself up to speed and getting hooked on the mad world of Walmington o/S. The downside is that you might not "get it" because, as I said, the humour in the movie is a bit on the stolid side. For Dad's Army buffs the movie holds nothing new as the story is more or less a cutup of the TV series, but it's a unique chance of seeing your favourites in "high def" as compared to the shitty quality of the BBC video recordings. The movie also features what must be the lamest holdup sequence in the history of the universe. I can't make up my mind if that's a positive or a negative, though.

TV shows from the 1970's which were turned into films were usually terrible. Dad's Army is the big exception. The formula from the TV show worked just as well on the big screen and with the bigger budget it's lovely to see people walking around Walmington-on-Sea. The plot is similar to parts of some of the TV episodes, but that doesn't matter because they're still as funny. Other parts like when Mainwaring, Wilson and Frazer are stranded on the raft are classic. The only thing I can criticise it for is the sometimes obvious lack of input from the TV shows creators and writers, Jimmy Perry and David Croft. But beautiful performances from Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn etc.

Perhaps the TV show was just too good, or having the Germans land in Walmington was just too improbable. Whatever, this film version of the much-loved BBC classic doesn't quite work. Everyone in it is fine but it is less slapstick and silly than it was on the small screen, and suffers a bit in comparison. I do like the bit where the stuck up officer sails down river on a bit of broken bridge still sitting on his horse though, and the oil slick machine is pretty funny!