New Laurel & Hardy (1 Viewer)

[Roger Rollins]

Brilliantly stated.

I understand the desire of certain fans of Stan & Ollie to want everything they ever did available on DVD.

However, my fear is that this gift set will end up at Costco, and end up being purchased by someone who isn't familiar with L&H and wants to give them a try, or worse, by someone to give as a gift.

The Laurel & Hardy in these films are not the L&H the world fell in love with.... They are pale shadows of their former selves. Like the Keaton Columbia sound shorts, there are a few moments here and there where you get a glimpse of their true abilities as comedy geniuses and legends, but they are few and far between.

The Hallmark library is where something great could be done, and we know that will likely never happen as both Hallmark and Lion's Gate are clueless in this regard.

IMHO, If anyone wants to try L&H for the first time, the far-superior content of the upcoming TCM branded release from the Warner Bros. library is the way to go.

I commend Fox for digging deeper into their library, and releasing their L&H films, as a small cadre of die-hard devotees will eat them up, regardless of their content quality.

 

[Steve...O]

Some good news....per a posting at the L&H newsgroup, Scott MacGillivray has confirmed that he has recorded commentaries for a Volume 2 of Fox's L&H films. Here is his comment.



Mr. MacGillivray, who wrote a very good book at the later L&H films, went on to say that he did these commentaries gratis. Thanks to him and Fox for making these films available!

Steve

 

[Michael Elliott]

A certain store broke the street date so I was able to pick this up early. I haven't had time to watch them yet but if there are any questions just let me know. The documentary is on THE BIG NOISE disc. There's a big "Not For Sale or Rental" sticker on the back of the case of GREAT GUNS but the artwork is very nice (considering this is Fox).

 

[Steve...O]

Michael,

Did Fox include the repro lobby cards with this set like they have with various other Cinema Classic Collection titles? Do the individual titles appear to use the original one sheet art (or variation thereof)?

I've ordered this online and my own copy probably won't show up until the middle of next week. I'm very much looking forward to this set. I know a certain segment of L&H fans have been bad mouthing this films, and that's certainly their right, but, in my opinion, these films aren't the abominations their reputations suggest. Fox should be applauded for releasing these.

Thanks in advance!

Steve

 

[Roger Rollins]

I'd also be interested to know about the documentary Fox has included. How long is it? Is it especially created for this disc, or is it a recycled A&E or Fox Movie Channel piece.

 

[JackKay]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is the best transfer of their movies of the 20's and 30's

 

[Michael Elliott]

Steve, there aren't any lobby cards but each title does come with a 2-page booklet with some production history written by Sylvia Stoddard. I'm not sure about original cover art but it doesn't appear to be. It seems like photoshop of the original artwork. The back of the outer box shows what cover art is used, if there's a photo out there anywhere. The outer box doesn't contain any information about the extras but it is included, via a sticker, on the back of the cases.

Roger, the "documentary" runs 27-minutes but it doesn't really deal with L&H but instead a big group of fans known as The Sons of the Desert. The director is Alexander Marshall and it's from Sanbar Productions but I couldn't find any listing on IMDB. I'm not really sure what it is or where it originally played.


I plan on watching these on Sunday so I'll report back with V/A quality. I flipped through THE BIG NOISE and the transfer looked pretty good but I'll let you know for certain after I've watched them. From what I saw these did look A LOT better than the Artisan discs.

 

[JohnPM]

The Laurel and Hardy Fox Box is fine --- I've looked at two of the features so far, and quality is quite nice. Unfortunately, most of the trailers are sans graphics, which often happens, but that seems to be all that survives among the studio's archive, and it's better than no trailers at all. The newsreel stuff is great --- chances are nobody's ever seen this footage before. It's a thrill for L&H devotees. Overall, a nice job by 20th, and recommended.

http://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/

 

[Michael Elliott]

John, did you notice a problem with the JITTERBUGS transfer? I've never seen the film before so I didn't know if this was a joke in the film or what but there seems like a large spotlight running from top to bottom during several scenes early on in the desert. It's strange to explain but take a look at the scene where the car breaks down. What appears to be a spotlight is reflected off both L&H hats as well as other objects including some of the trees. This effect is also seen in later parts of the movie but not as badly as the start. I wouldn't say it looked like EE but something just didn't seem right to me and it was quite distracting. If it was EE then it's probably the worst I've ever seen.

Outside some minor specs and overly dark stock footage, the rest of the transfer was fine, although it wasn't nearly as good as GREAT GUNS.

 

[Evan Case]

Anyone know yet what the B&M prices are going to be for this set? If they're at or above $30, I think I'll go with Amazon ($24 + S/H) or DDD ($26 - Free S/H) and wait a few extra days.

While I'm interested in basically all things L&H and will readily purchase this and the TCM box, the announced set I'm really looking forward is the second Fox box.

While I doubt the films will even sniff at the greatness of the Hal Roach days (did I curse Hallmark/whoever to the depth of Hades yet?), A-Haunting We Will Go and The Dancing Masters are the only two non-lost L&H films that I've yet to see.

Evan

 

[Steve...O]

Evan, per Mike Frezon's round-up, both Best Buy and Circuit City have $30 prices on this. Costco and sometimes Sam's usually has a good price on Fox box sets so you might get a good price there. You can get free shipping at Amazon buy adding something to your order for $1.01 or you can sign up for a free trial of their Prime program which will get you free 2 day shipping regardless of the amount.

Steve

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Michael,

I saw those problems right off the bat!

I got a copy of this set and began watching
Jitterbugs, which was sort of cute. Could
not find the time to watch it all. Just wanted
the set to add to my large L&H DVD collection.

Took a look at the extras which included a
movietone newsreel with much of its audio missing.
Still, as someone suggested, this stuff has probably
not been seen by the public in nearly 40 years.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Thanks Ron. At first I thought it was some sort of gag in the film but then the problem just kept going from scene to scene.

I haven't watched THE BIG NOISE yet but I didn't find the other two (or NOTHING BUT TROUBLE, which was on TCM last night) as bad as their reputation. Sure, these aren't the Hal Roach classics but they do give some entertainment for sixty minutes.