Rating: 
Summary: The best
Review: Laurel and Hardy amazingly sustain a feature-length movie. Not only Laurel and Hardy at the very peak of their comedic powers, but quite possibly scene-for-scene the funniest movie ever made. The disc contains some of their better 2-reelers from the same period, which are pure gold. This is a crystal clear, warmly-welcomed DVD. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but where are DVD's of the rest of the great 2-reelers from the early 30's? Fans are waiting.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect!
Review: Ever since I bought a DVD player way back when, I've been waiting for something like this to come along.The films are restored very well and look great on DVD. The sound restoration is also very good. This disc is right on par with the Three Stooges discs being released from Columbia/Tristar. Let's hope there are more discs like this on the way.
Rating: 
Summary: This is NOT the great restoration DVD sold in Europe!
Review: First let me say that these films are the BEST that Laurel & Hardy ever did, they are ***** films! I was excited to get this DVD, finally we were going to see the great restoration work that was done in Europe and sold on DVD there. I have seen their DVDs, and this is NOT the restored version! Problem 1) Over compression causes digital artifacting that makes SONS OF THE DESERT look like VHS at times. The transfer is the old grainy U.S. TV tape. Problem 2) THE MUSIC BOX is compressed from a damaged video tape, there are wrinkles that appear as the boys are unloading the piano. Problem 3) COUNTY HOSPITAL is a grainy copy from the Film Classics re-issue negative. The European DVD is authored from the original MGM issue negative. Leo the lion roars a greating to you to let you know that Europeans are about to see a fine transfer. In the U.S., our DVD only has the soundtrack of the roars over the grainy re-issue titles. Problem 4) BUSY BODIES, while it does have the nice original MGM titles, is grainier than the European restored release. On a slightly positive note, ANOTHER FINE MESS did not undergo restoration in Europe, so their version looks as grainy as ours. It does have the original title section with the two girls reciting the credits. There is a fair documetary that used grainy clips from other shorts not on this collection (giving us a preview of how bad the future DVDs might be) and some nice stills showing you some locations as they look today. Hopefully Artisan & Hallmark will re-master this DVD so that those without access to the European DVDs can enjoy these five classic movies the way they were meant to be seen: sharp without artifacting, on two discs.
Rating:
Summary: More, Please, More
Review: No, not Dickens, but Laurel and Hardy on DVD! This DVD is a genuine tease of what could be. Hallmark Home Entertainment through Artisan have given us a remastering of one long and four short L&H gems. The quality of the DVD is just fine, given the condition of the original 1930-era materials. The soundtrack is clean and the picture is very good in the remaster. There are even a few simple features that also hint of what could be. Well done, Aritsan. But the real problem here is that it's just one DVD. There are so many L&H gems hidden away that show no signs of appearing. When, oh when, will we get them. If Hallmark and Artisan have access to this material, they just proved with this DVD they know how to present it very well, indeed. More, please, please, more.
Rating:
Summary: A vast improvement!
Review: Like most baby boomers, I grew up with Laurel and Hardy -- at least the Film Classics versions of their Hal Roach shorts "as seen on TV". I loved "the boys", of course, but envied my father (also a great fan) who told me often, "you should have seen these two-reelers on the big screen when they were new." The TV prints, run once too many times through a station's film chain, left much to be desired. During the 1970's, many Laurel and Hardy films were available as 8mm prints from the legendary Blackhawk Films. As a young man I bought a Super 8mm sound projector -- at great expense -- and collected many of the Blackhawk releases -- at even greater expense -- just so I could enjoy Stan and Ollie's work on my own little version of a big screen. Eventually, the projector, the films and my interest went into long-term storage, but I never lost affection for Laurel and Hardy. A few years ago as I waddled into middle age, nostalgia took a toe-hold and I purchased a few VHS copies of the Roach studio shorts. Mostly what I got were bad video dubs of ragged prints with soundtracks that sounded like a distant AM radio station signal during a fierce thunderstorm. Mostly what I got was disappointed. So, as soon as I saw this DVD advertised, I pre-ordered it and waited with no small bit of anticipation for its arrival. I have not been disappointed. While the quality of the presentation -- the "feature" add-ons and clarity of the films themselves -- is not astonishing, this DVD is a vast improvement over any previous video release of these wonderful entertainments. The picture quality is very good; much better than VHS. The soundtrack -- digitally reworked and cleaned up -- is even better. The selection of films is decent. "Sons of the Desert", of course, is an acknowledged favorite and "The Music Box", is arguably the best of the L&H "talkie" shorts. The others: "Another Fine Mess", "Busy Bodies" and "County Hospital" are fine, though not necessarily part of a "best of" collection. Hope springs eternal, though, so I take this good but not great selection (and their alphabetical order) to be a good omen. I am hoping, as are many of us nostalgic baby boomers, that this will be only the first of a long series of equally pleasant DVD releases from Hallmark Entertainment. All in all, this new DVD is well done and very welcome!
