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Vivendi and RHI Press Release: Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection

post #1 of 465
7/18/11 at 4:48am
Thread Starter 

 

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TIMELESS SOUND-ERA FILMS FROM THE LEGENDARY HAL ROACH LIBRARY DEBUT IN ONE EXTRAORDINARY DVD SET 
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE U.S. 
 

LAUREL & HARDY: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION
 
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Digitally Remastered And Digitally Restored, Loaded With Over Two Hours Of Special Features, The Spectacular 10-Disc Set Arrives October 25 From RHI Entertainment And Vivendi Entertainment 
 

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA – Celebrating the genius of the most beloved comedy team of all time, LAUREL & HARDY: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION debuts in a stunning 10-disc set on October 25, 2011 from RHI Entertainment and Vivendi Entertainment. With a comedic style that defined an era and created a legacy that is still celebrated today, 58 of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy’s talking shorts and feature films, produced under legendary movie mogul Hal Roach from 1929 through 1940, are now available for the first time in the U.S. all together in one magnificent collection.

 

Transferred in high definition for the first time and digitally enhanced for home viewing in the finest quality available to date, the set contains favorites that have been enjoyed for generations including Helpmates, Hog Wild, Another Fine Mess, Sons of the Desert, Way Out West, and the Academy Award® winning* film The Music Box.

 

LAUREL & HARDY: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION comes housed in collectible, book-style packaging with an extensive, detailed film guide. The set also boasts over two hours of special features including exclusive, never-before-seen interviews with comedy legends Dick Van Dyke, Jerry Lewis, Tim Conway and more, who discuss the enduring impact and influence of Laurel and Hardy.

 

Additional features include commentaries by Laurel and Hardy aficionados, along with a virtual location map that allows viewers to take an interactive tour of the iconic places in and around Los Angeles where Laurel and Hardy filmed. Available for the suggested retail price of $99.98, LAUREL & HARDY: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION showcases some of the most cherished and hilarious films in cinema history and is a must-have for comedy fans and collectors everywhere.

 

BASICS

Price:                                    $99.98

Street Date:                         October 25, 2011

Order Date:                        September 20, 2011

Catalog Number: RH3021

Language: English

Running time:                         1941 minutes

Rating: NR

 

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Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection
post #2 of 465
7/18/11 at 4:51am
Thread Starter 

Wow!  Never thought I'd see this day.

 

Wonder how this set compares to the UK boxed set

which I have owned all these years.  I know the UK 

set has both B&W and colorized versions of the shorts,

but perhaps the U.S. release has a better HD transfer.

 

Will keep all of you posted when this becomes available

for preorder.

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post #3 of 465
7/18/11 at 5:34am

Thanks for starting my day off right, Ron!  I also had my doubts this would ever happen but the consistent reports from Dick Bann and others that this was being worked on provided some hope.

 

10 discs sounds about right - the UK set was inflated by the colorized versions.  From my count, they made 40 talking shorts and 13 features during this period (2 of which were released by WHV).  The presser indicates 58 titles so perhaps some of the foreign language ones will be included.  We will have to wait until later today or this week when Mr. Bann and others will presumably offer more details.

 

It's unfortunate that the silents were not included here but those were at least released in the past by Image and are likely still caught up in rights disputes thanks to the notorious Michael Agee.


Edited by Steve...O - 7/18/11 at 5:13pm
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post #4 of 465
7/18/11 at 5:36am
Great to see this set finally released, a looong time coming. It appears that blurb posted back in March on the L&H forums was true after all. Vivendi has been on a roll since they gained the rights to this Roach material--hopefully more releases are forthcoming.

The downside? It appears this is solely their talking pictures--none of their features in silent or non-talkie w/ prerecorded music/sound effects
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein View Post

perhaps the U.S. release has a better HD transfer.

