The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season One (5 Disc Box Set) (1961) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just bought this set (along with Season 2) and can't say enough good things about it. First, when Image says the episodes are "restored" -- they mean it! Picture and sound quality are excellent. Next, these are the FULL-LENGTH episodes, completely unedited. The first episode I played had a scene in the middle of the show that I'd never seen before (not on TV Land, not on Nick at Nite, not in local syndication). Running time of each episode is at least 25 minutes & 30 seconds -- wow. Another episode I played even had the original network footage at the beginning, with Dick Van Dyke saying, "Welcome to our new time slot." Amazing. Then there are the bonus features -- audio commentaries (interesting ones!) and new interviews and original TV commercials and Emmy Awards footage and more. Finally, the packaging is very sleek and looks great. Do yourself a favor and buy this. Do ALL "Dick Van Dyke Show" fans a favor and buy it so that Image will release Seasons 3 through 5.

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Trip into the living room of comedy writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) along with his lovely wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), wisecracking coworkers and nutty neighbors.Winner of 15 Emmy Awards, this groundbreaking series is consistently ranked among the top TV comedies of all time and renowned for its topnotch cast and stellar writing.Now enjoy the first season's entire 30 episodes, each digitally remastered to its original full-length version.
30 episodes on 5 discs: The Sick Boy and the Sitter, The Meershatz Pipe, Jealousy, Sally and the Lab Technician, Washington vs. the Bunny, Oh How We Met the Night That We Danced, The Unwelcome Houseguest, Harrison B. Harding of Camp Crowder MO, My Blonde-Haired Brunette, Forty-Four Tickets, Tell or Not to Tell, Sally Is a Girl, Empress Carlotta's Necklace, Buddy Can You Spare a Job?, Who Owes Who What?, Sol and the Sponsor, The Curious Thing About Women, Punch Thy Neighbor, Where Did I Come From?, The Boarder Incident, A Word a Day, The Talented Neighborhood, Father of the Week, The Twizzle, One Angry Man, Where You Been Fassbinder?, The Bad Old Days, I Am My Brother's Keeper, The Sleeping Brother, The Return of Happy Spangler.

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The Addams Family - The Complete Series Review

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(More customer reviews)The Addams Family TV show was based on a series of cartoons started back in the 1930's and authored by Charles Addams for the New Yorker. Whether or not Addams intended for there to be some kind of Depression-era message on the idle rich being scary in more ways than one I do not know, but it does seem like that is one of the messages trying to come through all the dark humor. What I do know is that a show this offbeat and creative would never get aired on network TV today, and even if it did, the minute it got successful the network suits would start tinkering with it and ruin it. If you need an example of this phenomena, I point you in the direction of Lost.
The Addams' are portrayed as a close knit and happy family - in fact they rarely have contact with outsiders other than the children attending school. They appear completely human, but they eat food that seems completely inedible by any normal human being and they each have their own peculiar qualities that seem beyond those of normal humans such as Uncle Fester's ability to generate electricity. If they do have visitors, they are usually other family members from some remote area who display these same characteristics. The show never explains the origin of the Addams' or their great wealth - that's just part of their intrigue. There are a few episodes here and there that reference popular culture as it existed then such as "Lurch the Teenage Idol" which pokes fun of the early Beatles and similar rock bands of the time. For the most part, though, the show is pretty much timeless and thus is still funny today.
all 64 episodes are spread across 9 double-sided discs in this set. Episodes are presented in Full Frame with English, French and Spanish audio and English and Spanish subtitles. The specific list of extra features include:
Audio commentary for "The Addams Family Goes To School", "Morticia, The Matchmaker" and "Cousin Itt Visits The Addams Family" featuring cast members Lisa Loring, Ken Weatherwax and Felix Silla with "The Addams Chronicles" author Stephen Cox and director Arthur Hiller.
Thing and Cousin Itt select scene commentary on "Thing is Missing", "My Son, the Chimp", "Cousin Itt and the Vocational Counsellor", "My Fair Cousin Itt" "Morticia's Dilemma", "Ophelia Finds Romance" and "Lurch's Little Helper".
Commentary by Steven Cox, author of "The Addams Chronicles" on "Morticia Meets Royalty" and "Morticia the Decorator".
Tombstone Trivia on "Morticia's Romance" (Part I) and "Cat Addams".
"You Rang, Mr. Addams" - featurette
"Snap, Snap" - featurette
"The Addams Family Portrait" featurette including on-camera interviews with John Astin.
"Mad About The Addams" featurette
"Guest Star Séance" with Parley Baer, Milton Frome, Vito Scotti, Elizabeth Fraser, Richard Deacon, Sig Ruman, Margaret Hamilton, Elvia Allman, Eddie Quillan and Peter Bonerz.
Theme Song Karaoke
Still galleries featuring original drawings and photos

