The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection (New Line) (1 Viewer)

[TimJS]

Up for Pre-Order at:

Amazon - 62.90

DVDPlanet - 62.97

Deep Discount DVD - 67.46

Laser's Edge - 62.99

Prices current as of writing, your mileage may vary.

Tim

 

[Patrick McCart]

Tim: Thanks for the price listing. Amazon.com continues to reward box set buyers... pretty much every larger film collection or box set ends up being cheapest there.

 

[Michael Elliott]

With this set, are there any reasons to get the upcoming Kino release or keep the first Kino release?

 

[TimJS]

Page one of thread has a couple of posts comparing titles included in each release, if that's what you mean.

Tim

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

There are some shorts contained in the Kino Slapstick Symposium releases that won't be in the new set, PLUS I'm told that some of the shorts in the first Kino Lloyd volume are from foreign release prints and feature alternate takes and angles, so for the serious Lloyd collector the Kino volumes are a must have IMO. I'm a serious Lloyd collector who's in the midst of a serious cash crunch, so I haven't picked up the Kinos yet, but you bet I will when I get the chance.

 

[Marko Berg]

Excellent, thanks for the preorder links. I should have mine just in time for Christmas using the cheapest shipping option. This makes for a great present.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I went to a screening of Safety Last and The Freshman at the Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta, Georgia...

First, this is how you see comedy. In a real theater, with an audience. People brought their kids and everyone laughed at the appropriate times. Couldn't have been better.

The films themselves look amazing. Both have a steady small amount of scratches and dirt on the image, but never that bad. What is amazing is how sharp and detailed the restored version prints are. You can see the threads making up Lloyd's sweater in The Freshman. Contrast is flawless. The image is concrete steady... no wavering contrast or riding around. The grain content is extremely fine... almost too clear to the point of seeing Lloyd's wrinkles around his eyes in a few shots.

As for projection, they went full aperture, with only a little ribbon of the left side of the frame seeming tight. They used the Dolby Digital track for Carl Davis' score on Safety Last. Unfortunately, the print for The Freshman was completely silent.

Anyone who has the opportunity to see the Harold Lloyd films in a real theater should do so. I'd even have to say that the new prints are of a higher quality than most brand new films. Kind of shows how a well photographed '23 film looks better than an '04 Super-35 film with 2K digital intermediate.

The DVD's ought to be beautiful!

 

[Eric Peterson]

Is anybody else amazed the lack of marketing for this release. I thought that was one of the primary reasons that the trust held out for so long.

We're two weeks from the release, and there is virtually no publicity at all.

• The Website is still not functional
• The theatrical release trailer is hard to find
• There is no mention of it in the TCM monthly guide (They almost always cover major releases)
• I haven't seen any online promotional stuff (Even E-mails, and always get those when a new classic announcement is made)
• I have not seen anything on the packaging other than a small screen cap, and I wonder if there will be review copies available.

I hope that I'm making a lot out of nothing, but considering that we're only two weeks away, I guess that I can assume this will be only available online. By that assumption, I also guess that this won't receive any attention from those outside of the pre-existing fanbase, which is disappointing to say the least.

Personally, I don't see any excuse for the website to still be down as that is virtually free press. I guess, it's not my concern but it seems like somebody really dropped the ball. I'll be getting mine nonetheless.

 

[Scott Leopold]

I'm also a bit disappointed by the lack of attention this is getting. The website has been down so long, I really don't remember exactly how long it's been. I do intend on picking up a copy of the special issue of Variety, though. I just hope it's available locally.

 

[PaulaJ]

>I went to a screening of Safety Last and The Freshman at the Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta, Georgia...

Somehow the music tracks on several of the Lloyd films screened at the Midtown Art were damaged, and

a) the management didn't check the prints beforehand to make sure everything was OK

b) the management didn't contact Sony to tell them about it

c) Sony was not happy to learn (from audience members, not the theater management) that the films were being screened without music, especially since the films under 80 minutes came with a back-up CD

d) the management couldn't care less -- one bimbo manageress told us all we could listen with our "ipods if you need music"

I did get a refund when I walked out of Safety Last. Yes, I sat through totally silent The Freshman but it was not a pleasant experience. The music for Girl Shy died halfway through and did not return for the subsequent screenings (so I was told).

Overall a very disappointing experience. :frowning:

 

[Rodney]

All Things Considered today had a review of this collection:

NPR

Nice to finally hear some publicity. I hope this set sells well. I have pre-ordered from Amazon, and I cannot wait to get my hands on this set.

 

[Neal K]

Yes, quite full of conversion artifacts (ghosting). See dvdbeaver.com for comparisons. Warner R1 really screwed up on the Chaplins.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Paula:

When I saw Safety Last at the Midtown Art, it had the Carl Davis score playing just fine. The Freshman was completely silent, though.

Speaking of iPods, I brough mine knowing it would be silent so I would have music to listen to myself. Of course, my iPod froze right as the film started! I was all ready with some Raymond Scott orchestral, too. :frowning: I ended up leaving halfway through The Freshman mainly because I wanted to get back to Cumming before dark (I took MARTA there).

 

[Chris Cheese]

No reviews yet? Its advertised in the Best Buy ad next week, which had me hoping that the lack of promotion was reversing itself a little bit. I am curious about the packaging and video quality though.

 

[Brian PB]

The first review I've seen has been posted at DVD Movie Central, and is an unqualified rave. I expect to see several more in the next few days. I wonder if Robert Harris has had a peek?

 

[Eric Peterson]

I was shocked to see this in this week's Best Buy ad. I had it on pre-order, but Amazon had not shipped as of midday Sunday, so I cancelled my pre-order and will pick it up at BB on Tuesday.

I read somewhere that there will be a big piece in the USA Today on Tuesday also. I guess they're going the route of a last minute push instead of a protracted advertising period.

 

[PaulaJ]

Safety Last was fine.

No score for The Freshman.

The score died halfway through Girl Shy and could not be restored for the second screening.

No score for Speedy (left and got my money back)

The scores were fine for Why Worry and The Kid Brother but I understand they died for the second screening

Needless to say I am looking forward to the DVD set... anyone want the S-VHS tapes I recorded off TCM?

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I'm halfway through volume 1. I can report happily that there's no PAL/NTSC ghosting that afflicted the Chaplin set, indicating native NTSC transfers. Hoo-Ray!

On the down side, Safety Last! appears to be incorrectly flagged for progressive playback, resulting in significant combing throughout. The other films on disc 1 don't have this defect, however. Tragically someone at New Line just forgot to flip a switch on the most well-known film in the set.

On the whole (combing issues aside) these look and sound terrific. A serious bargain at $4-5 per feature.

 

[BrianP]

Don't forget DeepDiscountDVD is having their semi annual 20% off sale this week and tomorrow the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection will qualify for the sale. Currently they have it for $63.29 shipped.

 

[Steve...O]

Mark, would you characterize the combing distraction as significant or minor? The combing itself may be significant, but does it happen constantly or just sporadically?

I had been seriously considering buying this set but if the crown jewel of the collection doesn't look good, I may reconsider. I do give major kudos to New Line for not using PAL masters.

Thanks,

Steve