Charming and brutal

A Brilliant Conflict

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Rowan Atkinson had already proved his gift for physical comedy on "Mr. Bean", and it translates well in this special. The man makes terrific use of the theater space. But I have to admit that my favorite sketches are the proper ones, where he just addresses his audience with a bored contempt. It's very British, and he excels at this (he's just got the face for it). This is one of the first stand-up specials I'd seen (on PBS, no less) and it's a riot. Obviously, if Mr. Been is all you've seen, then this will be an eye-opener (of the greatest kind), but the man can go from spaz to working blue at the drop of a hat. This is great stuff. 8/10

This TV special was released when I was less than six years old, before I had ever seen comedian Rowan Atkinson in anything. It was later in the 90's when I first saw episodes of "Mr. Bean", with Atkinson's famous goofy, dimwitted alter ego. After that, I would later see the comedian in the role of the bitter, mean-spirited, sarcastic "Blackadder", and I think both characters are really funny, as different as they are. I had never heard of "Rowan Atkinson Live" until four years ago, in late 2005. It had not yet been released on DVD at the time, but I rented a VHS copy, and as I expected, it was hilarious! Late last month, I watched it on VHS again, for the first time since 2005, and finally this month on DVD. These second and third viewings didn't change my opinion.Filmed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1991, this TV film shows Rowan Atkinson performing a series of comedy sketches before a live audience at the Boston University Theatre. It begins with "It Started with a Sneeze", which "Mr. Bean" fans are bound to recognize, but then expands into a variety of different sketches, often very different from that first one. There are more Beanesque sketches, such as "Invisible Man", plus a lot of dry humour in such sketches as "Fatal Beatings", "The Good Loser", and "With Friends Like These". The only other actor who ever joins Atkinson on stage for any of these sketches is Angus Deayton, who plays supporting roles in some of them. Whether Atkinson uses dry verbal humour or goofy, mime-like visual humour, none of the sketches fail to make the audience laugh! My least favourite sketch here is probably "Pink Tights and Plenty of Props", which is a little tedious, but even that one is far from laugh-free. I would say most of the special is hilarious (which was just what I thought the first time), mainly thanks to the dry wit, though the sight gags are usually very funny as well. "Elementary Dating," "Guys After the Game," and "Tom, Dick and Harry" are apparently all sketches missing from the original version (I never saw them on VHS), but they are bonus features on the DVD release, which is good, since they definitely deserve to be seen as well! There's not much else to say about "Rowan Atkinson Live", except that if you're a fan of the comedian, and are old enough for some crude humour (especially in "No One Called Jones") and occasional swearing, I don't think calling this a must-see it too extreme! Even if you're one of his fans who don't like "Mr. Bean", then you wouldn't like every sketch here, but would probably still like the majority of them.

Absolutely brilliant physical / situational standup comedy. Nobody is spared ridicule from this fine presentation: Satan, The Catholic Church, Head Masters, Actors, Awards ceremonies, subway riders, It's all here. Fans of Mr. Bean will recognize a few sketches as well as revel in the new. This is a must for any fans collection.

This is one of the best stand-up/sketch comedy specials I have ever seen. Angus Deayton is the perfect straight man, and Rowan Atkinson is hilarious. The show is a combination of "Mr. Bean"-esque pantomime and sketch comedy. Some highlights:"A Warm Welcome" -- The devil welcomes souls to hell."Pink Tights and Plenty of Props" -- A hilarious sendup of Shakespearean acting and dramatic conventions."Fatal Beatings" -- A principal explains to a father how a student was accidentally beaten to death for stealing library books."With Friends like these..." -- A great satire of a wedding gone horribly wrong.I highly recommend the video version, as the version you occasionally see on Comedy Central has many lines (and a few entire sketches) entirely edited out.