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Disc 1: Addams Family - Volume 1 - Disc 1 Disc 2: Addams Family - Volume 1 - Disc 2 Disc 3: Addams Family - Volume 1 - Disc 3 Disc 4: Addams Family - Volume 2 - Disc 1 Disc 5: Addams Family - Volume 2 - Disc 2 Disc 6: Addams Family - Volume 2 - Disc 3 Disc 7: Addams Family - Volume 3 - Disc 1 Disc 8: Addams Family - Volume 3 - Disc 2 Disc 9: Addams Family - Volume 3 - Disc 3

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Paper Moon (1973) Review

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(More customer reviews)I can't think of a big enough cynic who can dismiss the charms of this movie. On my list, Paper Moon qualifies as one of the best comedies ever made, a mixture of childlike wonder and wry sarcasm, simultaneously detached in its narrative approach (thanks to amazing understated camerawork) and intimate.
The script has no faults. Scenes hurtle forward at a brisk but never hyper pace, every moment pregnant with character development and sharp dialogue. Ryan and Tatum O'Neal's exchanges are pristine in their comic timing, side-splitting and touching at the same time, effortlessly exploiting the chemistry between father and daughter. Their scenes in the car are so hilarious and endearing that you'd wish you could ride with them for hours longer. And the film is rich in period flavour, from the stark black-and-white photography to the music to every character, evoking a sense of longing for a more innocent age without ever lapsing into downright nostalgia. The themes -- the vagabond heart which can't stand still, growing up, identity, friendship -- ring as true today as they always did.
I saw this movie when I was quite young and it's never lost its magical hold on me. Watch it again even if you have already; you will discover something new every time.

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Adapted from the novel "Addie Pray" by Joe David Brown, PAPER MOON is set in the Midwest during the Great Depression, and follows the story of Moses Pray (Ryan O’Neal), a happy-go-lucky con artist who travels through the Midwest on a mission to swindle money out of innocent widows.While attending a friend’s funeral, Pray is called upon by two elderly ladies to deliver the daughter of the deceased, Addie (Tatum O’Neal), to her aunt in Missouri.Soon learning that the 9-year-old is almost as mischievous and manipulative as he is, Pray and Addie develop a father and daughter routine that increases their credibility as well as their income.Now, the devious duo set out on a series of misadventures involving crooked cops, bootleggers, grieving widows and a Carney dancer named Miss Trixie Delight (Kahn) who adds a little spice to their routine.

