Laurel & Hardy: The Essential New Collection

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An essential collection to any Laurel and Hardy fan. This 10-disc set not only incorporates all the sound shorts and feature films made between 1929-1940 at the Hal Roach Studios, but also, each film has been restored with their original title cards and credits as well. Compared to the UK-released Universal set a few years back, the picture quality is far superior in sharpness and tone. This set does NOT include the colourized versions of the films, nor does it include "Bonnie Scotland" and "Fra Diavolo (The Devil's Brother)". It does however include "Wild Poses" (a Little Rascals short featuring Stan and Ollie for a brief 10 seconds in a guest appearance) and the Todd/Pitts short "On The Loose". Surprisingly, it also includes the colour short "The Tree In A Test Tube" from 1942, even though this was not made during the period of the films in this set. If you want the colourized versions then you need to buy the Region 2 set from Universal (21-DVDs), If you want the best possible picture quality, with original cards then this is the set for you. The price tag for this 10-disc set is more expensive than the 21-disc set, but you are getting better quality for your money. My opinion, of course ;)

I've been viewing the new Laurel & Hardy discs at length, and comparing them to the laserdiscs and the UK PAL set with an analytical eye. My verdict is a resounding "thumbs up" in all departments. The only real drawback is the absence of the silent classics. (These may well be on their way, in a future companion set.) I'm not exactly impartial in these matters. I guess I've derived more pleasure from Laurel & Hardy than from any other movie personalities in history. Their charm never seems to fade - for me, anyway. The films themselves - all from the Hal Roach Library and long cherished by at least three generations of fans - surely need no further validation. Owning them in uncut, restored editions has been a lifelong dream for devotees all over the world. Some of the early shorts, particularly NIGHT OWLS, BRATS and ONE GOOD TURN, are only marginally improved. (Apparently the original elements are in pretty bad shape. As with the Chaplin Keystones and Essanays, the producers did the best restoration possible with the prints available.) But most are pristine, comparatively; it's like watching them for the first time. In addition to ALL the talkie shorts and most of the features (more about that later), you also get some rare foreign language versions. These fascinating oddities often feature gags and business not seen in the more familiar domestic releases, and I STRONGLY encourage fans not to skip them. Who knew, for instance, that POLITIQUERIAS (CHICKENS COME HOME) included priceless footage of Hardy ballroom dancing, and singing in Spanish - as well as an extended magic act with a Spanish-speaking James Finlayson? Even better, statuesque Anita Garvin ("Mrs. Laurel" in BE BIG and BLOTTO) is even more smoking hot when she's speaking French (in LES CAROTTIERS)! More rarities: both LAUGHING GRAVY and PARDON US include "lost" outtake footage deleted from the North American theatrical releases. (The former features a bonus alternate ending, and the latter adds a lengthy sequence where Stan and Ollie rescue June "Miss Crabtree" Marlowe from a burning building.) Wisely, the set does not waste valuable space by including "colorized" versions. Due to vagaries of copyright ownership, some features in the canon are missing from the set: FRA DIAVOLO, BONNIE SCOTLAND, BABES IN TOYLAND, The FLYING DEUCES (not a Roach production) and HOLLYWOOD PARTY. However, ALL of these are readily available on DVD from other sources. There's a 10th disc with miscellaneous items, including the team's cameo appearances with Charley Chase, Our Gang and Thelma Todd/ZaSu Pitts - but it doesn't include The STOLEN JOOLS. An "extras" feature takes the viewer on a tour of L&H shooting locations around modern Los Angeles, including the iconic MUSIC BOX steps in Silver Lake. (All true L&H buffs in America have made at least one pilgrimage there!) This last disc also features appreciative commentaries by Dick Van Dyke, Penn & Teller (the latter is characteristically silent), Tim Conway, Chuck McCann, Super Dave Osborne and - perhaps unfortunately - Jerry Lewis. One major quibble with the Lewis interview is his bizarre "when Laurel met Hardy" story which, as many fans have pointed out, is pure drivel. No one can dispute Lewis' megawatt talent, but he seems to have gone a bit dotty lately. Lewis loves Laurel but basically dismisses Hardy, claiming he was a "construction worker" on the lot when Stan saw him one day and asked Roach if he could "use" him. Of course, this is complete rubbish. Oliver Hardy had a long and versatile career in silent films prior to the teaming, appearing in literally hundreds of comedies - as heavies and/or comic foils, in "character" parts, etc. His film roles stretch back to 1914, even preceding Laurel's 1917 screen debut. (Hardy had even been teamed before - in a series of "Plump and Runt" comedies with Billy Ruge.) These films are not only documented, but many still survive. It may be news to Jerry Lewis, but Hardy was already an established comedy veteran by the time he arrived at Roach, as any film historian could easily attest. In Jerry's defense, he MAY have been thinking of Charlie Hall - who actually DID do carpentry work on the Roach lot between supporting roles, to supplement his income. I'm guessing - I don't know this - but it's entirely possible that Stan "discovered" Hall, sensing some comic potential in his diminutive but feisty persona. (The L&H creative team, which once featured director Leo McCarey, was always looking for fresh new foils - since Finlayson and Edgar Kennedy were in such high demand elsewhere on the lot.) Perhaps Laurel relayed the anecdote about Hall, and Jerry Lewis simply got confused. Like I said, I don't really know for sure. Charlie Hall is SO good that it's hard to believe he was just a day laborer who inadvertently happened to be effective onscreen. L&H fans are understandably upset by Lewis' belittling implication that Oliver Hardy was some amateur that Stan trained, like a monkey. Make no mistake; Hardy is brilliant. No less an authority than John Cleese considers Hardy one of the best, if not THE best American screen comic, as does Ricky Gervais. Stan Laurel himself revered Hardy, listing him second only to Chaplin. Laurel was indisputably the creative genius behind the scenes, but Hardy was (arguably) a shade the more nuanced performer. (That's open to debate, of course. I agree with William K. Everson, who believed it was ultimately pointless to compare the two.) Jerry Lewis considers himself Stan's protege, and is fiercely loyal to him. That's entirely understandable, even commendable - but it doesn't give him the right to rewrite history.

