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post #61 of 141
7/25/08 at 3:17pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Patrick
actualy that is on the old Cabin Feaver releases as well, in the same manner, and we know how well that turned out, and yes they did use pete the pup then as well, but i like it, the only thing i think differently is instead og just showing the kids that they had on the cover they could have used something like the cover of Maltins book,
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post #62 of 141
7/25/08 at 3:27pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Just pre-ordered it; and I hardly EVER do that!
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post #63 of 141
7/25/08 at 3:32pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

I would put high hopes into this set.

The people involved with the Cabin Fever (RCI) set seem to be
involved with this set as well.

I would presume at least the same masters are being used as
were on the former CF releases.

This is not public domain trash that has been released on other
collections. This should be the real deal as far as a quality Rascals
release.
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post #64 of 141
7/26/08 at 10:04am

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

The art work is so-so. I cannot say I like it, but I don't dislike it either. I'm just sad the gang from 1929-1931 didnt make it. Chubby, Weezer, Jackie, Mary Ann...thats my favorite group.
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post #65 of 141
7/26/08 at 11:50am

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

What do those '29-31 shorts fall under. Is it those Laughsmith
is working on or just the silents before it?

Maybe I am wrong, but I thought those characters were found
on the Cabin Fever releases which this new set is replicating.
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post #66 of 141
7/26/08 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
What do those '29-31 shorts fall under. Is it those Laughsmith is working on or just the silents before it?

Maybe I am wrong, but I thought those characters were found
on the Cabin Fever releases which this new set is replicating.

You are correct. Laughsmith is working on a selection of silent-era films.

This 80-film set of '29 - '38 will indeed include the early "talkies" with Chubby Chaney, Farina Hoskins, Wheezer Hutchins, Jackie Cooper, et. al., as well as the 'Spanky, Alfalfa, Porky, Buckwheat, Darla and Butch' comedies.
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post #67 of 141
7/26/08 at 5:09pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Quote:
Originally Posted by ColbyCo82
Chubby, Weezer, Jackie, Mary Ann...thats my favorite group.

I agree that the best ones were in the Wheezer-Stymie era, through the time when Spanky first joined the group. But the vast majority of Baby Boomers, when they think of "The Little Rascals," think of Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Buckwheat and Porky, and their faces on a cover will get more attention than Wheezer and Mary Ann.
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post #68 of 141
7/26/08 at 5:37pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

O-tay - it's Preordered!
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post #69 of 141
7/26/08 at 6:27pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

actualy i remember the weezer and jackie cooper ones better,
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post #70 of 141
7/26/08 at 7:11pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Yea, I just meant I was sad that Jackie or Weezer or Chubby didnt made the cover. For some reason Cabin Fever only released the talkies from 1929's "Small Talk" onward. They did release a handful of silents, but didnt really go back even though they probably own the rights to MGM released silents of 1928 and 1929. It might be because they didnt want to comission new soundtracks...but im sure many of these had vitaphone soundtracks that still might exist.
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post #71 of 141
7/28/08 at 7:47am

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

I prefer the early incarnations with Jackie, Wheezer, Chubby, & Stymie, but for whatever reason, the later bunch has had a more lasting appeal. They should have somehow included both groups on the cover art, but this will in no way keep me from owning this. The only thing that might is if the transfers turn out to be medicore and if they use the same sequencing as the VHS tapes. I want to watch all of the shorts in their proper order without having to change discs every 20 minutes.
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post #72 of 141
7/28/08 at 9:26am

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Regarding the cover art, it is fine, but like a lot of the others, I prefer something more like the Maltin book. Especially since it had Scotty on it. My favorite episode is First Round-Up. IMHO, the teaming of Scotty and Spanky was never beaten.

I am so thrilled this is coming out. Speaking shelf-wise, the new packaging will allow me to free up quite a bit of space. I have the six CF discs, plus five more that I created by converting the LD versions. One box vs. eleven cases - a no-brainer.

