Bill Cosby: Far From Finished Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Bill Cosby: Far From Finished Blu-ray Movie Review

Keep going, Bill.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 13, 2013

Comedy begins and ends with Bill Cosby. Certainly, his isn't the name, and his isn't the face, of today's comedy -- he's not one of the super-popular stand-ups appearing in film and on Comedy Central, spitting out one vulgarity after another -- but he is the influencing force behind the scenes, a true legend of style and, much more importantly, class. Though it may not always look it -- or sound it, based on what some of these folks today are saying up on the stage -- Cosby helped to create, and mastered, the art of contemporary stand-up Comedy long before most of today's hottest comedians were even born. Cosby, though now certainly showing signs of aging and fragility, proves he's still more than capable of holding an audience in the palm of his hand in Far from Finished, a terrific new show -- his first in several decades -- and his first on Comedy Central. This is a real treat and a true television "event," something that years ago with a more limited channel selection might have made more headlines and splashed over more screens when there weren't a million other options vying for audiences' attention. Fortunately, the passage of time also means more access to programing like this on home video, and Paramount and Comedy Central have rightly seen fit to release Cosby's 90-minute-plus special to home video in a must-own package.

Don't change that channel.

The 76-year-old Cosby spends most of time poking fun at the follies of marriage, old age, and the woman's upper-hand in the relationship. Performing from the Cerritos Performing Arts Center in Cerritos, California, Cosby opens his show with a discussion of the in-and-outs of the typical relationship that transitions from "dating" to "marriage" and all of the hazards that come with latter, particularly for those getting on up there in years. Though he stays on a fairly narrow topic for the duration, he never fails to keep branching it out and finding the humor in the everyday aspects of marriage, from laying the clothes out for the next excursion to those dreaded trips to the mall, from the wife's "check-in" to her parroting of the car's GPS system. Cosby compares marriage to chess, rightly demonstrating the queen's ability to move across the board, and in any direction, at will, picking off inferior pieces while the king finds himself limited to one square movement at a time and incapable of going on the offensive. Coming from Cosby, it's an analogy that encapsulates the performance and, well, he tells it so much better. Just watch the show.

With "Comedy Central" comes a reputation for...colorful language. Cosby opens his program by humorously, and in a roundabout way, reassuring his audience that his brand of comedy won't change to suit a specific audience or the expectations of a particular cable channel. With that out of the way, he plunges straight into his routine, though to call it a "routine" would be a disservice to the presentation. That word connotes a rehearsed feeling to the delivery. That's not Bill Cosby. He sits and speaks as if a grandfather to his grandchildren, perhaps coming dangerously close to rambling at times but holding things together and delivering what is, ultimately, a casual, relaxed, and amazingly funny performance in an authentic, real-life sort of way. He pulls his audience in effortlessly and immediately with not only a welcoming smile and familiar cadence but also thanks to his gift as a natural storyteller and a tasteful joke-maker. His performance is comfortable and relaxed, and he still looks right at home on stage, even if his movements are now a little more limited. After all, comedy isn't about who can most easily and energetically move around the stage and drop the most sweat but rather who can tell the story of life in the most honest and most humorous light, and that's where Cosby proves himself the master, still after all these years.

Bill Cosby: Far From Finished Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bill Cosby: Far From Finished arrives on Blu-ray with a watchable, but not particularly noteworthy, 1080i, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Basic detail and coloring are satisfying, though the former is limited mostly to Cosby's face and the latter his bright red shirt. The face reveals some natural textures and fine details but the shirt appears rather flat, overwhelmed by its color and showing little more than cursory lines. The red does look rather loud but doesn't push too far to the point of bleeding or overpowering the visual senses, even as it's the constant source of brightness in the program against an otherwise blued and black backdrop. The image does suffer through quite a bit of heavy noise, noticeable primarily upon closer inspection rather than casual viewing. Moderate blocking is also evident from time to time. This is no reference-grade transfer, but it does at least replicate the televised experience well enough, without really improving on it.

Bill Cosby: Far From Finished Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Bill Cosby: Far From Finished features a productive but rather stand-up-Comedy-basic Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation consists of two primary elements: applause and Cosby's voice. The former is nicely enveloping and rather loud. It's not quite so naturally immersive as a good concert disc, but it does do a fair job of placing the listener in the middle of the auditorium. Cosby's words come through clearly and accurately from the center, with just a bit of reverberation around the stage, naturally replicating an auditorium presentation that gently echoes around, notably during the louder moments. This is a fine, suitable track for the material.

Bill Cosby: Far From Finished Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Bill Cosby: Far From Finished contains several extras, including a terrific interview.

• Interview with Bill Cosby -- Two Guys Not Lying to Each Other (HD, 48:45): Robert Townsend sits down with Bill Cosby for a discussion of comedy, career, and more. They cover Cosby's personal work ethic, his life history and start in the comedy business, breaking into real show business, his approach to humoring audiences and finding the humor in any number subjects, his style and remaining in "good taste," and much, much more. This is a must-see supplement.
• Gangbusters #1 (HD, 2:24): This piece shows Cosby in the recording studio engaging the musicians crafting the music for his special.
• Behind the Scenes -- Serious Business (HD, 5:02): A brief look backstage and interview clips with the crew talking up Cosby and his influence in their lives and in the larger world.
• Fans -- Honest Opinions from People Who Paid to Gittin (HD, 2:51): Fans react to the show.

Bill Cosby: Far From Finished Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cosby doesn't exactly break new ground in Far from Finished. The old "battle of the sexes" and the "ups and downs and complications of marriage" and "old age" bits have been done plenty of times before, but the question is "have they been done better?" One thing's for sure, they haven't been done like Bill Cosby does them. He breathes new life into some of the oldest ideas in the book, not putting two-and-two together in some different way, just his way. Every word comes effortlessly, every joke a natural progression from the last. Bill Cosby: Far From Finished is a must-see not only for Cosby fans or fans of stand-up, but a must-see for a generation or two that might only know the name and the face but not the man, the style, the soul, and the integrity behind them all. This is the perfect opportunity to sit down with a legend and understand what's made him a legend, to appreciate a master at his craft, to soak in the atmosphere only he can create. Comedy Central/Paramount's Blu-ray release of Bill Cosby: Far From Finished features good video and audio. A healthy assortment of extras are included, and the feature interview with Robert Townsend and Bill Cosby is alone worth the cost of the disc, and then some. Very highly recommended.