The Three Stooges: The Ultimate Collection

I had always wanted to start collecting Three Stooges material ever since I started collecting movies. However previous attempts to put the material out there has been a mixed bag and by bag I mean a trash bag. It's sad when my memories of watching them on a 13" black and white tv is more vivid than a video tape or DVD. So I ended up holding off starting any kind of collection until they got their act together. And we'll they started releasing the chronological sets and from the previews I knew this was the direction I was waiting for unfortunately I wanted the price to go down as I didn't know how many volumes there would be and well they were a bit high starting out. Also I was worried that they would have a collector's set with a bonus you can't get elsewhere. Similar to movie franchises coming out with collector's sets or cool packAging once the last volume comes out after I've already bought them loyally volume to volume. In both counts the wait was worth it.One the price is great. Buying the individual sets (without adding shipping) is considerably more. Almost $40. Here you get all 8 volumes and the three disc bonus DVD for a great savings. I love it when more costs less. Two, having all these boxed together offers another option for display or storage. The slip case could be thicker/harder but it dies what it needs to do and it has some cool graphics.After seeing how great the twilight zone and the original star trek series looks on blu ray I am always in awe of how well shows/movies with a huge fan base can be stored and then restored this set looks and sounds great. It has a great picture. I thought twilight looked awesome considering its age. Now go back another 20 or more years I wasn't expecting that level of clarity or quality. But that's just what I got. Now I am a huge fan, and remember watching these shots/movies on the weekend. It never seemed to get old. Well nit until curly Joe stepped in (no one could replace curly Howard though shrimp was likable) but enough being a big fan I do not know about the history and how many shorts they had altogether as I only saw the reruns. So I have no clue if anything has been left out. All I do know is you get an awful lot, way more than your money's worth so I can't complain. I can't imagine them missing anything though. The animated stooges is the only thing missing but you can find a complete set here as well. This is the complete live action stuff. There is so much in this set probably more than I need but I will watch all of it to get more of a historical and contextual perspective. If you only liked the Larry Moe and curly stuff I suggest you buy them individual volumes as they tell u on the box who is in each volume. But the investment of a few more dollars will get you So much mire bang for your buck that I'm sure you'll find things to love to make up for a few more dollars. Only negative is there really are no extras. I an grateful for the quality and quantity that I won't complain about the lack of features but a retrospective documentary would have been nice. I'm surprised this wasn't on blu ray. It would have been great to have that format for future generations. Most collector's prefer it and the quality would have shown brightly in high Dec. If they do release this on blu ray I'll definitely upgrade. That should tell you just how impressed I am with this set. So in closing let me just say wow!!!! It's a fine way to end as well

This is one of the best box sets ever released, featuring all 190 Three Stooges' short subjects in chronological order, from 1934 to 1959. Moe Howard was the undisputed leader of the Stooges, and Larry Fine was fine as the beleaguered man in the middle. Curly Howard was a comic genius, and remains the best remembered and most loved of all of the Stooges. Even when his health declined, his performances remained amazingly hilarious. Also included in this box set is "Rockin' In The Rockies" (1945), a feature film in which Curly and Larry interact more with each other than with Moe. Its value is more in its rarity than its quality, in my humble opinion. Shemp Howard joined the Three Stooges after Curly suffered a major stroke, and first appeared in the short "Fright Night" (1947). After watching the bonus short subjects featuring Shemp, I gained a greater appreciation for his comedic talents. Every Three Stooges short with Shemp never failed to make me laugh. "Spooks!" (1953) and "Pardon My Backfire" (1953) with Shemp were filmed in 3-D and, amazingly, the 3-D glasses included in the box set work well in demonstrating the 3-D effect.After Shemp died of a heart attack in 1955, Joe Besser became the third Stooge, and remained with Moe and Larry until Columbia stopped releasing short subjects. Again, I was impressed with Joe's comedic talents in the bonus short subjects that featured him, although there was a lot of recycled footage in them. Even so, Joe had the unenviable task of following Curly and Shemp, and he could never reach the comedic heights that they attained. The four short subjects featuring Joe DeRita were less than impressive, although I would give him an "A" for effort. Later known as Curly Joe, he was literally along for the ride, with Moe and Larry, in 1959's feature film "Have Rocket, Will Travel," which is also included in this box set. The Three Stooges were showing their age by the time this movie was released. The feature films they made after that are pleasant, and provide many chuckles. However, it's their short subjects, beautifully restored in this box set, that will go down in history as the Three Stooges' comedic legacy. Every fan of the Three Stooges should have this box set in their collection.