The Three Stooges Ultimate Collection, March 27

Here's hoping someone here knows someone and can squeeze out some details.

I am guessing it is their later features, most previously on individual DVDs.
Two 80 minute features could easily fit on one DVD and fill up the three additional discs in the set with these:

Stop, Look & Laugh / Have Rocket Will Travel (1959)
Three Stooges In Orbit (1962) / Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962)
Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963) / Outlaws Is Coming (1965)

Or maybe even their feature with Curly: Rockin' In The Rockies (1945) in place of Stop Look & Laugh.

The kick in the butt would be if this were the only way to get "Have Rocket Will Travel" & "Rockin' In The Rockies" on DVD; OR if the discs included the promised-but-cancelled Shemp & Joe Besser solo shorts.
I have my doubts we will get three discs of documentaries.

If so, maybe Sony will be nice to us devoted collectors and offer a separate 3-disc THREE STOOGES 1959-1965 DVD set.

I'm hoping for the Shemp, Besser, and DeRita Columbia solos. I already have their decent DVD copies of the DeRita features (except HAVE ROCKET).

Certainly, the extra 3 DVDs will be available separately.

Certainly, Sony would not want to alienate all of us who faithfully bought that wave of "themed" DVDs with 5 or 6 shorts apiece. Then re-bought all 8 Volumes of "The Three Stooges Collection".

Certainly, Sony will not pull a stunt and include 3 exclusive DVDs on this massive box set to "force" fans to buy these all over again.

Anxiously awaiting details......

Doesn't Sony's Mike Schlesinger frequent these boards?

Gents,

 

Was hoping to help all of you out.

 

Just went to Sony's Press Site.  The title is listed but

not too much more information is provide.  No box art

or description of contents.

 

Thanks for trying. Keep us updated if anything pops up.

Dear Sony,

 

PLEASE release the additional discs separately.  PLEASE.  I bought the 8-package set.  I love it.  I want to keep it.  I DON'T want to buy it again.  

 

Thank you...

 

The set now shows up on Sony's upcoming release calendar, but as now, details remain elusive.

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/catalog/catalogDetail_DVD043396398207.html

If you ask the TV fans, Sony's track record with individually releasing bonus discs is abysmal. I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing these 3 extra discs released separately.

I imagine at least two of the three disks will be comprised of the Curly Joe feature films. Assuming Have Rocket Will Travel is included, I could see Sony releasing that. As for interviews or solo shorts, if any of those are included, this set will probably be the only place to get them.

 

I'll believe it when I see it. The only way I'll rebuy the previous discs over again in order to get any extras will be if the set retails for $50. Anything more would be a waste of money.

 

Brent,

 

That's more information than Sony's press site lists.

 

In fact, their press site still lists nothing but a release date of March 27th.

 

Thanks for the information.

I am excited and somewhat irritated at the same time. Being a huge Stooge fan, I purchased all of the 8 volumes right away. I also have all of the individual discs of the movies. All that I was missing from my Stooge collection was what is set to appear on those last three discs of this Ultimate Collection. I really really want to see Have Rocket Will Travel in widescreen, the shorts and Rockin in the Rockies..HOWEVER I do not feel that I should have to spend 143 dollars on this set to do so. What would I do with my 8 volumes? A trade in place will probably give me 3-4 dollars maximum. Not fair considering I willingly paid 19.99 for each of these on day one. I really hope that Sony releases a Volume 9 down the road with these three final discs or releases them separately in some capacity.
Recently Paramount released an I Love Lucy box set with an extra bonus disc containing the long lost I Love Lucy Movie. Once again I had already purchased the individual seasons. Paramount a month later released just the bonus disc by itself. Columbia NEEDS to do this otherwise it will make a lot of fans very angry. So yes, once again, I am excited for the material but irritated at the way it is being released.

This is a little irritating. I have some Amazon giftcards from Christmas and my Goddaughters love the Stooges so my plan is to purchase the new set and give them my individual sets. It is my responsibility to help raise those kids right.

I've been burned by this in the past. When Fox released the individual seasons of MASH, I was a good consumer and kept buying them. Then the same day they released season 11, they released the complete series with 2 discs of bonus material not available elsewhere. I was able ahead of time to sell my seasons 1-10 so with the profits from that and a little out of pocket, I covered the complete collection. However, I thought that was a little bit of a scam and I know it upset the consumer base of this show so much that eventually they released the final episode as a separate disc with the two discs of bonus material that was only in the complete collection.

