Laurel & Hardy (Sons of the Desert/The Music Box/Another Fine Mess/Busy Bodies/County Hospital) (1933) Review

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(More customer reviews)First let me say that these films are the BEST that Laurel & Hardy ever did, they are ***** films! I was excited to get this DVD, finally we were going to see the great restoration work that was done in Europe and sold on DVD there.
I have seen their DVDs, and this is NOT the restored version!
Problem 1) Over compression causes digital artifacting that makes SONS OF THE DESERT look like VHS at times. The transfer is the old grainy U.S. TV tape.
Problem 2) THE MUSIC BOX is compressed from a damaged video tape, there are wrinkles that appear as the boys are unloading the piano.
Problem 3) COUNTY HOSPITAL is a grainy copy from the Film Classics re-issue negative. The European DVD is authored from the original MGM issue negative. Leo the lion roars a greating to you to let you know that Europeans are about to see a fine transfer. In the U.S., our DVD only has the soundtrack of the roars over the grainy re-issue titles.
Problem 4) BUSY BODIES, while it does have the nice original MGM titles, is grainier than the European restored release.
On a slightly positive note, ANOTHER FINE MESS did not undergo restoration in Europe, so their version looks as grainy as ours. It does have the original title section with the two girls reciting the credits.
There is a fair documetary that used grainy clips from other shorts not on this collection (giving us a preview of how bad the future DVDs might be) and some nice stills showing you some locations as they look today.
Hopefully Artisan & Hallmark will re-master this DVD so that those without access to the European DVDs can enjoy these five classic movies the way they were meant to be seen: sharp without artifacting, on two discs.

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For one-stop convenience, you can't beat this handy compilation of "Laurel & Hardy" classics. Although it's modestly priced and packaged, this DVD packs plenty of extras along with Stan & Ollie's finest feature and several of the comedy duo's best-loved "talkie" shorts. "Sons of the Desert" (1933) is the crown jewel in any L&H collection, and with Charley Chase as their stellar comedy costar, the boys reached the pinnacle of their unique partnership, playing a pair of Fez-wearing "Sons of the Desert" sneaking off to a convention in Chicago, but their wives discover the ruse with hilarious results. For L&H fans, it simply doesn't get any better than this, although 1932's "The Music Box" shares equal status--and a 1932 Oscar® for Best Comedy Short--in the L&H pantheon. The remaining shorts on the disc ("Another Fine Mess," "Busy Bodies," and "County Hospital") were produced during the prime of Stan & Ollie's sound-era success (1930-33), each boasting their own timeless bits and flawless routines. Abundant laughs are virtually guaranteed. \nMost of the bonus material pays tribute to legendary comedy producer Hal Roach, who first partnered Stan & Ollie in 1926. A film-clip tribute includes interviews with comedy greats like Mel Brooks and Steve Allen, and on-screen articles explore Roach's career in greater detail. A "then and now" photo tour provides an historic tour of Roach Studio locations in Culver City, California, and text biographies are provided for Roach, Laurel, and Hardy. In addition to the films themselves (which never looked or sounded better), these extras make this "Laurel & Hardy" DVD a perfect choice for old and new fans alike. "--Jeff Shannon"

