The Regard of Flight, written and performed by Bill Irwin, is a true classic theatre piece which translated quite well to the small screen. Full of quick and sparkling dialog and some of the best physical comedy of the decade, it is head and shoulders above 99% of "Comedy" as it is presented today. I am sure it will one day take its rightful place with such great shows as "The Fantastiks", and "Waiting for Godot." Why it isn't available on DVD yet is a mystery and a tragedy.
7 Reviews
Amazing physical performance
ceolen@humboldt1.com6 April 2005
I saw this stage show when it was broadcast on PBS in 1983. I was involved in local theatre at the time and had seen some pretty incredible stuff out of the Dell Arte Players, but Bill Irwin floored me.
I was most impressed at how a man of his size (he's quite tall and beefy) could fold himself up into a small box without so much as a pause for adjustment and move across the stage at a dead run without even a whisper of sound from his feet if he chose not to make any noise.
Most amazing for me, though, in this performance, was the way he rose to his feet during the jack-in-the-box / marionette piece. Those who saw this show will recall that when he climbed from the box and collapsed to the floor with his body limp and limbs akimbo, he "pulled" himself up by the top of his head as if by a string, and rose not just to his feet, but to a full ballet pointand did it in one fluid, seemingly effortless motion. Just consider the strength, grace, balance and focus such a series of movements must take in order to accomplish them the way he did! Add to his physical prowess his strong and believable characterization skills, and there lies a consummate actor / performer. My jaw dropped at the movement and my heart broke at the portrayal of a puppet who is determined to be more than just a lifeless thing in a box.
As to the unfortunate (yes"tragic" would be a better word) unavailability of this piece in home media form, I have noticed that much of PBS' works are not available on tape or DVD. Sometimes, PBS shows will be available for direct purchase from them for a limited time immediately following a broadcast, but they seldom stay on the market for long. There are exceptions, of course, but these are mainly the science and history documentaries; rarely does an arts piece remain in print for longassuming it ever made it into VHS / DVD to begin with. I don't know why this should be so; certainly, PBS could use the income from home media marketing of their shows, but they don't take advantage of it much. This is a shame. There are many things I've watched on PBS that I wish to own, but pieces such as "The Regard of Flight" are, I'm afraid, a one-shot, once in a lifetime treat, never to be repeated on PBS again and never to be available for home media purchase. That really sucks. I'm lucky to have caught it when I did.
Oh, yeahour local library did get a copy of "The Regard of Flight." And yesit was stolen.
I was most impressed at how a man of his size (he's quite tall and beefy) could fold himself up into a small box without so much as a pause for adjustment and move across the stage at a dead run without even a whisper of sound from his feet if he chose not to make any noise.
Most amazing for me, though, in this performance, was the way he rose to his feet during the jack-in-the-box / marionette piece. Those who saw this show will recall that when he climbed from the box and collapsed to the floor with his body limp and limbs akimbo, he "pulled" himself up by the top of his head as if by a string, and rose not just to his feet, but to a full ballet pointand did it in one fluid, seemingly effortless motion. Just consider the strength, grace, balance and focus such a series of movements must take in order to accomplish them the way he did! Add to his physical prowess his strong and believable characterization skills, and there lies a consummate actor / performer. My jaw dropped at the movement and my heart broke at the portrayal of a puppet who is determined to be more than just a lifeless thing in a box.
As to the unfortunate (yes"tragic" would be a better word) unavailability of this piece in home media form, I have noticed that much of PBS' works are not available on tape or DVD. Sometimes, PBS shows will be available for direct purchase from them for a limited time immediately following a broadcast, but they seldom stay on the market for long. There are exceptions, of course, but these are mainly the science and history documentaries; rarely does an arts piece remain in print for longassuming it ever made it into VHS / DVD to begin with. I don't know why this should be so; certainly, PBS could use the income from home media marketing of their shows, but they don't take advantage of it much. This is a shame. There are many things I've watched on PBS that I wish to own, but pieces such as "The Regard of Flight" are, I'm afraid, a one-shot, once in a lifetime treat, never to be repeated on PBS again and never to be available for home media purchase. That really sucks. I'm lucky to have caught it when I did.
