Home Theater Forum  ›  Forums  ›  Entertainment and Media  ›  SD DVD - Film and Documentary  ›  Best Laurel and Hardy DVD's?
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread

Best Laurel and Hardy DVD's?

#31
Rating: 0
6/25/09 at 4:42am
  • Joined: March 2006
  • Post Count: 279

Re: Best Laurel and Hardy DVD's?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DeWilson
So, what are THE BEST L&H DVDs out there? UK or German?

For the most part (I'm told), the mastering is pretty much the same on both (however, I only have the second German set so I cannot personally compare). Most bang for your buck is probably the UK collection -- everything is in one place, chronological, it has more of the phonetic foreign language versions, it has both versions of "Brats" (1930 and 1937 scores) etc. Also, there are a handful of films on the German set where there are short sections where the German subtitles cannot be turned off (because the German dubbed versions had edits and the footage is subbed in from the English language versions). Remember, the German set was created with a German-speaking audience in mind.

However, the German DVDs also include a whole slew of silent-era Roach shorts, most with either Laurel or Hardy in supporting roles appearing with other stars like Charley Chase. Also, "The Chimp" has its original circus-themed theatrical titles on the German release, while the UK version has the Film Classics reissue titles. One other thing is that the German DVDs have been released in, I think, three box sets, while the UK set is all in one set and arranged in a more coherent manner.

There is a US company, Nostalgia Family Video, which has released the sound-era Roach stuff on separate individual DVDs. I don't have any so I cannot speak for their content or quality.
Export to Wiki
#32
Rating: 0
6/25/09 at 7:17am
  • Joined: September 2002
  • Post Count: 2,160

Re: Best Laurel and Hardy DVD's?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Y
There is a US company, Nostalgia Family Video, which has released the sound-era Roach stuff on separate individual DVDs. I don't have any so I cannot speak for their content or quality.

Here is a link to their L&H listing.

Nostalgia Family Video - Quality Videos Since 1989

Seems a bit overpriced, $19 a film?
Click Here to Visit My Blog
Export to Wiki
#33
Rating: 0
6/26/09 at 10:36am
  • Joined: June 2006
  • Location: Huntsville, AL
  • Post Count: 874

Re: Best Laurel and Hardy DVD's?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sumnernor
Today I just got the L&H UK set and it does not contain the booklets as mentioned on the Amazon-UK site.

IF some kind soul could make photo-copies of the booklets and I will pay for the effort and postage. Please send me a PM.
I just got my set today, and no booklets were included either.

So just what am I missing? Was there anything important in these booklets?
BARBARA WRIGHT: You're from Earth?
MORTON DILL: No... no, ma'am, I... I'm from Alabama.
Doctor Who: Flight Through Eternity
Export to Wiki
#34
Rating: 0
6/26/09 at 10:40am
  • Joined: April 2007
  • Location: Munich, Germany
  • Post Count: 164

Re: Best Laurel and Hardy DVD's?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DeWilson
So, what are THE BEST L&H DVDs out there? UK or German?
That is a difficult question. ?Most of the UK Laurel&Hardys came from Germany. So I would assume the PQ is the same for the UK and the german versions. I now have both! The Amazon-UK was such a great price. I would agree with Mark that the best bet is the US which is ?still? available. The german versions are OOP BUT it appears that the singles are available on Amazon.de by sellers. The german version DVDs was done poorly - poor menus and there is about a one minute blurb stating how the Kirch-Group has mastered the L&H. On the german, this is done BEFORE most films and you have to FF to get by. From what I have seen, the same blurb is on the english but AFTER the film which is much better. There is also one german DVD where the english version is obtained by clicking on the english title NOT in the menu, the language option.
I am trying to see what is missing from the german and english versions. I know that there are a few films NOT on the english DVDs (such as Flying Deuces and Babes in Toyland) which are on the german. It appears that both the UK and German versions have most of/All of the main and short films and a large part of the silents. Missing from both are the Warner and Fox films (mentioned above). Neither set has "Atoll K/Utopia" or "Great Guns".
Export to Wiki
#35
Rating: 0
6/26/09 at 10:49am
  • Joined: September 2002
  • Post Count: 2,160

Re: Best Laurel and Hardy DVD's?

I ordered the UK set from Amazon UK earlier this week and it was shipped from Germany(??). Still on the way to me.
Click Here to Visit My Blog
Export to Wiki
#36
Rating: 0
6/28/09 at 6:56am
  • Joined: April 2007
  • Location: Munich, Germany
  • Post Count: 164

Laurel & Hardy: 1921 - The Lucky Dog

Yesterday I was looking at a german thread via google looking for something else and I noticed that back in circa 2005 someone mentioned the "The Lucky Dog" was found in a hidden title on the Kinowelt "In der Fremdenlegion" (The Flying Deuces). I tried to find it on my normal DVD player and the DVD would not let me change to another title. With great effort on my PC player, I found the movie on Title No 8 -1st track. I don't think there was an easter egg on the Kinowelt disc.

