Rating: 
Summary: DIGITAL STAN & OLLIE
Review: Somewhere in the world, every minute of every day, someone's laughing at a Laurel and Hardy comedy. That's a pretty good legacy. The best, most beloved comedy team of all time made about 100 films in 25 years. Laurel & Hardy, Volume 1 (Artisan) is a single disc with five digitally re-mastered (e-wash, audio fixes and signal corrections) titles. Included are the feature Sons of the Desert and the "two-reelers" Busy Bodies, County Hospital, Another Fine Mess and the The Music Box (1932 Oscar© winner for Best Comedy Short). Limited bonus material includes biographies and a "Then & Now Location Tour." Stan Laurel was a genius, it's said he could stand still in front of a night club audience and bring them to screaming hysterics without saying a word. But more than that, the almost mystical on screen relationship of Stan and Ollie, and their genuine off-screen friendship, had at it's roots something about unconditional love in the midst of chaos that still connects. Highest recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: CRIMINAL!
Review: These movies have obviously been dubbed from 16mm reduction prints! Notice in "The Music Box" a bar of distortion appears horizontally across the screen then moves upwards. This sort of distortion only appears on video tape! What you have here is a third generation dub! From 16mm reduction to video (for television distribution) to DVD. The feature "Sons of the Desert" fades out and back in a regular intervals for the nonexistant commercial breaks! It's not only irritating but disappointing as well since Edie Adams never materializes to pitch Muriel Cigars and no glimpse of Barbara Feldon to lustily entice me to shave closer with Gillette! Any apologist who says, "well, they look good considering they're 70 years old!" ought to see some of the older silent comedies Kino International has on DVD duped from original 35mm negatives! The contrast is sharp, no scratches and no video distortion. What Hallmark has done is absolutely criminal in my view. It's like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa!
Rating: 
Summary: The Best These Films Have Looked In A Long Tim
Review: I just opened my new copy of Artisan/FHE/Hallmark's "Laurel And Hardy" compilation DVD and must congratulate the companies involeved in putting together an absolutely first rate disc! From what I've read from other reveiws, the feature film Sons Of The Desert presented here is from a TV version, but for me it is just the way I remember seeing it, and the picture has been sustantially cleaned up since the poor VHS releases in the 80s. All of the films here have been given relatively "clean" audio remasters, which do not add any extra and unwanted sound effects and have been kept in their original mono format without trying for any fake stereo seperation. In addition, the original mono tracks with all the pops intact have also been included, which do have slightly more dynamics in the top range. The films presented are some of The Boys' best - the main feature Sons Of The Desert being a good first choice for inclusion. Their Academy Award-winning The Music Box is a perhaps obvious but nonetheless welcome inclusion, while Busy Bodies and Another Fine Mess were two of my favorites that I used to watch on 8mm film with my Dad in the late 1970s. He's not around any more, so it was with mixed emotions that I sat and watched these again - but the magic of Stan And Ollie is simply undeniable. The final short, County Hospital, was one that I did not recall straight away, but features the usual mix of clever dialogue and slapstick that we have come to expect from Laurel And Hardy. What would be great to hear from Artisan/FHE/Hallmark is if they have plans to issue a series and what titles we can expect from them. Unlike Chaplin, Laurel And Hardy's films have never gotten the home video respect they deserve. Unfortunately, they were working for somebody else - Hal Roach - and were one of a few acts that made movies there, unlike Chaplin who owned his negatives, which have been preserved over the years. The Stan And Ollie films have changed hands on a number of occaisions, from theatrical re-issues and TV sales, and a number of home video incarnations that have done nothing to restore any remaining negatives. While this edition only features remastered prints as opposed to a complete digital restoration, these are the best these films have looked and sounded in decades. This collection is very recommedned to fans of Laurel And Hardy, as well as those interested in the short comedy film format, and comedy fans in general. The presentations are great for their age and history and as I said above, Artisan/FHE/Hallmark should be congratulated on putting together a first class disc. Most surprising was the addition of a few special features. I thought that one full feature and four shorts was quite enough, but the distributors have taken it upon themselves to add a ten-minute study of Stan And Ollie's comedy by several top names in this field (Dom DeLuise, Mel Brooks, John Hughes) as well as a "location tour" (stills of several locations as seen in the films and how they look nowadays), Fan society contacts, and biographies for Stan, Ollie and Hal Roach. As if this is not enough, each film (including the shorts) have between five and ten chapter indexes for locating favorite scenes! All in all, my five stars are for the overall presentation and assembly of the disc. The menus are very much in keeping with the title cards from the films, and the animations between menus were just a delightful added bonus - especially the one for Busy Bodies - just terrific! As I say, these are not the absolutely definitive digital restorations, but since that does not look likely anyway, these are the best way to see these films. I have a number of tapes featuring Laurel And Hardy, including earlier incarantions of a couple of these films. This disc is the best I have seen these films look and should belong to every Stan And Ollie fan. The tearaway security strip along the top made mention of "Volume 1" - let's hope that this sells well enough for the companies to continue the series with quite a few new volumes to come! Once more, a fine looking mess they've gotten themselves into, courtesy of some long awaited and much deserved care and attention finally given to them by the creators of this disc. More, please!!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific !
