Rating: 
Summary: FINALLY!
Review: The wait is (almost) over. I say "almost" because we have to wait until June 15 to buy final film, "Love Happy" on DVD to complete the Marx Brothers film collection. I have been waiting for this collection for years. I was lucky enough to get the first five Paramount films on DVD (before the idiots at Universal pulled them) and I couldn't wait for Ted Turner to get off his lazy, rich butt and release the MGM/RKO films (Thanks Ted, sorry about that). This collection will be a real treat for every fan of The Marx Brothers and the golden age of comedy....and now, Mr. Turner...a few other things you can release...we know you own the rights to MGM, RKO, Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers...so, how about... The films of Wheeler & Woolsey? The complete MGM Tex Avery cartoons? The Astaire & Rogers films? A complete set (year by year...including the banned and censored) Warner Brothers "Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies" collection (every cartoon they ever produced from 1930-yes all the way to 1969, I guess)? How about a little film called "KING KONG"? The Buster Keaton MGM films (especially "Spite Marriage" and "The Cameraman")? I could go on and on...and I'm sure a lot of movie buffs will agree with me and add their own 2 cents. This is great work with The Marx Brothers Collection...please keep the good stuff coming!!!
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Summary: WARNERS to be commended for doing great with what they have!
Review: It's too bad basically intelligent people
1) Review products before seeing them
2) issue long essays about "ultimate" sets with no common sense or knowledge..
Warner Brothers does not control many of the movies these fans are wanting put out...UNIVERSAL does..and put them out....they are out of print...they will come back in print and I highly doubt as much care with the transfers or tons of illuminating bonus features will be included if the recent glut of double sided universal "franchise collection" DVDs are any indication.
THESE are the films Warner had to work with ....and they did an amazing job of presenting many hours of bonus features with intelligent interviews that added greatly to my viewing pleasure...OH YEAH, I have actually seen these before writing my review...what a novel idea?
sorry for the sarcasm....but crying about what you don't have isn't the same as reviewing what you do have.....and this is a great job on a very important series of films of varying degrees of quality....but all handled by Warners very well! The studio should be congratulated for the many classic films they are re-issueing on DVD and most all contain bonus features.....from the classic Bogart series to the upcoming Gangster and Errol Flynn collections...
keep it up Warners...don't let the ill-informed "internet" reviewers slow you down!
Rating:
Summary: Groucho's 2 favorites headline a gorgeous boxed set!
Review: Groucho Marx said that A NIGHT AT THE OPERA and A DAY AT THE RACES were the two best films The Marx Bros. ever made. They're here, along with the brethren's next 5 features in a nifty boxed set, stuffed with new documentaries among a load of extras. Of all studios, none treat their classics with such care and class as Warner, and I'm confident this boxed set will not disappoint. All of the films are really entertaining, but truly A NIGHT AT THE OPERA and A DAY AT THE RACES represent the Marx boys at their zenith. Best of all, the price is a true bargain!
Rating: 
Summary: Execution Is Everything
Review: As a number of other reviewers have noted, this collection contains the weaker Marx Brothers movies. Only "A Night at the Opera" can be considered top-drawer Marxist madness. However, each of the other films has something worth seeing: "At the Circus", for example, has Margaret Dumont hanging from a trapeze (yes, that's really her up there) and Groucho singing that vaudeville classic "Lydia the Tattooed Lady"; "Go West" has an absolutely demented scene involving "South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi"; and "Room Service" offers some of the first film appearances by Lucille Ball and a 15-year-old Ann Miller. Each movie is worth seeing, and at $42 for seven movies (about $7 a film), the price is certainly right. However, execution is everything in this project. The transfers are good, considering the age of the films. "Night at the Opera" is a little beaten up, with some jarring jumps where the film was damaged and spliced, and some other movies show dirt and scratches; but barring the full-scale Criterion treatment, this probably is as good a release as one can reasonably hope to see. Overall, it's a good package - well put together, and a good value for the dollar. Now, if only the people who hold the Paramount copyrights would make "Duck Soup" available ...
Rating:
Summary: At last!
Review: This is my second effort to comment on this product. My first one got lost somehow. I prefer this one anyway. I hope it makes it. To begin with, as noted in some of the earlier of these preview reviews, those lost 5 movies (Paramount? Universal?) were released singly, cost a fortune, and are now out of print. I have them. Whether they'll ever be re-released and whether as a cheapo set I of course have no way of knowing. But these 7. I'm getting all 7 because of the price (and I desperately hope they're good quality and well-packaged - considering the price). All I really want is Opera, Races and Casablanca. But they cost more separately than the set does. Sigh. Rather than a set (quality unknown) I would rather have these movies each in its own little box. When I lived in Oakland 30 years ago, I would take a bus to a little barn movie theater every other weeknd or so where and when they showed Marx Bros movies, buy apple cider and candy and live for an hour in hog heaven. The atmosphere was perfect and these flicks were hilarious. Then I would stand in the cold and the dark and wait for the bus to take me back to my little hovel in beautiful downtown Oakland. (Was it Oakland Gertrude Stein was talking about when she said, "There's no there there"?) I was psychotic at the time, but that's another story (unless it made the movies funnier). Groucho, by the way (going by a book or an anecdotal introduction I read by him), was for all his talent a cruel, unhappy man. Chico conducted his own orchestra exactly one night. And Harpo (see "Harpo Speaks") was about as dense off-stage as he was on. This set promises (if the quality is okay) to be a true delight. I've been waiting and looking for these movies for years, and they're sure-fire bait, prime for the obsessive who must have "the complete" whatever. I think advertisers know this, and that's why they put things (like Bway show albums) out in series and number them (totally arbitrary!), to compel you to buy all 507, when all you want is 8 or 9 here and there. Sigh. I resist, but the urge is there. Now if the movies (at roughly $7 apiece, the first 5, and Opera, Races and Casablanca cost more than twice that!) are good reproductions and well-packaged...