The silent movie states an "extract" with starring Laurel and with Hardy. In this film Hardy is a robber. The timing on the disc is 16:20. If someone finds the "easter egg" which I don't think exists and is familiar with "The Lucky Dog" please post.

I see that "Great Guns" was released sometime in the US by Fox. There seems to be floating around the last L&H film "Atoll K/Utopia". Amazon/UK is releasing a ?new? version on Aug 17. Both "Great Guns" and "Atoll" were not on the Kinowelt/UK sets. To my knowledge "Great Guns" has not been released in Germany.
Export to Wiki
#37
Rating: 0
7/3/09 at 7:34am
  • Joined: September 2002
  • Post Count: 2,160
Just wanted to mention, I got the set yesterday and mine also didn't have a booklet. 

Maybe that is why the set was only $55 shipped, they were manufactured without the booklet.

Not that I'm complaining.  Looks like a great set even without it.  Haven't gotten to watch it yet.
Click Here to Visit My Blog
Export to Wiki
#38
Rating: 0
9/16/09 at 12:02pm
  • Joined: August 2002
  • Post Count: 165
I found the following on the Message Board at www.laurel-and-hardy.com/, from the webmaster Richard W. Bann in response to a user question about USA DVD rights:

"USA L&H DVD rights have been licensed by RHI to a company named Genius Products, the same people responsible for the Our Gang DVD, about which much has been written. We are waiting to see what Genius is going to do about L&H, if anything. They do realize now (too late) that mistakes were made issuing the Our Gang DVD, so that if they go ahead with L&H they have much hard work ahead. To clarify, the problem is not with RHI at this point, so you need not bother petitioning them. If you want to see a L&H DVD in America, you could make your wishes known to Genius. Those whom I have met with there are nice people, and I hope they will do the right thing. The person in charge on the Our Gang DVD has left the company, possibly a hopeful sign."
Export to Wiki
#39
Rating: 0
9/16/09 at 3:03pm
  • Joined: June 2009
  • Post Count: 18
I think that may no longer be completely relevant, as the news earlier this week was that Vivendi has acquired all of the distribution rights that were being held by Genius, including RHI product:

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Site-News-Vivendi-acquires-Genius-properties/12672
Export to Wiki
#40
Rating: 0
9/17/09 at 2:30am
  • Joined: May 2001
  • Post Count: 53
Does the Vivendi deal affect Michael Agee´s L & H holdings?
What does RHI stand for?
Export to Wiki
#41
Rating: 0
9/17/09 at 8:37am
  • Joined: March 2007
  • Location: New Orleans, LA
  • Post Count: 617


Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefan Andersson View Post

Does the Vivendi deal affect Michael Agee´s L & H holdings?
What does RHI stand for?

Not sure about Michael Agee holdings, but Vivendi is a distribution company that only distributes what DVDs from companies that they have a contract for.  Genius had a contract with RHI, Weinstein and other independent companies to distribute their releases now Vivendi has that contract.  I know that Mr. Agee's holdings have been discussed numerous times and not sure exactly where they lay, but if any L & H Roach films are released, I understand that it will have to come from RHI.

The Little Rascals set was a combined effort of RHI and Genius. 

RHI Entertainment started out as Hallmark Cards and was purchased by Robert Halmi Sr. & Jr. in 1994 and was renamed Hallmark Entertainment.  In 2006 the name was changed to RHI Entertainment when several investors came aboard.  RHI is famous for the Hallmark Channel, Television movies, and mini-series such as Lonesome Dove.  RHI is also the rights holder to the Hal Roach library which not only includes The Little Rascals but all Roach Laurel & Hardy films.
“For God's sake don't say yes until I've finished talking.” - Daryl F. Zanuck  
Export to Wiki
#42
Rating: 0
9/23/09 at 7:14pm
  • Joined: March 2006
  • Post Count: 279



Quote:
Originally Posted by ahollis View Post
Not sure about Michael Agee holdings, but Vivendi is a distribution company that only distributes what DVDs from companies that they have a contract for.  Genius had a contract with RHI, Weinstein and other independent companies to distribute their releases now Vivendi has that contract.  I know that Mr. Agee's holdings have been discussed numerous times and not sure exactly where they lay, but if any L & H Roach films are released, I understand that it will have to come from RHI.