It must be harder with older material as I really feel you need to keep purchasing it for the continuing seasons or film productions to keep coming out. I think with the Stooges however - for as much as I love other comedy teams and performers from that time - they are the one that you don't ever have to remarket or re-introduce. They have always stayed popular. Sony would have cleaned up just fine if they did this first and then released the sets separately (similar to how Time Life handled Get Smart many years ago and I believe other series have followed suit) With newer shows now that I'm interested in, they kind of sell themselves so if I really like a show, I won't make a purchase until the complete series comes out.

I really do hope Sony reviews this and makes the material available separately. I for one am surprised that they really appear to be going through with releasing all the solo material. Nice move but show a little love to the fan base and release those things separately. Sony has gouged people enough with the Stooges on DVD when you include all the previous incarnations before these chronological sets.

Yow! Sony should definitely release those available separately, especially the rare Columbia shorts. These go way beyond average bonus features, and could easily pass as "Volume 9" of the Three Stooges considering how strong the sales have been on these titles.

While I agree that Sony should release these extra materials as a seperate release which I would buy; I do not see any chance of that happening based on Sony's previous track record and most studios for that matter concerning these complete sets after individual releases.

Yep, if Sony does not release the extras as a separate disc, I can see them becoming the worst company of 2012 and we are only in the first month of the year.  I am still ticked at Fox for not releasing Cavalcade, Wild River and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn individually after placing them in collections with films I already owned.  I speak of this slap to faithful Fox fans that purchased the other discs faithfully when ever I can. 

 

I can not think a more repugnant act upon the thousands of loyal Stooge fans that purchased the individual collection boxes. 

 

It's this type of thing that's soured me on the hobby. From now on I've taken to not buying anything until a complete set comes out. What typically happens is that set never happens or I forget about it and don't buy a thing.

 

Hope the studios enjoy my future support. This is what happens when you kick your customers in the pants once too often.

 

 

I would not count on seeing these individually. Sony doesn't have a good track record of releasing this kind of stuff on its own. Look at the Seinfeld sets - after releasing the 9 seasons, they put out a complete series set with extra reunion footage and a coffee table type book. Neither were later released on their own. There's a chance some eBay sellers would sell the bonus discs on their own.

It all makes sense now, doesn't it? Sony released 8 wonderfully restored volumes of Stooge shorts, but they were completely devoid of ANY extra material. There were certainly things they could have put on there. It's now apparent why they never did: for a set like this. They probably knew the shorts alone would sell themselves, but they also knew they were sitting on bunch of other material diehard fans desperately wanted. And now with the FOX Stooges movie putting the Stooges back in the public spotlight, they likely saw this as the best time to release this.

Will I buy it? Maybe. This set gives me exactly what I wanted to see (the solo shorts). You won't see them on TV. And while I've seen some via the collectors market, the video quality was often bad to the point of being distracting. That's not going to be an issue here. The solo shorts have been missing from the home video market for 30 years. Ultimately, the packaging might determine if I get this or not. I'm not going to spend this kind of money on a set with paper sleeves (ala the L&H set). If this is properly packaged, I'd lean in favor of getting it.

A minor content quibble would be no TIME OUT FOR RHYTHM. If only one of TIME OUT or ROCKIN could be included, the former was a better choice.
Edited by rdf8585 - 1/24/12 at 10:03am

I wonder if this means the set will leave out the previously released Curly Joe features? I could see Have Rocket and Rockin' selling separately, but I have to imagine that a set of the solo shorts would only be bought by a small percentage of those who bought volume 8. I doubt if that would be enough to justify a release. Still, this is exciting news.

A lot of the casual fans probably don't even know about the solo shorts, ROCKIN IN THE ROCKIES, or those cartoons. This is soitenly a product designed for diehards.

I agree about Time Out For Rhythm. While Rockin' in the Rockies is considered their first starring film, it is rather boring once the novelty of it has worn off. Time Out For Rhythm was a wonderful showcase for the three of them. It played on TCM a while back (only once to my recollection) but it would be nice to see it officially released. Maybe their MOD program will put it out at some point. If anything, they could've included the clips from that and Start Cheering as their sections of those respective films play pretty well on their own. Plus with TOFR you get to see the Maja routine with a healthy Curly.

Unfortunately I agree that Sony doesn't have a good track record so while it is doubtful this would come out separately it would be nice and well deserved to all of us who bought them separately. One thing to note is that there hasn't been an official press release yet that I've seen regarding the content so maybe they'll surprise everyone.

