Billy Connolly: Live in New York (2005 Video) User Reviews

Billy.....

[The_Dinosaur · 9/10 · 23 September 2006]

Billy Connoly is one of my favorite stand-up comedians for a few reasons, one of which is he doesn't tell jokes he tells stories. In this DVD you will get Billy doing what he does best and that is making people laugh.

Some of the material on this DVD is old and some of it is new. It is not his best performance but it is a very good one. He never fails to keep the attention of this New York audience even though they are quite loud compared to his other filmed performances, but Billy doesn't hesitate to tell them to "Shut the f*ck up".

At times in this DVD you think some of the audience would become offended and there is a bit where a few people walk out, but I'm not sure if they just moved to other seats, or what.

This is a very worthwhile DVD for Billy's fans, even though it doesn't have any DVD extras.

Disappionting effort from my Favourite Comedian

[mulhollandman · 3/10 · 19 September 2006]

No one could argue that Billy Connolly has had a good career in regards to his stand up comedy career. It's just a pity that this DVD could well be his last. Recorded in the unfamiliar setting of a New York Theatre we watch Billy Connolly engage with his New York audience. We observe 90 minutes of old and new material some of it taken from his Live 1994 DVD. To be honest the performance is half hearted and only rarely attains glimpses of a comic genius working. I don't think it's got anything to do with material being unfunny but the energy levels normally associated with a Billy Connolly Stand up gig aren't there and we get the feeling that Billy Connolly is like every other person in their 60's feeling their age.

The crowd do not help matters. They are boisterous and noisy during the performance and Connolly appears to be having a really bad night with keeping his audiences attention. It does not help that right on at the beginning when he is just settling into the performance he is interrupted by latecomers to his show. At one stage this happening would have been the start to a great night. But instead of putting them down in his traditional way Connolly reverts to a skit about the theater being built on a Native American trail and that's why people are walking all over the place. It doesn't go anywhere. At times he makes a breakthrough particularly during the last story but it is sadly a case of too little too late. He has one great story about a party his roadies had on tour but it is really filled with ideas that amount to nothing.

They say comedians lose their edge when success comes their way and that is why many of them move into film and television and some would apply this to Connolly. But to be fair Connolly has proved them wrong with many of his tours and it is just a pity that this show was recorded in the aftermath of his hasty retreat back to the states after some unsavory comments about the late Ken Bigley. Maybe his confidence has taken a severe battering on account of this. This could well explain his decision to record the concert in New York and not in his native U.K. homeland. I need not remind fans of the outrage caused by his Bigley comments. So recording in an environment that is a first and looks to be boisterous and hostile probably prevented him in presenting his best performance. Or maybe he really is feeling his age. All in all not what I expected from my favorite comedian but has a few skits to entertain but not enough to hold my attention long enough. A disappointing 3 out of 10.

Billy Connolly: Live in New York

[jboothmillard · 4/10 · 2 August 2010]

I watched the TV series World Tour of Scotland, which included small clips of the comedian's live shows, and I was really looking forward to seeing a full show with the most often voted Britain's favourite and greatest comedian. Billy Connolly performs for the first time in three years to to the strong audience in a New York theatre, taken from his "Too Old To Die" tour. It was the first time in the thirty years he had been performing in America that it was filmed, and he covered the subjects of seeing some funny things happen, growing old and sex. I'm afraid to say, I wasn't laughing much, he was rambling on too much and constantly changing the subject, you couldn't often keep up with the story that is meant to make you laugh. Obviously I did giggle at the moments that you are obvious to, and I appreciate him as a great stand-up, but this show just didn't please me completely. Billy Connolly was number 16 on TV's 50 Greatest Stars, he was number 8 on The Comedians' Comedian, he was number 1 on Britian's Favourite Comedian, he was number 1 on 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and he was number 1 on 100 Greatest Stand-Ups 2010. Okay!