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The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection (Babes in Arms / Babes on Broadway / Girl Crazy / Strike Up the Band) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the long awaited boxed set of four Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland musicals that includes a fifth bonus disc. The contents are as follows as described by a press release from Warner Home Video:
Babes in Arms (1939)
This is the first film the two did together and was adapted from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart Broadway hit of the same name. Busby Berkeley directed the film and also did the choreography. This film is being shown as it was in its initial release in 1939, complete with the minstrel numbers that might seem offensive today and a sequence involving the impersonation of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt that was cut shortly after FDR's death since MGM didn't want to appear disrespectful under the circumstances. The plot is simple - Rooney plays a kid trying to prove his musical talent and therefore decides to put on a show. Garland plays another talented youngster who decides to help him do it.
DVD Special Features:
Introduction by Mickey Rooney
Commentary by historian John Fricke
Vintage Our Gang short Duel Personalities
Classic cartoon The Mad Maestro
1939 Newsreel with Mickey and Judy
Audio-only bonuses:
Leo Is on the Air radio promo
3 different radio shows with Rooney and Garland
Theatrical Trailer
Strike up the Band (1940)
This one has more of a plot than the first, plus some great music. Rooney plays self-involved musician Jimmy Conners who impresses bandleader Paul Whiteman so much that he offers him a job in New York City. However, a friend's medical emergency makes Rooney choose between his own plans and his friend's health, and he chooses his friend in the end. Rooney's character now has to come up with a way to replace the travel money. Busby Berkeley again provides the choreography and the direction in this film. Highlights include a big Busbv Berkeley production number called "Do The La Conga" and Rooney's "Drummer Boy" sequence. The film also features the Oscar-nominated song "Our Love Affair" and a rousing finale with the Gershwins' title tune.
DVD Special Features:
Introduction by Mickey Rooney
Pete Smith specialty comedy short Wedding Bills
Classic cartoon Romeo in Rhythm
"Do the La Conga" stereo remix version
Audio-only bonuses:
Leo Is on the Air radio promo
Millions for Defense radio special with Mickey and Judy
Additional radio show with Rooney and Garland
Theatrical Trailer
Babes on Broadway (1941)
Rooney plays Tommy Williams, a singer in a restaurant who wants a shot at Broadway. Garland plays Penny Morris, and Williams uses her interest in orphaned children to come up with the idea of "putting on a show" to send them on a vacation in the country. However, Williams really is only interested in self-promoting his talent, not the orphans. However, in the end, he learns his lesson. Musical highlights include the song "How About You', Rooney's impersonation of Carmen Miranda, and a massive Busby Berkeley finale which was featured in 1974's "That's Entertainment!".
DVD Special Features:
Introduction by Mickey Rooney
Pete Smith Specialty comedy short How to Hold Your Husband Back
Classic cartoon Dance of the Weed
Audio-only bonuses:
Two Leo Is on the Air Radio Promos
Radio Show Adaptation of Merton of the Movies with Rooney and Garland
Chin Up! Cheerio! Carry On Song Demo performed by composer Burton Lane
Theatrical Trailer
Girl Crazy (1943)
This is the strongest of the four included films. This time Norman Taurog shares direction duties with Busby Berkeley. Here Rooney plays Danny Churchill, a rich college kid that is partying more than he is studying. His father sends him to an all-male college in the middle of nowhere where he can regain his focus. However, Danny does fall for the one eligible female in the hundred mile radius of the school - the dean's granddaughter, Ginger Gray (Garland). Ginger, however, is more concerned that the college is in danger of closing than in Danny's advances. She enlists Danny's help to see that the school stays open. Songs include "Embraceable You," "Fascinating Rhythm," "Bidin' My Time," and a the Garland solo "But Not for Me." Of course there is a huge Busby Berkeley finale done to Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm", with Mickey, Judy, a large supporting cast, and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.
DVD Special Features:
Introduction by Mickey Rooney
Commentary by historian John Fricke
Vintage short Hollywood Daredevils
Classic cartoon The Early Bird Dood It
I Got Rhythm stereo remix version
Audio-only bonus: Bronco Busters Outtake
Theatrical Trailer
Finally there is a bonus disc with over three hours of extras that include:
Private Screenings with Mickey Rooney - 1996 TCM special hosted by Robert Osborne
The Judy Garland Songbook- A superb collection of 21 complete, magical Judy Garland musical numbers spanning her many films from 1936-1954
Mickey and Judy Trailer Gallery
The bottom line on this set is that if you are looking for "Gone with the Wind" level serious drama and you don't like great music look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for charming escapist musical entertainment, these films fit the bill. After all, they were made so that troubled audiences could get away from it all during troubled times - the pre and early World War II era. Plus it looks like Warner Home Video has continued their "Film School in a Box" tradition with this set that I have grown to like so much.

