Vivendi and RHI Press Release: Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection (1 Viewer)

[Tony Bensley]

It looks as though THE FLYING DEUCES in color has FINALLY been released on US Amazon (Current Status: Usually ships within 1 to 3 weeks). Somebody on the Laurel & Hardy Forum from the UK got an email from them informing him that it has shipped. However, there seems to be a major delay for online vendors outside the US (IE. Canadian Amazon's Current Status: Usually ships within 1 to 3 MONTHS).
As I ordered from CDN Amazon, I've placed a backup order with California based third party vendor, Import CDs (Via CDN Amazon). I recommend other Canadians who have preorders with CDN Amazon to do the same!
CHEERS!
**UPDATE** US Amazon, now lists THE FLYING DEUCES in color as being "In Stock" with 12 copies still available. Unfortunately, the status for CDN Amazon remains unchanged, so my recommendation to switch to a US based vendor still holds!
Here is the US Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Deuces-Colorized-Black-White/dp/B00828XUUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340115639&sr=8-1&keywords=flying+deuces+legend
CHEERS!

My FD in color order from Import CDs has shipped, and is estimated to arrive between July 3 - 10. Meanwhile, I got an email from CDN Amazon, stating that my estimated delivery is anywhere between July 20 - August 30!! Import CDs would seem to be the best option for us Canucks regarding this title at the moment!
CHEERS!

 

[Steve...O]

/For those wanting to experience L&H on the big screen, UCLA's restored print of "Way Out West" will be shown 8/2 at the Heights Theater in Minneapolis. I've seen this print and it is really, really good. This same theater is also showing "A Perfect Day" alongside a Fields short on 7/15.

I've been to this theater a couple of times during my travels and the owners have done a marvelous job at restoring a vintage showplace while keeping the charm of an old time movie palace. It's well worth a visit for those who are in the area.

http://www.heightstheater.com/

Scroll down the page and you'll see the various showings coming up on the left side - all in glorious 35mm

 

[Tony Bensley]

Regarding THE FLYING DEUCES IN COLOR: I've got it on good authority that while the print quality looks very good, BOTH the Black & White and Color versions are each missing several scenes, running approximately 63 and 64 minutes, respectively (Original Running Time: 69 minutes). A definitive version of this film continues to be sadly elusive for Region 1, at least!

 

[GeorgeJA]

Regarding THE FLYING DEUCES IN COLOR: I've got it on good authority that while the print quality looks very good, BOTH the Black & White and Color versions are each missing several scenes, running approximately 63 and 64 minutes, respectively (Original Running Time: 69 minutes). A definitive version of this film continues to be sadly elusive for Region 1, at least!

Just curious - what's wrong with the KINO version? IMO, it's the best version I've seen. Is this also missing scenes?

 

[JoHud]

The Kino version is missing the original opening and ending RKO credits, though I don't think it was missing any footage.
Details on the cuts from the Legend Films edition of The Flying Deuces here:
http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_331_UPDATES
Summary: The print is the cleanest in the film has ever looked on home video. However, it is not a complete cut.

 

[Tony Bensley]

The Kino version is missing the original opening and ending RKO credits, though I don't think it was missing any footage.
Details on the cuts from the Legend Films edition of The Flying Deuces here:
http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_331_UPDATES
Summary: The print is the cleanest in the film has ever looked on home video. However, it is not a complete cut.

The saddest part is that the two Legend Films versions have the two shortest running times on Lord Heath's screenshot comparisons without even being in the slightly sped up PAL format!

 

[Mark Y]

The Kino version is missing the original opening and ending RKO credits, though I don't think it was missing any footage.
Details on the cuts from the Legend Films edition of The Flying Deuces here:
http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_331_UPDATES
Summary: The print is the cleanest in the film has ever looked on home video. However, it is not a complete cut.

D'oh!
They ought to know better than that!
And mine gets here tomorrow. Will whoever has the master elements (I've been told Paramount since they ended up with the Boris Morros library) release a definitive version of this film? It's one of only a few holdouts now that the "official Hal Roach collection" is out. That and Atoll K. And yes, I know the latter is rough sailing for L&H fans (I myself have yet to make it all the way through it) but their entire catalog should be properly restored. And we're so close!
(I was gonna say, "Watch them go on Amazon and argue with reviewers insisting that theirs is the definitve version," but that's not Legend, that's the guys who did that Gulliver's Traveles Blu-Ray)

 

[Sumnernor]

I have a version of Flying Deuces which I have described in posts 409 and then Post 420. I have read in one of Amazon's reviews that one person thinks that there is a region 2 German that is very good. I believe that is what I have.