UCLA has been working diligently on the L&H library since the last UK/German set, so I expect to see several improvements. Though it is possible there may be a few better prints held by the German European rights holders that they may not share for legal reasons.
Edited by JoHud - 7/18/11 at 5:46am
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post #5 of 465
7/18/11 at 5:46am
Awesome news!! I've only seen their major works "Music Box", "Way Out West", and "Sons of the Desert" and those were quite some time ago on muddy copies. I'm looking forward to seeing more of their films and in restored versions. Here's to hoping that these are done properly the first time....unlike the Rascals which were incomplete/edited prints. biggrin.gif
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post #6 of 465
7/18/11 at 6:00am
Anyone more leaned on L&H's DVD release history know if the UK release had footage missing from "Blockheads"? I seem to recall it mentioned somewhere that it was a trimmed version.
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post #7 of 465
7/18/11 at 6:05am
Thread Starter 

 

 

Quote:
The downside? It appears this is solely their talking pictures--none of their features in silent or non-talkie w/ prerecorded music/sound effects

 

 

It has been a long time since I took the UK boxed set

off my shelf.

 

Does that have the silents on it?  I think Liberty was

one of the silents on that set.

 

So, based on this early information, are we confident

the UK set had more shorts than this US release does?

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post #8 of 465
7/18/11 at 6:09am
Wow! I have been waiting for years for something like this to happen. Stan and Ollie have been poorly served in the realm of home video. But I would not call the collection "The Essential" if none of their silent shorts are included. while it is true that L&H gained a great benefit from the use of their voices, the silents were they developed their relationship/routines and created some great cinematic comedy. Still, this great news and I am looking forward to it. Thanks for the info! biggrin.gif
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post #9 of 465
7/18/11 at 6:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein View Post

 

 

 

 

It has been a long time since I took the UK boxed set

off my shelf.

 

Does that have the silents on it?  I think Liberty was

one of the silents on that set.

 

So, based on this early information, are we confident

the UK set had more shorts than this US release does?


I never bought the whole UK set, just various volumes since Amazon UK had some killer deals on them (roughly $8US per volume at one point!).  Several volumes that I own have the "classic short" and the silent version that originally inspired it.  THIS is a must buy, even for the duplicates that I'll end up with.  AWESOME NEWS!!!!

 

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post #10 of 465
7/18/11 at 6:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein View Post

 

 

 

 

It has been a long time since I took the UK boxed set

off my shelf.

 

Does that have the silents on it?  I think Liberty was

one of the silents on that set.

 

So, based on this early information, are we confident

the UK set had more shorts than this US release does?


The UK set had most all of their silents I believe. However, the prints ranged from very poor to good. It didn't seem like they had access to the nitrate material that Agee's Lost Films set had. Also, the UK silents had their music tracks compiled from Beau Hunks recordings of LeRoy Shields tunes. While I enjoy the Beau Hunks work, the Shields tunes were originally written and performed in the talkie era and the historian in me would prefer the vitaphone soundtracks (as was done on the Lost Films set) that are more accurate for the time frame the films were released.
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post #11 of 465
7/18/11 at 7:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein View Post

 

 

 

 

It has been a long time since I took the UK boxed set

off my shelf.

 

Does that have the silents on it?  I think Liberty was

one of the silents on that set.

 

So, based on this early information, are we confident

the UK set had more shorts than this US release does?


The UK set was generally compiled to have one long sound feature of two shorter sound features, and one or two silent features, usually at random.

It is possible some silent features may be included as extras but, judging by the 1929 date in the press release and the lack of silents in the Our Gang collections, it doesn't look likely.

Still, I hope this set is actually chronological, minus the handful of features owned by other studios.
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post #12 of 465
7/18/11 at 9:10am
I'm glad Warner doesn't have these. They'd probably end up in the Archives....

All kidding aside, this is a must buy.
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post #13 of 465
7/18/11 at 10:13am
My my, yes. Happy day. Can't wait to get this. Gotta stack it on my Wish List for now. Probably going to order this the same time I grab the Our Gang set from WB.