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TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection (It's a Great Feeling / Tea for Two / April in Paris / The Tunnel of Love / Starlift) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the third of three box sets of films from Warner Home Video dedicated to Doris Day. The first two are Doris Day Collection 1 (Billy Rose's Jumbo / Calamity Jane / The Glass Bottom Boat / Love Me or Leave Me / Lullaby of Broadway / The Pajama Game / Please Don't Eat the Daisies / Young Man with a Horn) and The Doris Day Collection, Vol. 2 (Romance on the High Seas / My Dream Is Yours / On Moonlight Bay / I'll See You in My Dreams / By the Light of the Silvery Moon / Lucky Me).
This set contains five films, yet no extra features on Doris Day herself. She has a very interesting personal story, so I'm surprised at the lack of such details in any of her boxed sets. She basically had a double set of problems that could have ended her career in 1968 - her husband died and she was left with a mountain of debts. She rebounded with her successful TV career and is today quite active in animal rights issues. The following is taken from the press release for the set, which contains cartoons, shorts and trailers as extra features.
April in Paris (1952)
The State Department wants Ethel Barrymore to represent the American theater at an arts exposition in Paris. But Miss Barrymore's invitation is sent by mistake to Miss Ethel "Dynamite" Jackson, a blonde brassy chorus girl. Ray Bolger plays the stuffy bureaucrat who mismailed the Barrymore missive - and now has a stateroom full of explosives on his hands for a Paris-bound ocean voyage. Plus there's a little matter of a marriage performed on the high seas that isn't quite legal.
DVD Special Features:
· Vintage short So You Want To Wear The Pants
· Classic cartoon Terrier Stricken
· Theatrical trailer
· Subtitles: English & French (Main feature. Bonus material/trailer may not be subtitled)
It's a Great Feeling (1949)
No one will work with actor Jack Carson (who plays himself), so he just puts his own movie together. Good buddy Dennis Morgan is hoodwinked into co-starring. And there's a talented kid in the studio commissary (Day) eager for her big break.
In her third film (and third with Carson), Doris Day plays that up-and-comer in a musical spoof featuring real Hollywood and Warner Bros. back lot locales, star cameos (Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Edward G. Robinson, among others) and a surprise comedy finale.
Starlift (1951)
The charming tale of a serviceman with a crush on a movie ingenue is the backdrop for this film featuring Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, James Cagney, Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, Gene Nelson, Virginia Mayo, Jane Wyman, Randolph Scott and more Hollywood celebrities performing for flyboys in uniform. Songs by the Gershwins and Cole Porter plus a hilarious Western production number with Gary Cooper as a Texas Ranger add to the fun.
DVD Special Features:
· Vintage short Musical Memories
· Classic cartoon Sleepy Time Possum
· Theatrical trailer
· Subtitles: English & French (Main feature. bonus material/trailer may not be subtitled)
Tea for Two (1950)
Wealthy, stagestruck Nan Carter strikes a bet that she can say "no" to everything for 48 hours. If she wins, she gets the $25,000 to back a Broadway musical vehicle for herself. She's determined, even if it means saying "no" when the guy she loves pops the question. Nan doesn't know it yet, but her fortune has been wiped out in the Crash of '29.
Costars Gordon MacRae and Gene Nelson on hand to help provide songs, dance and romance. Eve Arden, Billy DeWolfe and S.Z "Cuddles" Sakall deliver lots of laughs, and the Gershwins, Vincent Youmans, Harry Warren and other Tin Pan Alley greats supply the songs which include the title tune, Do, Do, Do, I Only Have Eyes for You, I Want to Be Happy and lots more.
DVD Special Features:
· Vintage short So You Want to Hold Your Husband
· Classic cartoon Tee for Two
· No, No Nanette Radio Show - From the 1949 "Railroad Hour" series, with Doris Day and Gordon MacRae
· No, No Nanette Overture - From the surviving Vitaphone disc from lost 1930 Warner Bros. film
· Theatrical trailer
· Subtitles: English & French (Main feature. Bonus material/trailer may not be subtitled)The Tunnel of Love (1958)
Isolde (Doris Day) and Augie (Richard Widmark) Poole are trying to adopt a baby. Dick (Gig Young), the Poole's neighbor, has advice for Augie during these challenging times: have an affair. No way, says Augie. Then he wakes up in a motel room with no memory of the night before - and finds a thank-you note from the caseworker who's handling the Poole adoption. Gene Kelly directs this musical comedy.
DVD special features include:
· Classic cartoon Tot Watchers
· Theatrical trailer
· Subtitles: English & French (Main feature. Bonus material/trailer may not be subtitled)

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Studio: Warner Home VideoRelease Date: 04/07/2009Rating: Nr