Review: Great quality...you can hardly tell that these films are as old as they are. If they had added Block Heads to the selection, I would have given it 5-Stars.
Rating:
Summary: Laurel & Hardy
Review: While there are some obvious flaws in the choices Hallmark ( where are you MGM?!!) made in regard to the source materials, the content, of course is impeccable. Putting aside the brilliant sight gags, it is always amazing to watch two men being so wonderfully, purely and gut-bustingly funny. Despite having seen these films dozens of times, I was particularly bowled over by the nuances Stan and Ollie brought to these two characters. In a era, where - in some lesser circles - the word "genius" is applied to the work of the Three Stooges, this DVD is a welcome reminder of true artistry. Shoddy treatment by corporate media types can't dim this. Where Hallmark/Artisan truly stumble is in the features. Apparently Hal Roach was still alive during the DVD's production (when did they start this thing?) and the narration goes to great pains to emphasize Roach's contribution, as if he also wrote and directed the Laurel & Hardy films. Roach may have provided them with a nuturing workplace, but it was Stan Laurel who was the real creative force behind the team. Anybody who knows anything about film comedy is aware of this. This might have been mentioned, but the breathless narration, (which was apparently written by a Hallmark administrative assistant who knew nothing about Laurel & Hardy) was too busy stressing their "wholesomeness." The fact is that Stan & Ollie are not some sort of kiddie act, but important comic artists who deserve serious and respectful documentation. Get a clue Hallmark.
Rating:
Summary: Imperfect, but close enough
Review: I grew up on Laurel and Hardy, so as funny as it may sound coming from a 21-year-old, I found myself getting nostalgic watching these old movies. I was worried about this particular release, since I had heard mixed things about it, but I knew I would have to purchase it anyway and find out for myself. The buzz has been that Sons of the Desert has been edited. This is a partially true claim that is pretty misleading. It does appear that this was a "TV version," and there are clear fade outs and fade ins for commercials. It appeared that the entire film was there, though. However, after watching the DVD I compared it with my old VHS just to be sure, and the entire movie is here. Curiously, background music has been added to Ollie's "nervous shakedown" scene. This music was not in the original version, but does really add or take away anything from the movie. The fade outs are a little annoying, and the addition of the music to one scene seems pointless, but this should please everybody but the most stubborn of purists. Sons of the Desert is probably Laurel and Hardy's best feature. The Music Box and County Hospital are two of their best shorts, as well. Another Fine Mess and Busy Bodies were never my favorites, but they are amusing nonetheless. The DVD case claims that these films have been "digitally rematered." There is still quite a bit of hissing and crackling on the audio, particularly on The Music Box and County Hospital. After comparing the DVD with the VHS of Sons of the Desert, the picture seems cleaned up a little, but neither the the audio or video is "remastered" enough to blow your socks off. Still, this is a fun edition to own. The special features are brief but fun. I'll give it four and a half stars, and round it up to five. Probably not the outstanding edition that die-hard fans were waiting for, but it's much better than not having them on DVD. Let's hope that more volumes will follow.
Rating:
Summary: More on the way?
Review: It doesn't say it on the box, (Vol 1) but it did say it on the removable package. Quality is great and the extra features are pretty good. Anybody who likes the old comedies should buy it.
I grew up watching L&H (on 16 MM films) with my Dad and we still watch them a lot (now on video). We are both so happy to get these on DVD. I'd love to see Pardon Us, Men O War, Hog Wild, Perfect Day and Come Clean on the next DVD, but I'm sure I'll buy it what ever it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Laurel and Hardy 1933
Review: It is wonderful that they finally brought out Music Box and some other favourites in DVD . I would love to see Laurel and Hardy's Murder Case. Oliver the 8th, Dirty Work, The Live Ghost and Swiss Miss come out in DVD. These are wonderful shorts and a movie.
Rating:
Summary: If only there were more...
Review: This is an excellent DVD. Please buy it so that Hallmark will release the rest of the shorts! I want them all.
Rating:
Summary: 'Hard boiled eggs and nuts...'
Review: Somewhere I saw stated that this is volume one, which hopefully means more are on the way. These are some of the best transfers of these classic comedys I've ever seen. I give a lot of credit to whomever put this together, as they did a superb job, and it looked more like a labor of love rather than another attempt to cash in on the greatest comedy duo of all time. The films are sharp and crisp, and about as good as you can expect from source material that's about 70 years old. There is two audio tracks available, original and enhanced (which I think means cleaned up a little). There are also some fine extra features including a short retrospective of Hal Roach and the duo with narative by Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, and John Hughes, a comparative look at the locations using photos of the past and present where some of these movies were made that was very interesting, a still gallery with excellent photos, and fairly thorough yet concise biographies of Stan, Ollie, and Hal Roach. The menus are set up beautifully, including chapter stops. Even the text is in the classic art deco style from the period. My only minor little gripe is some of the text a little smaller than I would like, making it hard to read. There are five features included, starting with 'Sons of the Desert' which runs a little over an hour. The rest are shorter features, but, in total, you are getting close to three hours of stuff here, and it's definately worth the price. My favorite feature on here is 'The Music Box' in which Stan and Ollie are movers and have to lug a piano up a huge flight of stairs. This particular feature won an academy award in 1932. I give this set my highest recommendation, for what it's worth.
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