Michael Agee runs/ran a company that used to be called The Nostalgia Archive (different from both The Nostalgia Merchant and Nostaglia Family Video, both of which also have released L&H videos over the years). The Nostalgia Archive now uses the name Hal Roach Studios -- nowadays "Hal Roach Studios" is just a corporate trademark with no official connection to the Roach studio of old. So it's really full circle -- Agee was involved with the "reorganized" Hal Roach Studios back in the 1980s, which did the world's first computer colorization (however dubious that distinction may be) and released the Roach-era L&H films as a TV package in 1986. They didn't have video rights at the time, but under the "Hal Roach Studios" name they did release public-domain stuff, including L&H and other films. It's all part of the same thing, I guess. Anyway, another entity ("Richard Feiner & Co.") claims ownership of the L&H silents and RHI/Hallmark never challenged them on it. Supposedly, because of the way some contract was phrased, Feiner & Co. can claim all "non-speaking" Laurel & Hardy film appearances -- which includes their mute cameo appearances in the shorts "On The Wrong Trek" (with Charley Chase) and "Wild Poses" (with Our Gang). So the last I heard, RHI/Hallmark/Genius claimed no ownership of the silent L&H films. (I am pretty sure they do own those silent Our Gang shorts released through M-G-M. Ten of the Our Gang silents were part of early TV packages in the 1950s along with the talkies; at the time, those ten titles were all that were known to exist of the M-G-M silents. The Pathe shorts weren't part of this, though most are public domain anyway.)





The Little Rascals set was a combined effort of RHI and Genius. 

RHI Entertainment started out as Hallmark Cards and was purchased by Robert Halmi Sr. & Jr. in 1994 and was renamed Hallmark Entertainment.  In 2006 the name was changed to RHI Entertainment when several investors came aboard.  RHI is famous for the Hallmark Channel, Television movies, and mini-series such as Lonesome Dove.  RHI is also the rights holder to the Hal Roach library which not only includes The Little Rascals but all Roach Laurel & Hardy films.
 

The RHI name was used on the Laurel & Hardy features and shorts when shown on the American Movie Classics cable channel in the early 1990s. It was also used on the Cabin Fever Little Rascals videos. RHI owns video rights to the Little Rascals, but TV rights still belong to King World Productions -- I think now distributed by Paramount. We had a local station in Chicago running them a few years ago from colorized versions, but after a week or two they just ran the same tapes with the color turned off. Sometimes they'd leave in a copyright notice for the colorized version at the end by accident.
Export to Wiki
#43
Rating: 0
9/23/09 at 7:32pm
  • Joined: March 2006
  • Post Count: 279


Quote:
Originally Posted by Sumnernor View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by DeWilson
So, what are THE BEST L&H DVDs out there? UK or German?
That is a difficult question. ?Most of the UK Laurel&Hardys came from Germany. So I would assume the PQ is the same for the UK and the german versions.

I do have the UK set now -- mine also shipped from Germany, kind of ironic. From what I have seen of both, they mostly appear to use the same sources, except for a couple of soundtrack differences on some of the silents (Beau Hunks score vs. original 1929 Victor score) and "The Chimp" has the original circus-theme M-G-M titles on the German release, but Film Classics reissue titles on the UK collection. I'm told "Block-Heads" is slightly edited on the UK set, but I don't recall the specifics. Possibly one of the other features too, but I don't remember which one.

I was mistaken when I said earlier in this thread that the films in the UK set were presented chronologically. They're not (that's the Dutch set).



Quote:
Missing from both are the Warner and Fox films (mentioned above). Neither set has "Atoll K/Utopia" or "Great Guns".

 
 
 

All the Fox films have been released in the USA at least, as have the two M-G-M features. "Utopia" is public domain (like "The Flying Deuces") and is all over the place -- I'm told the best available copy was on one of those mega-sets from Treeline Films (now known as Mill Creek). The collection was called "Family Classics." A later edition of the set doesn't list "Utopia." It is from an old video transfer (there are some dropouts at one point as I recall) but it is indeed the best available version I have ever seen on video.

 
Export to Wiki
#44
Rating: 0
9/24/09 at 1:56pm
  • Joined: April 2007
  • Location: Munich, Germany
  • Post Count: 164
I have noticed things that I have ordered from Amaz-Uk seem to come to me in Munich via Amaz.de. This has been very quick including a tracking function which I don't get from Amaz.com. With Amaz-UK , if I order on Day 1, it is sent out on Day 2, received at Amaz.de of Day 3 and received the next day

I have written up a L&H blurb sort of in a similar format as the Dutch site with more info. I have been away a number of times plus PC problems and just have gotten DSL with problems with the DSL modem etc etc. I have used in the listing of the german discs the german titles and later go into much detail with the english titles. I have both the english and German sets.  There was talk about no inserts in the english set - I have gotten the Laurel & Hardy Encyclopedia which is quite good. Also via a German L&H site, I discovered that "Lucky Dog" is on the german "Flying Deuces" set. It is not an easter egg and only could get it my PC DVD-player (Cyberlink Power DVD). The german DVDs do not allow to switch to another Title.  I believe Lucky Dog in title no 8.
Export to Wiki
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread