Gunsmoke - The Directors Collection

I have just finished watching the first six years of Gunsmoke, from the pilot and first episode, through episode number 173. It’s kind of nice to be able to start at the beginning and follow it through, at least I think they are in that order. Take notice of a couple of things about Kitty: She doesn’t have a mole on her face until episode 5, and no explanation as to why she all of the sudden had one. Also, in the pilot she is not the Kitty we all know. She seems to be very timid and not sure of herself, and seems like an extra instead of a main character. The pilot show is actually listed at the end of season six, and is numbered as episode #173, I'm not sure why?There is one thing you notice pretty clearly when watching episodes one right after another, but probably didn’t notice when they were new. Chester seems to be the only one that breaks the news to Marshal Dillon when a major problem arises, and I got a little tired of seeing him running into the Long Branch, or the Marshal’s office with the news. And since he is always with Marshal Dillon, I’m surprised that he never carries a pistol with him, except for the one time he tried on Matt's holster and pretended to be a fast draw.After seeing the beginning of the show nearly 100 times I also noticed that in the opening scene Marshal Dillon actually draws his gun first before the outlaw, I'm not sure that is a flaw in the filming or intentional, in any case you don't notice it unless you freeze frame the draw. If you look at the first picture below you will see the Marshal’s hand grabbing for his gun before the bad guy even moves.I like Gunsmoke very much, it’s a lot better than a lot of other westerns I have seen. So overall I will give it 5 stars or a grade of A+.

It was very difficult to not start viewing this set as soon as it arrived but alas as a Christmas present I held off until 25 DEC. As a hardcore Gunsmoke fanatic ,having seen the first Gunsmoke episode as a 8 year old boy in 1955, it is always great to see my favorite western uncut and restored. As with the original 50th Anniversary set there is an excellent balance of episodes.There are not as many extras on this set. The theme of the Directors collection allowed me to hear for the first time Peter Graves (Jim Arness's brother) talk about their experiences. Other than Jim's book there is almost no info regarding them together. I was disappointed in the radio episodes, the quality was terrible. I am a collector and I know that many of the radio episodes exist in pristine condition. I'm afraid that some viewers will possibly think that all of the radio episodes only exist in the condition of those on the DVD.I would really like to see the black and white hour long episodes featured more on the next set because they are the ones that get very little to no cable airtime.This set is a must have for the serious Gunsmoke collector, the opening gives a goodbye to Dennis Weaver and it is sad that nearly everyone associated with the series is gone.CJ WESTMorrow, GA

My father and I used to watch Gunsmoke, which was on for many, many years, a testimony to its popularity. It was mostly serious western but many humorous episodes. Jim Arness (brother of Peter Graves) was Marshall Dillon, an easy-going, likable big guy but also tough. Other characters included "Doc", deputy Chester Good (Dennis Weaver, later McCloud, etc.), and the owner of the saloon and discreetly-questionable lady Miss Kitty, played by the very attractive Amanda Blake. The characters all became familiar "family", and the episodes ranged from gritty to funny, violent to character lessons. It is, of course, an old series and one will pick up on that, it can be corny or by today's standards a bit amateurish at times, but most of the time it holds up very well and it's fun to watch. I have not gotten through all the episodes yet, but the ones I have are excellent, and of good audio and video quality. You will see actors who later went on to become starts in their own right, very interesting trips down Memory Lane.All in all, a consistent, pretty authentic, and definitely fun show, any of the various seasons or collections should be great, but I chose this one to get a good cross-section without buying all of them and triggering a divorce!Highly recommended series, and this collection is excellent.

Having seen only two episodes so far makes me so happy that I purchased the {Directors Collection}with episodes such as " Cotters Girl " from 1963.Hearing the diector and the actress who played Cotters daughter speaking about their obviousenjoyment with that episode is wonderful for the viewer , the lunch scene that took so long tofilm because of the laughter - the scene was not completed until the following day.And the quality is so well done , this will be a real stand out in my collection.I have now ordered the 50th anniversery collection." Cotters Girl" had a female writer, the director of this episode spoke with admiration for thiswriter and as he had directed 90 episodes of Gunsmoke over the years , he was aware when thegold shone through. Other directors prefer a " shoot em up script" and would stay away fromone such as this, however it is good to see the actors having fun on the job.My one wish is that some bloopers were saved from "Cotters Girl".

One of the best westsern on tv. It's timeless and just as good now as I remember first run. There are so many episodes I sit at night watching a group at a time. Loving Roy Rogers movies as a child I crossed over to this series easily in the 1950's. One thing about the old west...they had good laws but justice was swift. There's alot of shootin' and tootin' but no long trials or appeals court...the bad guy usually gets one or two in the gut and a shovel gets him to boot hill. One of my first husband's ancestors was hanged for stealing a horse..after that they all moved to Brooklyn. Great series.

Gunsmoke, Plus James Arness, plus Matt Dillon equals the best and awesome. They will always have a special place in my heart ❤️ We need more men like Matt in the world 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😘😘😘😘😘

This 3 disc set of classic episodes from Gunsmoke is a mixed bag.Disc one represents the early years - 7 x 25 minute B/W episodes. These are excellent and show a variety of styles from humourous (Chester's Mail Order Bride) to dark (How To Kill A Woman). There are audio commentaries on some episodes and the original radio versions of 4 of them, starring William (Cannon) Conrad as Matt Dillon.Disc two features 4 x 50 minute episodes, still in black and white. These too are excellent and include Us Haggens, which introduced Festus, who would soon replace Dennis Weaver's Chester as Matt's deputy. Directors' commentaries can be found here, too.The problem is with disc three, which represents the colour episodes. Only one of these - Mannon - is truly classic Gunsmoke. A tense story with sterling work from guest Steve Forrest as the title character, a gunman out to kill Matt. The tone is very adult as Kitty gets badly beaten up. The Legend is OK, but there's not much of the regular characters in it. And the other two are awful. Will Captain Sligo win the widow's affections? Will the Brides And Grooms make it to the altar? Who cares? More importantly where are Matt, Kitty and Festus? They're absent for much of the former and almost totally missing from the latter. As a fellow reviewer on Amazon US points out, it's the Gunsmoke characters we want to see.Still, the set is still well worth having for the B/W episodes, the Mannon colour installment, the informative commentaries and those wonderful radio episodes. It's just a shame they couldn't have picked better episodes for most of disc three.Discs one and two: 5 stars. Disc three 2 stars. Average 4 stars, hence the overall rating.

Picture quality is great, stories are good ones, extras are okay but nothing special - shame it is only available in region 1

I grew up with these western TV series and really do enjoy watching them again.

i love those old tv shows and the prize was good.

Beau coffret souvenir. Merci