Rating:
Summary: At last!
Review: I didn't know Amazon allowed preview reviews! But the "critics" are out in force, guns blazing, and the set hasn't even been released yet. To begin with. Those 5 lost movies. They've already come out on DVD singly and gone out of print (I bought them several years ago). Whether they'll be re-released in a cheapo set, of course I don't know. When I lived in Oakland 30 years ago, I would take a bus to a little barn theater every other weekend or so where they showed Marx Bros movies. I would buy apple cider and candy by the gallon and ton, and laugh my little head off. Then I would stand in the cold and the dark and wait for the bus to take me back to my little hovel in beautiful downtown Oakland. (Was it Oakland Gertrude Stein was talking about when she said, "There's no there there"?) I was psychotic at the time, but that's another story. Groucho by the way was for all his talent a cruel and unhappy man. I love the Marx Bros, all the Marx Bros, and all the Marx Bros movies. And I've waited years to get the rest of their movies on DVD. This promises to be a hilarious and happy occasion when they arrive. I ordered the whole set of 7 because it's actually cheaper than buying Opera, Races and Casablanca separately (which are my favorites out of this batch), because I'm getting 4 more movies for less money, and because I'm obsessive. I like complete sets. I think advertisers know this, and that's why they put things (like Bway show albums) out in series and number them, to compel you to buy all 507, when all you really want is a few here and there. I only hope these movies are good reproductions and well-packaged. The first 5 (sold separately) cost a fortune.
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Summary: The Marx Brothers ARE now complete on DVD
Review: ... barring LOVE HAPPY, which is a blessing ... Opera/Races/Room Service/Circus/Go West/Big Store/Casablanca are not the most anarchic of the Marx movies and it is sad to see the brothers in decline - they were, after all, in their fifties when most of these were made. But the fact is that the best bits of these later movies far outweigh their toe-curling moments (Kenny Baker singing 'Two Blind Loves' in At The Circus, is one example, and Harpo's gospel music moments may be well meaning but would likely offend modern sensibilities). Despite these drawbacks much of the fun remains undimmed. It is still possible to fall about laughing at these films - my kids prove this regularly. IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR THE BEST MARX BROS FILMS: ALL the earlier (Paramount) Marx Bros titles ARE available on DVD! Just use Amazon's 'search' facility and there they are. They are not bad transfers, the picture quality is good, though these seem to be early DVD masters and appear to have some learning curve glitches - using digital sound output, the Cocoanuts soundtrack appears through the front right speaker only!
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Summary: Glad to have'm on DVD but the Boys not at their best here
Review: It's great to finally have the beloved Brothers Marx on DVD. It's just a shame that the first collection contains such a mixed bag. When they get around to releasing their classic Paramount films ("Cocoanuts", "Animal Crackers", "Monkey Business", "Horse Feathers", "Duck Soup") it will make the DVD being reviewed a bit more palatable. In the current DVD, "A Night at the Opera" is clearly the winner. It is widely hailed as their best film, although cult Marxists tend to declare "Duck Soup" the best (as do I). "A Day at the Races", er, marks the beginning of their sad decline, though it has many funny scenes and memorable lines (Groucho: "Send a dozen roses to Mrs. Upjohn and write 'I Love You' on the back of the bill"). "Room Service" is a filmed play that happens to have Groucho, Harpo and Chico in it (and a few laughs), but like "At the Circus", "Go West" and "The Big Store", should not be viewed by anyone wanting to know what these guys were all about. "A Night in Casablanca" is in fact worth watching because it's the last bona fide Marx Brothers movie (the abysmal "Love Happy" in 1949 technically is one but core fans disregard it) and is not all that bad. It certainly is the best one since "Races". Bottom line: ignore the promotional text touting some of these films as being funny Marx Brothers movies. A Marx Brothers movie has a special kind of "funny" that leaves comedic, er, marks on your brain for life. Not all of the movies on this DVD can make that claim. Mind you, "Circus" has Groucho's classic "Lydia" song and "Go West" has one of my favorite Groucho lines (i.e., "time wounds all heels"). However, rather than straining and waiting for a good line or scene, just wait for "Horsefeathers" or "Duck Soup" on DVD. You won't be disappointed. Swordfish!
Rating:
Summary: Answer to a Marxist prayer
Review: Oh joy! Oh bliss! A boxed set that does NOT contain anything I already have. Moreover, it has ALL the ones I most want including "Night at the Opera" and "Night in Casablanca." My library presently contains "Animal Crackers", "Duck Soup", "Horsefeathers" and "The Cocoanuts." I have always adored the Marx Brothers. Indeed, in the pre-VHS days, I have been known to set my clock for 3 am when one of their movies was relegated to the Late Late Show on TV. Best of all, this set is VERY reasonably priced considering the euphoria that will result from the repeated viewings of these movie treasures.
Rating:
Summary: universal will provide the first five
Review: This boxset features all the MGM/UA titles featuring the Marx Brothers. The price is low enough that there's no need to rag on it for not having the first five titles. Those films were made by Paramount and their rights are now owned by Universal. Hopefully if this boxset gets a positive response, Universal will get the early titles out in a boxset and you can have all the Marx Brothers films at a nice price. A lesser Marx Brothers film is funnier than most pathetic comedies that clog up cable TV.
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