The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection (New Line) (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Mirza]

Having appeared in more than 200 films and widely considered to be one of cinema’s most respected comic geniuses, Harold Lloyd was one of Hollywood’s first true movie stars. Now, entertainment enthusiasts of all ages can enjoy the work of the man who inspired generations of acting greats with The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, available on DVD on November 15, 2005, from New Line Home Entertainment. Digitally remastered, restored and rescored, the three-volume, seven-disc DVD collection includes 15 feature films, 10 shorts and a bonus disc containing a treasure chest of extras including Harold Lloyd’s home movies, star tributes, photo galleries, all-new interviews and featurettes, and a 3-D bonus photo disc with a pair of 3-D photo glasses. The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection is available at a $89.95 SRP. Each volume can also be purchased separately at a $29.95 SRP. The DVD order due date is October 11, 2005.

With a career that spanned more than 34 years, Harold Lloyd essentially created the feature-length film. Best known for his comedy movies including The Freshman, Speedy and Safety Last! – which features one of Hollywood’s most iconic images of Harold Lloyd hanging from the hands of a giant clock – the influence of his physical comedy is evident in the performances of many of today’s leading actors. His trademark combination of physical skill, well-developed characters and keen comic timing have influenced such acclaimed talents as Lucille Ball, Jim Carrey, Dustin Hoffman and Johnny Depp.

“Harold Lloyd was a true cinema icon whose unique brand of filmmaking and comic timing have impacted generations of movie-going audiences,” said Justine Brody, senior vice president of marketing, New Line Home Entertainment. “The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection is a virtual film history treasure trove, offering viewers of all ages an outstanding selection of remastered, restored and rescored Hollywood gems.”
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES* AND EPISODE GUIDE


Volume 1
Disc 1:
· Feature films and shorts - Girl Shy (1924), Safety Last! (1923), An Eastern Westerner (1920), Ask Father (1919), From Hand to Mouth (1919)
· Commentary by Leonard Maltin director and Rich Correll on Safety Last!
· Production and publicity galleries
· Animated menus
· 4X3 full frame versions
· 2M mono audio

Disc 2:
· Feature films and shorts - The Milky Way (1936), The Cat’s Paw (1934), Why Worry? (1923)
· Featurette “Harold’s Hollywood: Then and Now”
· Production and publicity galleries
· English subtitles and closed captions
· Animated menus
· 4X3 full frame versions
· Spanish subtitles – on feature films
· 2M mono audio

Volume 2
Disc 1:
· Feature films and shorts - Kid Brother (1927), The Freshman (1925), Bumping Into Broadway (1919), Billy Blazes, Esq. (1919)
· Commentary by Leonard Maltin, Rich Correll and film historian Richard Bann on The Freshman
· Commentary by Harold Lloyd’s granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, author Annette Lloyd, and Rich Correll on Kid Brother
· Production and publicity galleries
· Animated menus
· 4X3 full frame versions
· 2M mono audio

Disc 2:
· Feature films and shorts - Feet First (1930), Grandma’s Boy (1922), Dr. Jack (1922), Now or Never (1921), High and Dizzy (1920)
· “Scoring for Comedy” Featurette
· Production and publicity galleries
· English subtitles and closed captions
· Spanish subtitles
· Animated menus
· 4X3 full frame versions
· 2M mono audio

Volume 3
Disc 1:
· Feature films and shorts - Speedy (1928), Hot Water (1924), Never Weaken (1921), Haunted Spooks (1920),
· Commentary by Suzanne Lloyd, Annette Lloyd and Rich Correll on Speedy and Haunted Spooks
· Production and publicity galleries
· Animated menus
· 4X3 full frame versions
· 2M mono audio

Disc 2:
· Feature films and shorts - Movie Crazy (1932), For Heaven’s Sake (1926), I Do (1921), Among Those Present (1921), A Sailor-Made Man (1921), Get Out and Get Under (1920), Number Please? (1920)
· “Greenacres” Featurette
· Productions and publicity galleries
· English subtitles and closed captions
· Spanish subtitles
· 4X3 full frame versions

Bonus Disc (Collector’s Set Only)
· Rare home movies
· Introductions from film critic and historian Leonard Maltin
· Photo galleries, lobby cards and production stills
· Comparisons between domestic and international prints
· “Then-and-now” location comparisons
· Tributes and interviews with family, friends and legendary celebrities including Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Tab Hunter and director John Landis
· Rogues’ gallery of autographed photos of celebrities, presidents and sports heroes
· Scrapbook collection - Reviews, programs, etc.
· 3-D photos (3-D glasses included)
· Over 30 featurettes
· And more!

 

[Eric Peterson]

It's good to see something official on these releases. Count me in! I've only seen "Safety Last", but am looking forward to seeing many more!

 

[Jason Seaver]

Excellent. I saw thirteen of the features at the Brattle this June, and loved almost every one of them. Curious to note that Welcome Danger doesn't seem to be included - it's either his first talkie or last silent, depending on the version you see.