Would love to get all the Our Gang silents as well...any word on a similar set of those?
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post #14 of 465
7/18/11 at 10:15am
This is some of the best home video news ever.
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post #15 of 465
7/18/11 at 10:40am
Finally, the press release is out! I have been waiting to share some of the juicy tidbits that Dick has shared with me. This is the first time we'll see these in HD masters. They will look incredible. Yes some of the foreign versions are included but not all. The extended versions of Pardon Us and Pack Up Your Troubles are included. The third reel of Laughing Gravy is included. All available original titles are restored. No silent films. Many short cut scenes are restored such as one short where they are talking about a letter, and the less than 10 second shot of the envelope showing Stan Laurel and his address is back in. This will more or less make the big UK box obsolete as far as the sound films go.
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post #16 of 465
7/18/11 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Greene View Post

Finally, the press release is out! I have been waiting to share some of the juicy tidbits that Dick has shared with me. This is the first time we'll see these in HD masters. They will look incredible. Yes some of the foreign versions are included but not all. The extended versions of Pardon Us and Pack Up Your Troubles are included. The third reel of Laughing Gravy is included. All available original titles are restored. No silent films. Many short cut scenes are restored such as one short where they are talking about a letter, and the less than 10 second shot of the envelope showing Stan Laurel and his address is back in. This will more or less make the big UK box obsolete as far as the sound films go.


This is outstanding.  I can not wait to spend the hours of enjoying these films again with better transfers. 
 

 

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post #17 of 465
7/18/11 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoHud View Post

UCLA has been working diligently on the L&H library since the last UK/German set, so I expect to see several improvements. Though it is possible there may be a few better prints held by the German European rights holders that they may not share for legal reasons.

RHI and the European rights holders exchange and use each others elements all the time. The same folks behind the European restorations are invovled with this set.
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post #18 of 465
7/18/11 at 1:36pm

Unclear is  the term "HD masters" - will these be issued on DVD and/or "Blu-Ray????

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post #19 of 465
7/18/11 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 

Press release states just DVD

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post #20 of 465
7/18/11 at 1:39pm

Excellent news! I bought the UK set not too long ago, which will be good to have because of the silent films, but I'll gladly buy this set to have them NTSC (no PAL speedup) and from better HD source. thumbsup.gif

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post #21 of 465
7/18/11 at 2:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Greene View Post

Finally, the press release is out! I have been waiting to share some of the juicy tidbits that Dick has shared with me. This is the first time we'll see these in HD masters. They will look incredible. Yes some of the foreign versions are included but not all. The extended versions of Pardon Us and Pack Up Your Troubles are included. The third reel of Laughing Gravy is included. All available original titles are restored. No silent films. Many short cut scenes are restored such as one short where they are talking about a letter, and the less than 10 second shot of the envelope showing Stan Laurel and his address is back in. This will more or less make the big UK box obsolete as far as the sound films go.

Will the longer version of CHICKENS COME HOME be there? If not, the UK set is still important for that one - it's got much extra footage in the foreign version.

I had finally bought the UK set only 6 months ago, because it was only around $40 on Amazon. Even though I don't like the silent shorts nearly as much as the sound ones, I'm glad that I'll have a reason to hold onto the UK set.

Many of the shorts needed to look better --- I hope the US set does not disappoint there. And I just hope there are no smeary artifacting compression defects which plagued some of the films on the LITTLE RASCALS set.

Quibbling aside, this is a GLORIOUS DAY FOR DVD!
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post #22 of 465
7/18/11 at 3:16pm
Wonderful news! But...no order for me as I stopped buying dvd years ago.

As these were created from high def transfers - when do you think we will get the Blurays?

I'm interested in hearing the commentaries - should be fun!

Bluray soon please smile.gif
Edited by Alistair_M - 7/18/11 at 8:22pm
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post #23 of 465
7/18/11 at 5:59pm

The RHI facebook page has a high resolution large version of the same photo that Ron posted.  Enlarging the booklet I see the following titles listed:

 

Los Calaveres

Our Wife

Pardon Us

Come Clean

One Good Turn

Beau Hunks

 

These are all from 1931 so if this is any indication, the material does appear to be in chronological order.  And it further confirms what Rick Greene posted about the inclusion of the foreign language films.

