Question about Max Fleisher Superman cartoons on DVD (1 Viewer)

[Rocky F]

I just picked up the old Superman cartoons from Sam's Club. This was two discs shrinkwrapped together. One was Superman vs. the Monsters & Villians, and the other was titled vs. Nature and War. They were $6.98 for the pair. They were from GoodTimes DVD. All 17 episodes were on the two discs. My question is, has this been released before on one disc? I think I heard that they were, but I've never seen that version. I assume these are new, considering that the insert ad said the the Nature & War disc was coming out Fall 2002, and today is the first day of fall.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Jo_C]

It's hard to pinpoint which one is the better DVD collection. I did an article on the Fleischer cartoons for my Superman Web Central web site, but I'll give you the basic facts.

The original film elements are owned by DC Comics/Warner Bros. Classic Animation (DC is a Warner subsidiary and owns the Superman character). The nitrate negatives are stored in the UCLA Film And Television archive, while safety dupes are in the hands of DC/WB. The cartoons themselves are in the public domain (they were originally Paramount releases, but neither UM&M or Universal renewed their copyrights).

While Warner has yet to put out an official release on DVD, I'm told that there is a collection that is as close to good quality as you're gonna get..."The Superman Cartoons Of Max And Dave Fleischer". I believe this is the collection that has all its original front and end titles (including the Paramount logo). Though not taken directly from the original negatives, they do use good-to-pristine 35MM prints as their source (although one short is taken from 16MM). Do check it out.

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

"The Superman Cartoons Of Max And Dave Fleischer"

I bought this set myself. I got the same impression, that this was the most complete edition overall with good video quality, and while I do not really have any idea how complete it is, the picture quality was better than I expected but I guess not really spectacular. I would recommend the set though if you want the cartoons.

 

[John Sparks]

The Superman Cartoons of the Fleischer Bros. was released on laser and had opening and closing logos. Picture quality was pretty good. Included a lousy print of Private Snafu as Superman.
The Adventures of Superman(TV Show) had one of the above cartoons and it was better looking that the above edition.
The Superman Cartoons of the Fleischer Bros.(Same as the laser)was put out on DVD and looked pretty good. Included Snafu cartoon.
The Superman Cartoons of the Fleischer Bros.(Diamond Anniversary)was put out on DVD and looks the BEST so far. Missing Snafu cartoon.
Windstar put out all the cartoons on 2 separate packages. The opening and closing logos are missing. The 5.1 sound is crappy( doesn't sound right IMO) and the picture is okay.
Conclusion: Pick up the Diamond Anniversary for your collection!!!

 

[Keith Paynter]

Quite thorough, John. The Image laserdisc was not 100% complete though, because the shorts were often faded out early at the end for some unknown reason, and a few title sequences were tinkered with (jump from still-frame to running print).

There were 2 VHS cassette put out not long after the Image LD release that were reviewed as better than the Image version. These may be the same as used for the 'Diamond Anniversary' edition.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

The best masters (and presumably the original negatives) reside inside Warner's vaults as far as I know. But those have not been released in their entirety.

The best masters outside of Warner are at Bosko Video. They produced the better-than-laserdisc VHS version, and they also produced the 'Diamond Anniversary' DVD (Image just distributes it). That is the one that you want.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

I had heard that one release was better for picture & one better for sound.
John, are you saying the Diamond is the best of both worlds?
Thanks.

 

[John Sparks]

Ed,

Yes, the "Complete Superman Collection-Diamond Anniversary Edition" is the one to get...the best one out there!

Also, if you want the Private Snafu Superman cartoon, go with the "The Complete Uncensored Private Snafu-Cartoons From World War II", also from Bosco Video.