 

[Derek_McL]

Great as far as content and value only a lot of material to fit on seven discs, likely they will be dual layered and possibly the dreaded double sided but I'm such a big fan of silent comedy I'll buy this whatever.

 

[Danny Burk]

Finally! I'm really looking forward to this set. WELCOME DANGER is supposed to be issued on DVD next year in both sound and silent versions...the latter isn't the originally filmed silent version (which doesn't exist), but the version released to theatres not yet wired for sound. Those who've seen it say that it's considerably better than the sound version (which is historically interesting but dreadful to sit through), being more tightly edited.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Extremely classy! Looks like the box set is the real way to go.

These are probably DVD-18's, from looking at the contents. The 2nd disc of Volume 1 would have over 4 hours of video, so that's probably the plan. Still, to have this many Harold Lloyd films plus tons of extras for under $90 is a bargain.

 

[Steve Phillips]

Awesome news! It looks to be an amazing collection. The 3-D disc is a great bonus.

Lloyd took thousands of stereo photographs. Even though the DVD will convert them to anaglyph format from the original color, these should be fun to see.

I never thought I'd see a collection of all these films at any price, so I'm all over this.....

 

[Jim Tudor]

I'm there. Saw "Safety Last" a few years ago at the St. Louis International Film Festival, and loved it. That film appears to be the best way I've seen of getting young kids interested in watching more silent films. The kids in the audience were enthralled, and obviously having a great time.

JiM T

 

[Vincent Fok]

I wonder how can some of the films double up in Kino's Harold Lloyd Collection. I am keen on seeing Never Weaken on video for so long, but now I don't know whether to get the Kino's version, or the New Line version. :frowning:

Has anyone got hold of Kino's Harold Lloyd Collection I? What is the overall quality like?

 

[Danny Burk]

I have Kino's Vol. 1 collection. The films are generally very nice quality, but not up to the par of the Lloyd estate prints that I've seen. IMO the Lloyd estate versions also benefit greatly from Robert Israel's music scores.

 

[TimJS]

Here's an alpha-sort of the films on the Kino & New Line collections:

CollectionVolDiscTitleYear
HLCC32Among Those Present1921
HLSS22Among Those Present1921
HLSS11Are Crooks Dishonest?1918
HLCC11Ask Father1919
HLCC21Billy Blazes, Esq.1919
HLCC21Bumping Into Broadway1919
HLSS11Bumping Into Broadway1919
HLSS21Captain Kidd's Kids1920
HLCC12The Cat's Paw1934
HLSS21The City Slicker1918
HLCC22Dr. Jack1922
HLCC11An Eastern Westerner1920
HLSS11An Eastern Westerner1920
HLCC22Feet First1930
HLCC32For Heaven's Sake1926
HLCC21The Freshman1925
HLCC11From Hand to Mouth1919
HLSS21From Hand To Mouth1920
HLCC32Get Out and Get Under1920
HLCC11Girl Shy1924
HLCC22Grandma's Boy1922
HLSS11Grandma's Boy1922
HLCC31Haunted Spooks1920
HLCC22High and Dizzy1920
HLSS22High And Dizzy1920
HLSS11His Royal Slyness1921
HLCC31Hot Water1924
HLCC32I Do1921
HLSS11I Do1921
HLSS11Just Neighbors1919
HLCC21Kid Brother1927
HLCC12The Milky Way1936
HLCC32Movie Crazy1932
HLCC31Never Weaken1921
HLSS22Never Weaken1921
HLSS21The Non-Stop Kid1918
HLCC22Now or Never1921
HLSS22Now Or Never1921
HLCC32Number Please?1920
HLSS11Number, Please?1920
HLSS21Ring Up The Curtain1919
HLCC11Safety Last!1923
HLCC32A Sailor-Made Man1921
HLCC31Speedy1928
HLSS21Two Gun Gussie1918
HLCC12Why Worry?1923

Tim

 

[TimJS]

And a Chronological sort:

CollectionVolDiscTitleYear
HLSS11Are Crooks Dishonest?1918
HLSS21The City Slicker1918
HLSS21The Non-Stop Kid1918
HLSS21Two Gun Gussie1918
HLCC11Ask Father1919
HLCC21Billy Blazes, Esq.1919
HLCC21Bumping Into Broadway1919
HLSS11Bumping Into Broadway1919
HLCC11From Hand to Mouth1919
HLSS11Just Neighbors1919
HLSS21Ring Up The Curtain1919
HLSS21Captain Kidd's Kids1920
HLCC11An Eastern Westerner1920
HLSS11An Eastern Westerner1920
HLSS21From Hand To Mouth1920
HLCC32Get Out and Get Under1920
HLCC31Haunted Spooks1920
HLCC22High and Dizzy1920
HLSS22High And Dizzy1920
HLCC32Number Please?1920
HLSS11Number, Please?1920
HLCC32Among Those Present1921
HLSS22Among Those Present1921
HLSS11His Royal Slyness1921
HLCC32I Do1921
HLSS11I Do1921
HLCC31Never Weaken1921
HLSS22Never Weaken1921
HLCC22Now or Never1921
HLSS22Now Or Never1921
HLCC32A Sailor-Made Man1921
HLCC22Dr. Jack1922
HLCC22Grandma's Boy1922
HLSS11Grandma's Boy1922
HLCC11Safety Last!1923
HLCC12Why Worry?1923
HLCC11Girl Shy1924
HLCC31Hot Water1924
HLCC21The Freshman1925
HLCC32For Heaven's Sake1926
HLCC21Kid Brother1927
HLCC31Speedy1928
HLCC22Feet First1930
HLCC32Movie Crazy1932
HLCC12The Cat's Paw1934
HLCC12The Milky Way1936


Tim

 

[Robert Harris]

Even for the unitiated, if this is properly done, meaning from high definition masters and not via PAL conversions, historically and from a pure sense of cinema, the Harold Lloyd Collection will be one of the most important releases of 2005.

RAH

 

[Jason Seaver]

Are these the same scores that were on the prints that played the Brattle (and, presumable, NYC's Film Forum) this summer? Because those didn't impress me at all; they seemed to be the same three pieces repeated, and not syncronized particularly well to the action.

 

[Brian PB]

I couldn't agree more, RAH. New Line took a big chance in purchasing the DVD distribution rights from the Harold Lloyd Trust, since they were required to license the entire package (rather than cherry-picking the most popular titles). The Trust's asking price apparently scared off other suitors with a better track record with silent film (New Line has never released a silent film AFAIK).

Given their investment in a huge cache of mostly-silent films (some older than 80 years), New Line could've been forgiven for releasing a barebones package, or releasing this set at a higher price point. If the press release can be believed, it's remarkable that they did neither. Instead, we are presented with an absolutely loaded box set: 15 features, 13 shorts (the press release is mistaken when it speaks of 10), 5 commentaries, 30 featurettes, 3-D photos, etc, etc. And at a very reasonable price.

New Line and the HL Trust appear to have hit a homer with this one. I hope it sells well so that their considerable efforts are rewarded.

 

[george kaplan]

God, just the thought that these could be from sped up PAL sources, ala the MK2 Chaplin films, is enough to make me sick to my stomach. I've waited years for Safety Last, and would hate to think that Lloyd's masterful stunts in that film would be ruined that way. :frowning:

 

[Brian PB]

I think the chances of that happening are virtually nil. That North America got stuck with PAL-to-NTSC transfers of the Chaplin films was due to two factors: the restoration work and mastering (including the creation of PAL masters) was performed in France by mk2. Had the work been done in the US, the rest of the world might've been subjected to NTSC-to-PAL transfers. Second, Warner USA obviously crunched the numbers and decided that creating new NTSC masters would cut into their profits too much, and that the number of well-informed purists who would notice the problem and complain was relatively small.

Suzanne Lloyd has zealously guarded her grandfather's legacy and I have to believe she was a very active consultant on the New Line project. She---like any fan of silent film---is well aware that Warner USA dropped the ball on the Chaplin releases. I don't think there's any way in the world that she would have sanctioned the sole creation of PAL masters for this box set (I wouldn't be surprised if it was written into the licensing agreement that NTSC masters had to be used).

Given the drawn-out and difficult gestation, I will be shocked beyond comprehension if the final product isn't excellent, and something that Suzanne---and the Trust---can be proud of.

 

[Robert Harris]

From the information that came my way, WB did not drop any ball with the Chaplin films.

I don't believe that they were given a choice to release proper NTSC versions. It appears to have been a "take it or leave it" situation, with quite a bit of sturm und drang coming from the French side regarding the work and perfection of their "restored" videos.

Pity.

 

[Brian PB]

Thanks for that information, RAH---I had never heard that side of the story before. It's nice to know that it wasn't simply a 'bottom-line' decision on the part of Warner.

I know that Time Warner is in the business of making money, but this is Chaplin we're talking about, not Rob Schneider*. Given the planning and effort and expense that went into that project, the NTSC release was a huge letdown.

Here's hoping that the New Line Harold Lloyd set was executed without significant compromises.



*Apologies to Rob Schneider fans.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Regardless of whose fault it was, the Chaplin releases were badly bungled.

I'm greatly looking forward to this long-rumored vaporware actually coming into existence---and at a reasonable price, too, which I wasn't expecting given the Trust's rumored-to-be-enormous financial demands. Perhaps they're hoping to make it up in quantity. I'll be buying one for myself and one for my mom, so I'd say that strategy is working so far.

Those who have only seen SAFETY LAST are in for a treat. THE KID BROTHER is a good deal funnier and THE FRESHMAN and SPEEDY are both terrific pictures, just as a start.