Concerning "PAL Speedup" please read post 413 by Cees Alons which I tend to think is correct. I have read "complains" by people in the US- Never from England. Germany, or Australia. IF it really is a problem like "Perfect Pitch" thank goodness I don't have it. Many years ago I bought in Germany a VCR that was good compared to hardware bought in the US. Why are there no complaints over here. I believe that Cees Alons is correct and there is NO problem with "PAL SPEEDUP" (or the opposite NTSC Slowdown). I have many DVDs R1 (ntsc) and R2 (PAL) - with no problem. Do people hear this problem on a PC - I use for my PC the program "Cyberlink Power DVD" - this program can also display "closed captions".

 

[Tony Bensley]

Is this the one to get ?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Laurel-And-Hardy-Flying-Deuces/dp/B00004CZ6U/ref=cm_rdp_product

 

[JoHud]

Is this the one to get ?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Laurel-And-Hardy-Flying-Deuces/dp/B00004CZ6U/ref=cm_rdp_product

Yes. Amazon does not show the proper stock photo of the item as it looks nothing like any of those two. I can confirm that the seller "Starlight Shopping Mall" sells the corrected Stonevision edition.

 

[Essanay Paul]

I purchased an original 16mm print of Flying Deuces from NTA-Television many years ago. They had an Astor Pictures 35mm Fine Grain to make their negative from. It is beautiful, BUT INCOMPLETE! All of the noted missing scenes are missing from NTA's 35mm Fine Grain. My guess is that Legend got a hold of their 35mm Fine Grain to master their DVD, but replaced the Astor Pictures titles with the RKO titles, unaward of the missing footage.
I Kept the beautiful 16mm original print and inserted the missing footage from a 16mm "dupe" that had been circulating around. It plays fine, but you can tell when missing footage was inserted.
There was also some footage later on on the airfield that was missing, I have not seen this mentioned yet for the DVD.

 

[Sumnernor]

Originally Posted by Essanay Paul /t/313141/vivendi-and-rhi-press-release-laurel-hardy-the-essential-collection/480#post_3941063
I purchased an original 16mm print of Flying Deuces from NTA-Television many years ago. They had an Astor Pictures 35mm Fine Grain to make their negative from. It is beautiful, BUT INCOMPLETE! All of the noted missing scenes are missing from NTA's 35mm Fine Grain.

I believe you stated that you have the KINO vertsion- it that "complete" ? Now I have the German Region 2 done by Kinowelt (see my post 409) It was done by Kirsch and I assume that it is "complete". Does anyone know if that is so - either people in Germany or GAC's Duck Dodgers who recomended to me- in case he reads this post.)

 

[Essanay Paul]

Both the KINO and KINOWELT versions of Flying Deuces are complete.
The only complaint about the KINO version is that the opening titles & end title are from 16mm re-issue prints, but the actual body of the movie is from excellent 35mm fine grains.
One explanation I heard was that the 35mm fine grain used for this was from France and the titles were not in English, so a common re-issue 16mm print was used for the titles. The original RKO titles do exist in English. This is a small complaint, but it keeps the DVD from being perfect.
The bonus material is common, but better quality than on other DVDs.

 

[Mark Y]

Both the KINO and KINOWELT versions of Flying Deuces are complete.
The only complaint about the KINO version is that the opening titles & end title are from 16mm re-issue prints, but the actual body of the movie is from excellent 35mm fine grains.
One explanation I heard was that the 35mm fine grain used for this was from France and the titles were not in English, so a common re-issue 16mm print was used for the titles. The original RKO titles do exist in English. This is a small complaint, but it keeps the DVD from being perfect.
The bonus material is common, but better quality than on other DVDs.

SO close. That's what's so frustrating.
One other thing that's frustrating -- along the same lines -- is how they did beautiful restorations of the Roach talkies, restored missing scenes, restored all the original titles, put the M-G-M lion back onto the beginning of every film, and then used the wrong audio on the lion for a bunch of them. I have an old Nostalgia Merchant VHS of PARDON US which has the 1931-era opening trumpet fanfare playing on a blank black screen (leading into Film Classics reissue titles). On the restored DVD version (with original titles), you have the lion roaring (from some other film), then just a second or so of the tail end of the trumpet fanfare that's supposed to be there. I mean, if that's the worst thing there is to complain about, that's wonderful! But you'd think that given who was involved in putting this together, they would have caught something like that!
The Roach talkies have still never looked and sounded better. I don't want to come across as ungrateful.