 

 

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post #24 of 465
7/18/11 at 6:56pm
I'll be very interested to see how it measures up with the UK box set. When I bought an all-region player, this is the first DVD I bought.

I think the quality on the UK boxset is about what I expected from films that have been bounced around from owner to owner. I know that UCLA has been restoring some of them.

I also know that MOMA restored superb technicolor prints of Selznick's "A Star Is Born" anmd "Nothing Sacred", but they have never allowed them to be released on DVD. Hopefully UCLA will be more forthcoming!
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post #25 of 465
7/18/11 at 7:12pm

Based on Rick Greene's post about all new transfers to HD, I'm confident these will look and sound better than the UK set (which I have and think highly of).   The UK set did have an edited Blockheads as Joe Hudak indicated and the UK Way Out West had a bad jump/splice in the middle of the Lonesome Pine song that shouldn't have been there.

 

I've heard rumblings that various rights issues are what held up this set.  That may explain the absence of the silents.   The 11 Memories fraud/debacle aside I hope that the rights owners can get their act together and deliver a quality retail set through Vivendi/RHI.  The UK silents were, in general and in my opinion, quite inferior in quality to what was available from Image. 

 

I hope the absence of a BD set doesn't discourage anyone from buying this set that normally would.   If/when UCLA completes their restorations in a few years, perhaps that will be the time for a BD set.

 

RHI has a video clip (minus Edgar Kennedy's R-rated outburst) of "A Perfect Day" on their website:

 

http://rhitv.com/home-video/laurel--hardy-the-essential-collection 

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post #26 of 465
7/18/11 at 11:12pm
I hope this set uses plastic holders for the discs and not cheap paper/cardboard sleeves. Like the I LOVE LUCY Complete Series set. Paper/cardboard sleeves can easily lead to discs being scratched, sometimes before you even touch them.
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post #27 of 465
7/19/11 at 6:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdf8585 View Post

I hope this set uses plastic holders for the discs and not cheap paper/cardboard sleeves. Like the I LOVE LUCY Complete Series set. Paper/cardboard sleeves can easily lead to discs being scratched, sometimes before you even touch them.

From the photo, it looks like cardboard sleeves.
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post #28 of 465
7/19/11 at 6:54am


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by BarryM View Post

I think the quality on the UK boxset is about what I expected from films that have been bounced around from owner to owner. I know that UCLA has been restoring some of them.
 

 

I tend to disagree. I have BOTH the UK set and that which was released in Germany. As far as I know the films from the English release come from Kinowelt. The L&H disks were restored by the Kirch-Group (I believe in Leipsig.) The link describing the UK set is:

 

http://www.laurelandhardy.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/newDVDREV.html

 

I would also recommend looking at my posts  13 & 17 in

 

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/248719/best-laurel-and-hardy-dvd-s.

 

I wrote a blurb about the german set. I could post that except my blub is based on a thread from Holland.

 

http://www.blotto.nl/index.php/weblog/dvd/

 

My order of the german disks is the same as the dutch site but is more up-to-date and not a rewrite. I would not want to be sued (if there are such things as copywrites.) The german discs do NOT have  Vol numbers. The order is almost by release date. If there is a "legal" expert, I could send my text via a PM and then if it is OK, release the text on this thread.

 

 


Edited by Sumnernor - 7/19/11 at 7:19am
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post #29 of 465
7/19/11 at 8:25am
Ron, is there any way to confirm what the package design will be like? It would be extremely frustrating to have waited all this time and have all this restoration work done for there to be an issue with scratched discs.

RHI doesn't seem to have a contact page on their site:

http://rhitv.com/home-video/laurel--hardy-the-essential-collection
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post #30 of 465
7/19/11 at 9:00am
Amazon is now accepting pre-orders at a 30% discount:

http://www.amazon.com/Laurel-Hardy-The-Essential-Collection/dp/B005BYBZKY/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1311091238&sr=1-1
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