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The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection (The Cocoanuts / Animal Crackers / Monkey Business / Horse Feathers / Duck Soup) (1930) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Marx Brothers hit their peak with "Duck Soup". Sure, "A Night at the Opera" and "A Day at the Races" were both bigger box office hits and, while both those latter films have their moments they just can't quite compete with the inspired anarchy of "Duck Soup". Let's start with the positives first. It doesn't look like most of the films have any footage missing as near as I can tell. Sure, some of the editing still looks ragged but most of their early films (and films from that era for that matter) have that "look". The first three movies are a bit static looking (since the first two were based on their stage plays that's not a surprise--they look like photographed stage plays). With "Monkey Business" and "Horse Feathers" The Marx Brothers began to develop a style that was a bit more cinematic. All five films are essential for fans.
Now the bad news. Universal has been slapping together boxed sets lately of older films and TV series with little to no extras and without any effort at restoration. They're where Warner Brothers was about 6 years ago. The prints often don't look as sharp as they could and there's plenty of analog blemishes to muddy up the picture as well. Digitally many of these flaws could easily be corrected on these prints. Since the original negatives are long gone (they were shot on nitrate stock. Nitrate stock is quite unstable begins to disintegrate and shrink after a couple of decades). Unfortunately, we're left with prints that are several generations removed from the original negatives which means that these will probably never look perfect. Could they look better? Absolutely as there's been minimal effort to clean them up and none of them look as if there has been an effort to restore them. "Horse Feathers" still appears to be missing some material (unfortunately most of it is probably permanently lost)that probably could have been restored from foreign prints.
The extras are a bit skimpy at best. We get some older "The Today Show" interviews. There's no documentary on The Marx Brothers career, the challenges they faced in reaching an audience and why, ultimately, MGM put them under contract only to dilute their best qualities. I'm also disappointed that there's no audio commentary. Surely former UCLA Professor Howard Suber would have been available to do a commentary on these terrific films? What about vintage newsreels discussing the previews of their movies?
While I appreciate the book, the introductory essay is skimpy. The quotes of Groucho from various films and images from the films/posters was a bright idea it's just that Universal didn't go far enough. A nice short documentary incorporating the interviews included here would have been nice. I appreciate the idea of the book but I also wish that it could be removed from as it is a bit cumbersome in the middle of the accordian style set. Still, the design of the set is quite nice.
I give the films 5 stars for the quality of these classics but 2 stars for the inferior presentation from Universal. It's a pity as Warner has most of the lesser Marx movies but did a marvelous job of restoring them and adding extras including commentaries to them. Considering that Universal has a great restoration department and that they've done a marvelous job of restoring Hitchcock's classic films "Rear Window" and "Vertigo", I'm really disappointed that more effort wasn't made here. It's an example of Hollywood not valuing its past.

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Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the greatest comedy act in history with The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection. This essential DVD set features the legendary four Marx Brothers in five of their most acclaimed and best loved films - Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, Monkey Business, Animal Crackers and The Cocoanuts - the only five movies ever made with all four brothers together: Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo!

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Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series) Review

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(More customer reviews)My family loved watching this show. We can't understand why Dennis the Menace, Leave it to Beaver, Jeff's Collie/Lassie & My Three Sons are not relased in full, uncut versions. I enjoy purchasing TV sitcoms for Birthday and Christmas gifts, & would like some of the older, classic shows to choose from. I have been burned by bootleggers so please commercially release these and other old time television shows. The public will buy them. We miss our TV friends and want them to come to DVD so we may watch them whenever we have a few moments off of work and daily presures.

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The Complete First Season 1959 1960, All 32 Original Episodes The comic misadventures of television’s most well-meaning but misguided boy are back! The lovable Dennis Mitchell (Jay North) left a trail of chaos throughout his suburban neighborhood. Yet along with his friends and classmates Tommy (Billy Booth) and Margaret (Jeannie Russell), Dennis managed to pry his way into the hearts of millions from week to week. Based on the long-running comic strip by Hank Ketcham, this beloved CBS television series (1959 1963) stayed true to form, as Dennis’s youthful curiosity always managed to get him into heaps of trouble . . . especially with his crotchety old neighbor Mr. Wilson (Joseph Kearns). Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry starred as Dennis’s parents who were always on hand with love and guidance but not necessarily the required supervision. Here for the first time on DVD are all 32 uncut episodes from the first season of Dennis The Menace!

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