Rating:
Summary: At long, long last
Review: These are not the exact originals, indicated by the fact that the MGM lion is heard but not seen. But it's still Laurel and Hardy, the prints look great, and that's good enough, at least until we get ALL of the Laurel and Hardy-Hal Roach films released on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT REMASTERED
Review: Hallmark owns the rights to the Laurel and Hardy sound films. They do not care about using the best available prints. The kirch Group in England only used the best available 35mm originals for their Laurel and Hardy dvds. We in America get a Dvd with added "modern sounding" music and a TV print, not the original masters. Hallmark does not care and will not respond to emails. I will not buy ANYTHING by Hallmark or Artisan until they get it right.Hallmark will not sell the rights to people who really would do something for the preservation and restoration of these films. These films have never been "remastered" in America. A very angry fan.
Rating:
Summary: Laurel and Hardy Finally on DvD.....WHAT A MESS!!!
Review: I just finished skimming thru the Hallmark Laurel and Hardy DvD. The news for fans of Stan and Ollie is NOT good. COUNTY HPSPITAL has edited Film Classic titles that do not even credit the director or suppoting cast! SONS OF THE DESERT has that annoying hair in the gate at the bottom of the left hand side during the opening credits, artificial fades in the middle of scenes and even worse, added music that was NOT there originally!!!!, ANOTHER FINE MESS has scratches and lines that could have easily been removed by a proper digital restorer, BUSY BODIES same problem along with an obvious glitch during the boys ride to work. MUSIC BOX has dropout lines that were obviously on the master tapes. And the sound transition from the menu to the opening titles is sooooooooo loud, it will make your ears bleed. I could go on, but why bother. These were the same masters used for that dreadful LAUREL AND HARDY SHOW back in the 80's. Purposefully tampered with. Hallmark could have used the gorgeous restored masters released in Europe, but no. Send Hallmark a messege, DO NOT BUY THIS DVD. Demand they make this right. John Field. Former Grand Shiek of the San Diego Chapter of the Sons of the Desert, San Diego Ca.
Rating:
Summary: WELCOME TO THE TV SHOW!
Review: If you expected new digital transfers--forget it. They lied. The producers simply grabbed whatever analogue one-inch tapes they could find and threw them onto DVD. These films were lifted bodily from the 1987 "Laurel and Hardy Show", the syndicated TV versions featuring the then-brand new preservation masters made from the original camera negatives. But they were analogue and they are almost TWENTY YEARS OLD. (Try looking at a Betamax or VHS tape you bought in the mid-1980's. Yuck!) The most outrageous aspect of this release is that THESE MASTERS FEATURE "FADES TO BLACK" EVERY FEW MINUTES FOR COMMERCIALS!! (There aren't any commercials, just these manufacturered fades to black. The only surprise, really, is that they didn't actually run some commercials!) And, "new" music (from 1980's recordings by British BBC bandleader Ronnie Hazelhurst) have been added, which is totally inappropriate and destroys the mood of the original films. (And it wasn't as if they tried to match the music to the scene--they apparently just dropped the needle on the recording and let it play along--with silent periods between the tracks--totally oblivious to anything other than just adding some unwanted noise!) It also appears that some of these TV masters were edited for "time". This is more of the garbage we have come to accept on the post-1930's Laurel and Hardy films. Thank God the silent films were done digitally, just for video, and were done right. (And were actually done within the last twenty years!) This is a real travesty. The only way to get it done right is by NOT giving them our money for this garbage. Buy a PAL-NTSC player and get copies of the European discs--they feature the SAME camera negative masters, but are presented exactly as they were restored--not how they were formatted, cut, and "spiced up" for the supposed morons who watched TV in the late 1980's. (The Germans have presented the 1986 masters exactly as they were shown on that famed one-shot weekend broadcast on the late, lamented AMC back in 1992--back when they REALLY showed "Movie Classics".) (For the essential fan outrage, just visit the Laurel and Hardy discussion groups on Yahoo--after this "release", they're barely PG rated!) It's time the owners of these films did something for US, the fans, isn't it?? If they don't want to put out the "Real Deal", why don't they sell this decomposing library to somebody who actually does?? RECALL THIS DISC! (Where's AH-NOLD when we need him!!??!)
Rating:
Summary: LAUREL AND HARDY FOREVER
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 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. It's been a long wait for these L&H titles to make it to DVD. Let's hope that this is the first in a long, long series of their restored films on digital discs. Contact Artisan Entertainment in Santa Monica, California.
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