Oh, yeahour local library did get a copy of "The Regard of Flight." And yesit was stolen.
Performance highlights Bill Irwin's abilities
CraigC-219 September 1998
This adaptation for TV was a wonderful vehicle for Bill Irwin to show his ability to perform physical humor. With the backdrop of a struggle between an actor and his writer/director, Bill uses his clowning antics to showcase a variety of skills including hat tricks, pantomime, dance and various physical devices.
Although it takes a big swipe at the entertainment industry and his craft, it is engrossing for people of all walks and ages.
This work was televised as a PBS special. Bill performed a piece of it on the Tonight Show, but out of context it did not go over well.
Although it takes a big swipe at the entertainment industry and his craft, it is engrossing for people of all walks and ages.
This work was televised as a PBS special. Bill performed a piece of it on the Tonight Show, but out of context it did not go over well.
Your public library probably has a tape of this (unless it's been stolen)
busterm3 December 1998
When the MacArthur Foundation gave Bill Irwin one of its Genius Awards, they distributed free tapes of "Regard of Flight" to public libraries. It's a wonderfully funny, skilled performance by Irwin and two other performers, in classic clown tradition, with lots of satirical jabs at intellectual theorizing about "the theateh".
Excellent Clowning
abayless29 December 2006
The Regard of Flight and the Clown Bagatelles as performed by Bill Irwin are some of the funniest (both in terms of physical comedy and verbal and visual gags) performances I've ever seen. My father taped this special when it first aired in the 80s and my family has loved it ever since. We quote it back and forth fairly constantly. It's a crying shame that copies are not readily available for purchase. I have a bad VHS copy that I acquired from a specialty distributer a few years ago, but Mr. Irwin's performance deserves a proper DVD treatment with a restored version of the original performance and interviews with the performers/producers as well as more examples of modern clowning.
Bill Irwin's talent deserves more exposure to mainstream audiences than it has enjoyed in his limited wide release appearances. I share "The Regard of Flight" with friends quite often and though I am always greeted with a small amount of skepticism when I mention that it is a mixture of clowning and vaudeville I have yet to have anyone come away from seeing it without loving it. In case the powers that be ever happen upon this IMDb listing, please consider releasing this and other Bill Irwin work.
Bill Irwin's talent deserves more exposure to mainstream audiences than it has enjoyed in his limited wide release appearances. I share "The Regard of Flight" with friends quite often and though I am always greeted with a small amount of skepticism when I mention that it is a mixture of clowning and vaudeville I have yet to have anyone come away from seeing it without loving it. In case the powers that be ever happen upon this IMDb listing, please consider releasing this and other Bill Irwin work.
Highly entertaining
glong-221 July 2017
I stumbled across this video on TV over thirty years ago and noticed that it featured Bill Irwin with whom I went to high school. It was the first performance I had seen by Bill since he made an hilarious performance in Voltaire's Le Misanthrope as a high school junior. The Regard of Flight is non-stop funny and the acrobatics are astonishing. I'm going to go home and see if I can find this on Hulu.
The Regard of Flight and the Clown Bagatelles
donmac-213 January 2007
I saw this performance on TV and taped it. My daughter played it over and over again. I loaned out at work and everyone just loved it. It is just brilliant physical comedy. Bill made an appearance here in California, (he was working and living in New York) and performed the Regard of Flight on stage. I was able to take my daughter and her girlfriend to see this brilliant performance.
Bill was awarded a Federal endowment, and my daughter wrote him a letter of congratulations, and Bill was so kind to write her a note back and enclose a photograph.
People ask me, and I can't decide if he is a comedian, and actor, or a clown. Actually he is all three. I really wish this was on DVD, my tape is lost.
Bill was awarded a Federal endowment, and my daughter wrote him a letter of congratulations, and Bill was so kind to write her a note back and enclose a photograph.
People ask me, and I can't decide if he is a comedian, and actor, or a clown. Actually he is all three. I really wish this was on DVD, my tape is lost.
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