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TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Comedies (Adam's Rib / Woman of the Year / The Philadelphia Story / Bringing Up Baby) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of 27 sets of four movie packs that Warner Home Video plans to release in the next few years. Their purpose is to introduce classic film to people previously unaware of these films via very affordable bare bones versions of these movies. This set has four very good films, all featuring Katharine Hepburn.
Woman of the Year (1941) - The film that introduced Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and sparked a long relationship both on and offscreen. Here Hepburn plays an early feminist who goes around collecting causes. Spencer Tracy is the sportswriter that loves her. They marry, but things go downhill quickly since Kate is really already married to her causes.
Adam's Rib (1951) - Ten years have passed and Hepburn and Tracy have aged a bit, but the spark and the chemistry is still there. This time the pair are married lawyers. He is a prosecutor and she a defense attorney. Problems arise when Hepburn defends a woman who shot her husband when she caught him cheating on her and Tracy is the prosecuting attorney in the same case.
Bringing Up Baby (1938) - One of the original screwball comedies. Stars Cary Grant as an anthropologist who gets mixed up with a very dizzy young woman played by Hepburn. The plot involves a tame leopard - Baby - and a dinosaur bone buried by a dog - the exact whereabouts are unknown.
The Philadelphia Story (1940) - Reteams Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant as a divorced pair of socialites. Hepburn's character is about to marry a man of the people who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, and also happens to be one of the most annoying people who has ever lived. James Stewart oddly won a Best Actor award for what is essentially a supporting role. It is especially odd when you think about all of the other great performances in which he was the undisputed lead and he wasn't even nominated.
The only drawback to this set is that - if you want all the extras - you might want to consider Classic Comedies Collection (Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story Two-Disc Special Edition / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be) in the case of Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. Hepburn and Tracy fans might want to consider The Hepburn & Tracy Signature Collection (Woman of the Year / Pat and Mike / Adam's Rib / The Spencer Tracy Legacy). However, both of these sets are considerably more expensive than this basic four-pack, and low cost is really the point of this set in the first place.

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THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Best Actor Academy Award winner James Stewart star in the tale of a faultfinding, bride-to-be socialite who gets her come-uppance. George Cukor directs this screen pinnacle of sophisticated romantic comedy.BRINGING UP BABY When scatterbrained heiress Katharine Hepburn meets mild-mannered museum curator Cary Grant, the results are riotous. Howard Hawks directs a giddy romp thats been hailed as the most glorious laughter-inducing movie ever!ADAMS RIB Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play a married prosecutor and defense attorney assigned to the same sensational attempted-murder trial in this clever courtroom battle of the sexes. Judy Holliday co-stars and George Cukor directs.WOMAN OF THE YEAR Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn show what chemistry is all about as George Stevens directs this witty Oscar winner about the bumpy romance of a meat-and-potatoes sportswriter and a world-renowned political pundit.

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Chaplin's Essanay Comedies, Vol. 01 (1915) Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, this review is for the Image dvd of the Chaplin Essanay Comedies, Volume 1. If this review appears on any other product, with the exception of a Kino product, then know that this review has NOTHING to do with whatever you are looking at. If you are looking at Madacy or Koch videos, then just go away now, and look for a good video, because Madacy and Koch videos of Chaplin are garbage.
ANYWAYS...
I give this five stars, because the restoration, music, and presentation are awesome. The films are the most complete they have been in over 80 years, and are mastered from the best available materials. David Shepherd worked on these for a decade or so, and some of the films come from as many as five different sources. This can be a little odd sometimes, as the picture will change in quality and framing every so often, which is a bit of a jumpy sensation, but it's either that or just miss the footage altogether.
As far as the films go - well, this is not Chaplin's best work. "His New Job", "A Night Out", and "In the Park" are slight, derivative, and not terribly interesting. "A Jitney Elopement" is fascinating for the fact that Chaplin relies on a lot of tracking and racing shots for the chase, which all happens in cars. "The Champion" is a very good film, and is the best of this lot.
Chaplin made better films than these for Essanay, which can especially be seen on Disc 2 of the series.
This is NOT a good disc for the person who is just getting interested in Chaplin or silent films. You would be better of with the later features, such as City Lights, The Kid, The Gold Rush, or The Circus, which should all be reissued in 2003 in gorgeous quality - I can't wait!
But if you are acquainted with Chaplin, and have read a good book or two about his career and development, then this is a fine dvd to get.
Enjoy!

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In Chaplin's Essanay Comedies, made in 1915, cinema's greatest comedian was first able to build his screen work around his performance style rather than forcing himself, as before, into Mack Sennett's frenzied Keystone comedy matrix. With this freedom Chaplin evolved in a year from the gag comedian of "His New Job" to the brilliant pantomimist of "A Night Out," "The Champion," "The Tramp" and "Shanghaied" to the profound satirist of "Police." Volume 1 includes: "His New Job," "A Night Out," "The Champion," "In the Park," "A Jitney Elopement" (all 1915).

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