 

[Sumnernor]

I have both the Laurel & Hardy from the Kirsch/Kinowelt series as well as the UK big box which does NOT include "The Flying Deuces". Both have the same silent and sound films - the UK set has a few more "non-english" films than the Kinowelt series. Unlike the US series the UK has english subtitles for all of the english films but not for the non-english films (which the US essential Collection has).

If I were to choose between the UK versions and the German Kinowelt - I would choose the UK. The DVD organisation of the Kinowlt is poorly done. With few exceptions, the circa 1 minute blurb in English describing how Kirsch has produced a better L&H product preceeds the German version which one cannot skip by it except by fast-forwarding it, whereas with the UK version it comes at the end of each film

The version of "The Flying Deuces" ("In der Fremdenlegion") that I have is found on Amazon.de at:

http://www.amazon.de/Laurel-Hardy-In-Fremdenlegion-Stan/dp/B000231WJI/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1340455689&sr=1-2

The reissue which appear to have the same content including "The Lucky Dog" link is.

http://www.amazon.de/Dick-Doof-Fremdenlegion-Stan-Laurel/dp/B003CWM63C/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1340455689&sr=1-1

 

[Essanay Paul]

I believe some of the soundtracks on the U.S. DVDs came from the re-issue MGM prints of 1936 on, that could explain the later soundtrack on the MGM logos.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Apart from the UK Stonevision (Black Cover Only, avoid the White Cover Version, for which a different, inferior film source was used!), and the German Kinowelt DVDs, one of the better North American releases of THE FLYING DEUCES, according to Scott MacGillivray is the 2003 Goodtimes DVD issue. The only problem with this one among purists is the "A Radio Picture" logo (not "fake," as often stated, but being from the early to mid 1930s, merely an incorrect one!), rather than the correct for the time of original 1939 release "An RKO Radio Picture" one, precedes the film. I for one, can live with this over actual missing live action, an issue, for which Legend Films is currently getting a lot of flak!
CHEERS!

 

[Mark Y]

I believe some of the soundtracks on the U.S. DVDs came from the re-issue MGM prints of 1936 on, that could explain the later soundtrack on the MGM logos.

That could be -- I had been under the impression that the lion intros were actually missing from most of the L&H films and had to be re-added, unlike the Our Gang shorts, where 99% of them (but not all) had them. The Music Box is one short that seems to have the original (not reattached) lion with the original audio. Unaccustomed As We Are has the lion roaring on the Vivendi set, but fanfare on the Lost Films DVD -- however, the fanfare and title music is lifted from the soundtrack of Liberty. I wonder if that was in fact added by someone (Blackhawk?) later on -- didn't most of the early talkies actually have silent title sequences originally? I mean the 1929 ones, maybe going a little into 1930.
Anyway, like I said, if that's the worst problem, that's pretty good!

 

[Essanay Paul]

It is very probable that UNACCUSTOMED AS WE ARE had no music over the opening titles. Our Gang's SMALL TALK has no music.
The original title music on MEN O' WAR, including the bandstand footage, is still lost. I believe the only soundtrack existing for MEN O' WAR is the 1940's re-issue with the "Buzz Saw" over the cuckoo song.
When the original picture work print was found, restoring the original opening, the soundtrack over the titles and bandstand was re-created from other existing tracks.
The entire original soundtrack for BLOTTO is still lost. Existing English prints are the 1936 re-issue with a "Modern" music track. A hint of the original music can be heard on the Spanish version.
Some Film Classics prints (such as Their First Mistake) still had Leo roaring on the soundtrack over the re-issue title. Some later re-prints of these re-moved Leo from the soundtrack. I saw a 35mm print of SONS OF THE DESERT where the MGM logo was replaced by the RHI logo, but Leo wis still roaring on the soundtrack.
Hopefully these issues are being dealt with during the UCLA restoration, which will take many years to complete (don't hope for a DVD or Blu-ray from this project in this decade).

 

[Rob W]

UCLA has completed work on Helpmates, County Hospital and Busy Bodies as of April, 2012. The three titles were run at the TCM Classic Film Festival 2012. I was told that work was almost finished on a fourth ( again, as of mid-April ) and I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember what the title was ( and I know them all .) It's important to remember that the purpose of these restorations is to preserve high-quality 35mm materials on the library and allow them to be made available again for repertory showings, etc. There was no digital manipulation done of the titles to polish them up.