Do keep in mind that HAVE ROCKET WILL TRAVE and the other Three Stooges features, outside of SNOW WHITE & THE THREE STOOGES, were never filmed in widescreen.
They were shot full screen, or "Open Matt", and then cropped on the top & bottom to look widescreen. The director framed the films knowing that the top & bottom would be cut off.
Since Video full frame is narrower than the 35mm "Open Matt" frame, there will be some more picture on the sides compared to the VHS tapes. But there will be a lot of picture missing from the top & bottom when compared to the VHS tapes.

For instance, compare the 3-D Widescreen shorts to the old Full Frame versions. These were shot in the "Open Matt" format where both versions show some picture in areas cut off by the other version. The Full Frame VHS will have more picture on the top & bottom but missing some from the sides, the Widescreen DVD will have more picture on the sides but missing some from the top & bottom.
However, the pre 1954 full frame 35mm picture is closer to the Video Full Frame, that is why GOOF ON THE ROOF looks so cropped in widescreen.

Some Columbia Blu-ray discs of the Ray Harryhausen films have corrected this widescreen problem by presenting the full open matt frame 1:66-1.

I suggest we start a write-in e-mail campaign to Sony requesting the individual sale of the last three discs. Maybe make it a special offer to the members of the Three Stooges Fan Club. There is no extra effort for sony, the discs have already been manufactured, they just have to offer them separately (packaging can be plain cases to save money).
Edited by Essanay Paul - 1/24/12 at 2:01pm

I want this, but I really don't want to double-dip on all 190 Stooge shorts. But what if they gave the viewer the choice of full-frame of cropped widescreen for the post-1953 material like some of the recent Warner Bros. cartoon DVDs? That would make it an easier pill to swallow, at least for me. I understand the concept of "protected for widescreen," etc. but I really dislike not having the option of viewing the full frame. "Jules White's artistic vision?" (Prior to the last decade or so, weren't a lot of films shot in such a manner so that after their brief window in theatres, they could be shown in full-frame on television, where they spent most of the rest of their lives...)

Aside from the above, the extras sound awesome. I want those Shemp, Besser and DeRita shorts, but they would be a hard sell to all but the Stooge completist. Bring it on!

I believe this to be the list of 28 Columbia solo shorts:

SHEMP

1. NOT GUILTY ENOUGH
2. HOME ON THE RANGE
3. THE GLOVE SLINGERS
4. MONEY SQUAWKS
5. BOOBS IN THE WOODS
6. PLEASED TO MITT YOU
7. PICK A PECK OF PLUMBERS
8. OPEN SEASON FOR SAPS
9. ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN
10. HIT WITH A MISS
11. MR NOISY
12. JIGGERS MY WIFE
13. SOCIETY MUGS
14. BRIDE AND GLOOM

BESSER

15. WAITING IN THE LURCH
16. DIZZY YARDBIRD
17. FRAIDY CAT
18. AIM FIRE SCOOT
19. CAUGHT ON THE BOUNCE
20. SPIES AND GUYS
21. THE FIRE CHASER
22. GI DOOD IT
23. HOOK A CROOK
24. ARMY DAZE

DERITA

25. SLAPPILY MARRIED
26. GOOD EGG BAD EGG
27. WEDLOCK DEADLOCK
28. JITTER BUGHOUSE

I'm a huge Stooge fan. I bought all 8 volumes of the Three Stooges Collection. Bought all those random-themed over-priced, single DVDs Sony released before they re-released them in the 8 volume Three Stooges Collection. Bought all the individual Stooge films on DVD that have been released by Sony.

So I'm sure Sony will do the right thing by us & release these extra 3 DVD as a stand--alone product as well as in this massive 20-disc box set. Yes? They won't make us buy all 190 shorts on 17 DVDs again just to get these 3 discs we have been asking for would they?

If they did do that, I would say that would be the absolute lamest thing in DVD history. The absolute rudest, most disrespectful BS nonsense that they have ever attempted to pull. If they did do that, I would not buy the 20 disc box set, and may even go so far as to never buy any other Sony DVD or Blu-ray again ever.

I'll echo that! I've been a huge Sony supporter, but if they pull this shit then I'm out!! I would love to have those extra discs, but there is NO WAY in hell that I'm going to re-buy all of these shorts unless they have some sort of significant rebate program for people who already bought these.