If the quality at least matches the CF versions, I will be happy, but I think I agree with Eric's wish that these be presented in chronological order. As a fan, I like all the eras, but my mood tends to want to watch a particular era in one sitting. I realize the casual fan is probably better served by the random sampling that the original CF organization presented, but I'm not a casual fan.

Looking forward to a Halloween marathon (my boys will definitely pester me to show them Hide and Shriek - their favorite episode)

David Weicker
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post #73 of 141
7/28/08 at 3:00pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

I agree these definitely should be presented in chronological order.

I hope similar progress is being made with the silent set due from Laughsmith - the schedule has been pushed back so often, I'm a bit concerned.
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post #74 of 141
7/28/08 at 6:28pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

I found this in the L&H google groups. Unfortunately the author did not provide an attribution so I unable to provide credit to the proper source. I'm not sure I like how these are referred to as "episodes" and a "show", but otherwise this looks like a very attractive package.

Quote:
The hunt for those seemingly countless LITTLE RASCALS releases is over. For the first time ever, all 80 of Hal Roach's original 1929-1938 classic shorts featuring Buckwheat, Spanky, Alphalpha, and the rest of Our Gang--from the era before Roach sold the rights to MGM--are available here in one package.

Included among this complete collection of uncut, remastered, and restored episodes are numerous contributions of various types from noted film historians, an additional 10 silent shorts from Hal Roach's personal library, several documentaries including a look at racism as it pertains to the show, a special "where are they now" update featuring some of the surviving cast members, and much more.
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post #75 of 141
7/28/08 at 10:53pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Extremely good news about the 10 silents being included...could these be some of the copyrighted silents that won't be on the Laughsmith set?
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post #76 of 141
7/29/08 at 1:32am

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Amazon price has dropped and is currently $54.99 (%39). I'd pre-order pronto because I can almost guarantee that price will soon go higher.
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post #77 of 141
7/29/08 at 8:56am

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve...O
I'm not sure I like how these are referred to as "episodes" and a "show", but otherwise this looks like a very attractive package.
I understand your concern about the language, Steve.

I wondered why the title wasn't Our Gang instead of The Little Rascals - which I understood to be the TV re-release title.
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post #78 of 141
7/29/08 at 9:44am

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Well, more people know this as THE LITTLE RASCALS, which makes more sense from a marketing standpoint. Even Leonard Maltin's indispensable book was titled "THE LITTLE RASCALS (the life and times of Our Gang)".
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post #79 of 141
7/29/08 at 12:12pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

As far as I c tell, only 5 silent Our Gang Comedies have recieved an "official" release from Cabin Fever and its legal heirs (Hallmark etc.).

VHS Only
1. Derby Day (1923-Pathe)
2. Dogs of War (1923-Pathe)
3. Big Brother (1927-Pathe)
4. Cat, Dog, & Co. (1929-MGM)

DVD Only
5. Dog Heaven (1927-MGM)

If the above story is true, then we should probably expect these shorts and five others. I really hope they are from the MGM period and they ultilize original vitaphone scores when possible. However the box art clearly states "80 Original Theatrical Shorts" If 80 is the actual number, then no silents can be included. The orginal cabin fever box set included 84 shorts...4 were silents and the rest were talkies. I hope a press release comes soon and straightens out this confusion.
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post #80 of 141
7/29/08 at 12:26pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Disc introductions by Richard W. Bann, Dickie Moore, Jerry Schatz (aka Jerry Tucker) and Jean Darling.

Shorts are in chronological order.

10 bonus features... which include 3 silent shorts:

- Dog Heaven (1927)
- Spook Spoofing (1928)
- Barnum & Ringling, Inc. (1928)

New bonus featurettes:
- The Story of Hal Roach and Our Gang
- Rascals and Racial Issues
- Catching Up with the Rascals: Dickie Moore
- Catching Up with the Rascals: Jean Darling
- Catching Up with the Rascals: Jerry Tucker
- Catching Up with the Rascals: Annie Ross
- Memories of Spanky
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post #81 of 141
7/29/08 at 12:32pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Full Specs at ClassicFlix.
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post #82 of 141
7/29/08 at 1:08pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Thanks for making my day!!! It was quickly spiraling down the toilet, but this makes everything OK again!!