First time u bought DVD off sure unfortunately it wasn't compatible with uk so had to return it so disappointed

Attenzione! Il prodotto non è idoneo al mercato europeo ma solo a quello americano. Infatti quando inserisco i dischi nel mio lettore dvd / bluray non vengono letti ed un messaggio del lettore avverte che hanno un codice “regionale” errato. La cosa incredibile però è che amazon non avvisa di questo nella pagina del prodotto!

Great insight into top comedians of the silent era and between the two world wars,there is lot more to explore with more digital remastering needed essential viewing

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I purchased this set because it contained the short "The Live Ghost". I have not seen this since I was growing up in the 1950's and found it to be just as funny as I remembered it. There have been many erudite commentaries about this set and the history of Hal Roach and various releases of the boys films. I don't really care about these factoids, only that films I grew up loving are finally available to own. One person wanted the set to contain colorized versions and was knocking the set for this reason. Really ? The originals were shot in B&W so why review or purchase a set that's not put out in the format you want ? The packaging sucks. Obviously designed by some nurse-a-nickel pencil-neck dumb Kopf. I have plenty of CD Jewel cases I use for my video and audio productions so each disk will be getting a new home as it is removed from the Kludgey packaging. While some have pointed out that not all the boy's films are represented here, I feel the set is a marvelous compendium of the majority of the boys films I remember watching years ago. Bo Hunks - The boys join the foreign legion so Hardy can forget Geenie Weenie. After they get to their post, they tell the commandant they forgot what they came to forget and want to go home. Hilarious ! The Live Ghost - The boys get a Buck for each sailor they shanghai but the end up getting shanghaied on the same ship they shanghaied the sailors for. Then the fun begins. I bought this set just for this short. Busy Bodies - Laurel and Hardy working as "Millwrights " . Sight gags and just flat out funny situations make this a comedy classic. I have liked Laurel and Hardy since the first time I saw them in the early 1950's on our local kids program "The Marshall J Show". The Marshall introduced us to Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges and myriad Warner Brothers cartoons. Bugs, Daffy Elmer and Tweety. Owning this set is a real trip down memory lane and a reminder of how fortunate I was to grow up right after the end of WW II. It was a period of unprecedented prosperity and a wonderful time to be a kid. It is easy to see how comics like Tim Conway and Dick Van Dyke learned their craft from watching the boys do their thing. I haven't made a dent in viewing all the content but what I have seen so far is definitely good quality and very watchable. I will enjoy this set for a long time.

You get 10 discs in this set - the sound shorts and feature from the Hal Roach Library. There is a lot to enjoy and some nice extras - there are some commentary tracks on several films that, for me as a more casual fan of Laurel & Hardy, were very informative. I would recommend this if you have even the slightest interest in classic comedy. There's a reason these two have retained an avid following - they were, quite possibly, the greatest comedy team in cinematic history.