My pre-order is already placed and like Cartman, I wish I could freeze myself for 3 months.
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post #83 of 141
7/29/08 at 1:16pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Without pulling out all my VHS Cabin Fever tapes that remain....

I take it everything that was on those VHS collections including
the shorts that were considered racial are included here?
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post #84 of 141
7/29/08 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
I take it everything that was on those VHS collections including
the shorts that were considered racial are included here?

With the exception of the '94 Maltin introductions, and respective bonus silent film selections... Yes.
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post #85 of 141
7/29/08 at 1:21pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Would be nice if there we supplemental sets of restored shorts from the other eras.
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post #86 of 141
7/29/08 at 1:28pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Am I missing something or am I supposed to recognize who Richard Bann, Tom Hatten, Richard Lewis Ward, & Annie Ross are? Are they historians, background gang members, or what?

It's a shame that they waited as long as they did. Porky passed away just 2 years ago!! I met him at an autograph show along with Dorothy "Echo" Deborba who seems to still be with us (I wonder why she wasn't involved?).

Does anybody else have the soundtrack CDs recorded by The Beau Hunks? I have volume 2 and love it, but volume 1 is OOP and goes for about $50 on Ebay.
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post #87 of 141
7/29/08 at 1:40pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Any thoughts on why they included 3 different silents than on the VHS sets? There were 4 silents on the VHS set and none are included on the new set. I hate the idea of keeping some of those old tapes around, but it looks like I don't have much of a choice.
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post #88 of 141
7/29/08 at 2:26pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Someone over at the Little rascals forum posted this on the dvd set:

"I talked to a couple people from Genius at Comic Con on Friday. They confirmed that the shorts would be in chronological order, packed in a fold-out case, and completely remastered. The only potential bad news being that the discs are all DVD-5s which means they are NOT dual layer or double-sided. That would increase the compression quite a bit, not to mention they told me only the first 7 discs would contain the shorts, while disc 8 would contain the bonus features. It will be nice to have a complete, chronological collection of these shorts all in one place but the compression factor concerns me a bit.

I must say that the people I spoke to at Genius were very friendly, professional, and knowledgeable about their product. If any Genius employees have found their way to this site and have contradictory information to what I have just presented, please feel free to correct me!"

The compression for only using DVD-5's bothers me a bit as well with 80 shorts on 7 dvd's. Anyone else concerned about this? I don't have any of these shorts on anything so, I am pre-ordered on this set as well as all the upcoming Three Stooges shorts

Anyone know what the best dvds out for the MGM shorts 1938 - 1944 not covered in this box set?
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post #89 of 141
7/29/08 at 3:12pm

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

DISC 7 (Introduction by Annie Ross):
Hearts are Thumps (1937)
Three Smart Boys (1937)
Rushin' Ballet (1937)
Roamin' Holiday (1937)
Night 'n' Gales (1937)
Fishy Tales (1937)
Framing Youth (1937)
The Pigskin Palooka (1937)
Mail and Female (1937)
Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1937)
Canned Fishing (1938)
Bear Facts (1938)
Three Men in a Tub (1938)
Came the Brawn (1938)
Feed 'em and Weep (1938)
The Awful Tooth (1938)
Hide and Shriek (1938)


All of that on one disc might be too much but we're lucky to be getting them at all.
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post #90 of 141
7/29/08 at 3:25pm
Thread Starter 

re: Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
All of that on one disc might be too much but we're lucky to be getting them at all.

Effective with the '36-'37 season, the "Our Gang" comedies became one-reelers, avg. 10 min. in length; FOLLIES OF 1938 the exception, being the final two-reeler. Disc 7's running time is consistent with discs 1 - 6 (disc 6 is a mix of two-&-one-reelers).
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