Laurel & Hardy: The Essential New Collection

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.

The previous Laurel & Hardy gold standard was the Blackhawk Films collection, which offered this same group of sound titles as well as the majority of extant silent titles--on film. There have sporadic attempts to offer the films on video tape and disc formats. The "Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy" is currently the definitive compilation of the silent shorts (with a few early sound subjects thrown in). "Laurel & Hardy: The Collection," released in Britain, was notable for gathering practically everything that had been in the Blackhawk library, along with some of the foreign market variants and guest appearance shorts (and the original release print of "Brats"). Unfortunately, the British release had to make do with much of the older source material, including Film Classics reissue prints and badly deteriorated prints for the silents. The "Essential Collection" represents a major improvement in the presentation of the bulk of the Laurel & Hardy canon. It's a shame the silents couldn't be presented here, but the "Lost Films" dvds are still fairly easy to locate, and are the best way of studying and enjoying the team's formative years. The two items in the British package that will be missed most will be the original release of "Brats" and excerpts from the German variant of "Pardon Us." The treatment of "Brats" is possibly the only sore point in the "Essential Collection," which uses the reissue print and provides an either/or soundtrack option. If this sort of economy was necessary, I wish they had layered the dual soundtracks on the original release, which has the original gag titles and seems, to me, to have superior pictorial quality. Otherwise, this new collection beats all previous anthologies hands down. All the original Hal Roach Studios title cards are back in place, and the visual element has been collected and restored from superior quality prints. The "bleached" aspect of certain titles like "Sons of the Desert" and "Them Thar Hills" has been replaced by robust black and white tones that make watching these classics a new experience. The once lost track to "Unaccustomed as We Are" has been re-recorded for improved audibility. If you haven't seen any of the foreign release variants, start with the Spanish version of "Below Zero": "Tiembla Y Titubea," and see how a comedy with somber undertones is almost transformed into a work of Expressionism in the extended cafe scene. Another revelation is the "streamliner" (42 min.) version of "Chump at Oxford," previously available only on film from Blackhawk. The shorter version is composed of different shots and takes, and is actually better proportioned than the longer version, where the "Lord Paddington" sequence almost comes across as an extended gag rather than a turning point in the plot. There are some wonderful bonus vocal tracks on a handful of the films providing insights from Rich Correll, Randy Skretvedt, and Hal Roach authority Richard W. Bann, as well as an easy-going bantering session between Tim Conway and Chuck McCann during "Sons of the Desert." The supplemental material on Disc 10 includes a retrospective of filming locations with an interactive map, and a documentary tribute featuring Dick Van Dyke, Penn & Teller, and Jerry Lewis, among others. The recollections from Van Dyke and Lewis are particularly poignant, since both men knew Stan Laurel in his later years, but greater editorial care might have been used in portions of the Lewis interview; his "recounting" of Laurel meeting Hardy is bizarre fiction, particularly in light of the fact that Laurel had met Hardy years earlier when both appeared in the silent comedy "Lucky Dog." This set includes none of the colorizations that cluttered the British set. This is a blessing since those "enhanced versions" were not only freakishly bad (recalling the colorized versions released by Cabin Fever in the '90s), but also had trims and fade-outs for tv commercials. If you must see Laurel & Hardy in color, check out Legend's colorized March of the Wooden Soldiers (Colorized / Black & White) , which like all the Legend colorizations I've seen, has been done with the sensibilities of costume/set/and pictorial composition. Or, just watch the short Kodachrome film "Tree in a Test Tube" on disc 10. This is the Laurel & Hardy sound film set we've been waiting for. And it was worth the wait.

There has never been or will ever be anyone to outdo these two in the art of comedy.Stan Laurel was the brains of the team creating and writing most of the comedic situations they found themselves in.But,it was Oliver Hardy's timing that was paramount to it working on screen as he was usually the butt of the joke.They both worked so well off one another it was as if they were one. This is an excellent DVD from Vivendi that has all of their sound shorts and some of their best movies.But it is the shorts that make this DVD.The movies are good, but,because of it's longer running time the gags are not as fast paced.Although the gags are just as funny and worth waiting for.My favourite is "Sons of the Desert".I consider this to be their best movie followed by "Way out West" and "Block-Heads".Although "Sons of the Desert" is a movie where the gags come thick and fast as in their short films. I have seen all these shows before but they never stop me from laughing at them and that's it.No matter how many times you see them they still make you laugh.They never stop being funny. While I was over in the States I happened to be travelling through, Harlem,Georgia birthplace of Oliver Hardy.I visited the Laurel and Hardy museum that is there.It's full of memorabilia to look at.We were escorted to a room at the back where they have screenings of their shows.I was with thirty other people.They say laughter is contagious.It certainly was.I came out of that museum in tears as I had been laughing so much.So did the people who viewed the show with me.Luckily it was one of the shorts they played as if I had been there any longer I would have needed an oxygen mask to help me breathe. I was laughing so much. Extra's on this DVD include commentaries from Laurel and Hardy film historians.If you like behind the scenes info about films and shows like I do,you will appreciate these.There are trailers for some of their films and an interactive map on where the films were shot.Also tributes from Jerry Lewis and Dick Van Dyke. There are foreign language shorts here of Laurel and Hardy as well.These weren't sub-titled when originally shot but were re-shot in Spanish or French with the actors speaking in that language.These were actually extended in length with new gags added.On this DVD we have the option of sub-titles so we can follow along. Also a special mention must be added here about James Finlayson.He appears in some of these shows and he is just as funny.Just looking at his face makes me laugh. Usually, when writing a review I try to keep it short and concise so as to not bore the reader.I failed here as there is so much to say.Also when I write these reviews I hope the people who read them agree with my opinion because it is only, my opinion.But on this occasion I guarantee that you will love this DVD and will be glad you bought it. The world is a little bit poorer that these two gentlemanly gentleman are no longer with us.But it is also a little bit richer for the legacy of comedy they left behind for us to enjoy. God Bless them wherever they are.

For many years Laurel and Hardy fans in the U.S. have been frustrated by the lack of Laurel and Hardy sound shorts available on home video. I've been a fan of the beloved team since I was a kid in the 1960s, when their films were frequently shown on television. It's been disheartening to see them being slowly forgotten and discarded by newer generations. But for those who still appreciate the genius of Stan and Ollie, this set is a dream come true. It contains their entire sound era Hal Roach catalog - shorts and full-length features - with the exception of a few features that apparently belong to MGM ( The Devil's Brother, Bonnie Scotland) and March of the Wooden Soldiers ) which have already been released on DVD. Besides the wonderful films that fans of the team are familiar with, also included are seven foreign language versions of Laurel and Hardy shorts completely remade for other markets with Laurel and Hardy speaking in Spanish or French, learning their lines phonetically. These are not only of historic interest, but also very entertaining. It is fascinating to watch L&H in performances that have been virtually unseen for over 60 years. The image quality of most of the films is stunning, the result of using the original film elements, when available, and some loving restoration work which included reinstating all the original opening title cards. Even the packaging for this 10 disc set is a thing of beauty, both in appearance and functionality. Using a book-like format with cardboard sleeves and color-coded discs makes it super-easy to find any film you are looking for and place it back in the correct spot later. The extras include interviews with comedians like Dick Van Dyke and Jerry Lewis paying tribute to the boys, a feature showing the various locations used in L&H films as they appear today, four bonus shorts featuring guest appearances by Laurel and Hardy and the trailers from some of their features. As a longtime fan of the team, I couldn't be happier with LAUREL & HARDY: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION. It truly is an essential part of my DVD collection.

Ok let's get down o the nitty gritty.. :) The films are 5 star releases and there is no doubt about it.. some of the greatest and funniest movies ever to come out of hollywood's golden age. Having been an L&H fan since I was a kid I can honestly say that I've seen and had their work in many different guises over the years.. Home cinema (16mm and 8mm), video, laserdisc and most recently dvd.. I remember buying the uk 21 dvd set almost 10 years ago and collecting the Lost Films series to have superior copies of the silents.. then after much deliberating I took the plunge and bought this set also.. Firstly I have to say that I have no problems with the discs.. no scratching, no glue.. had a bit of trouble with the packaging as it was in a jiffy bag and 2 corners of the box were banged about reaching here but I can live with that!! :) Onto the transfers themselves.. I'm happy for major improvements in Way Out West and Swiss Miss that are far superior to the same movies in the uk box set.. I was also thrilled to see (finally!!) the original titles for Me and My Pal, Come Clean, The Chimp, One Good Turn and Hog Wild that were absent from the uk set.. All the films are presented in their original aspect ratio (4:3) but strangely Hog Wild looks squashed in comparison to other versions I have seen and own.. still no problems there.. The MGM fanfares with Leo the Lion are great but I wonder how many of these just weren't tacked on to the existing films.. The NRA logo is strangely missing from Them Thar Hills when I can guarantee you it exists on the original copy.. These are only minor gripes.. To make the collection truely complete I wish they would have included the ORIGINAL release version of Pardon Us at 56 minutes instead of the one we have here and also the full original titles of BRATS which exists in the english and german releases.. That aside pick this up and enjoy superior (for the most part) prints of the greatest comedy team of all time.. Can't reccomend it enough.. :D Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection

First the bad: Before I purchased I read all of the reviews, and it appeared the problems with scratches were pretty much solved with the paper sleeves they started using. Either they are shipping out dvd's that were previously sent back, or they still have a problem in quality control (mishandled during production or in packaging). Also, some of the slots were incredibly tight, and the paper sleeves don't cover the tiny area you are obviously supposed to grab the dvd's at. Can't be that hard to fix the problem. They should keep the dvd's separate from the booklet for starters, and house the dvd's more appropriately. I read a review where someone said some people will complain about anything. Great that their's came free of problems, however scratches that run from one side of the dvd to the other, are unacceptable. Customers have to complain or the problem will never be solved. I've never sent anything back to Amazon, but this I have asked for a replacement for. I did buy 10 empty cases to put them in and they are cheap. Bought 10 for $4.99 at a local store. As for the comedy itself, these two men are the best. Growing up during the 70's and early 80's I only saw a couple of L&H movies on tv. Loved them and always wanted to see more rather than the Three Stooges, which were ok, but were on all the time. Besides I much preferred L&H. Then while stationed overseas in the military on a lonely off day I decided to borrow a couple of comedies from the library on base. Checked out two L&H movies and they totally changed my mood and outlook that affected me greatly, in a good way of course. Since that time I've only seen a handful of their movies, some were ones I'd already seen. So until I bought this set I probably saw at most six or seven of their shorts or features. So as you can imagine I was very pleased to see The Essential Collection available, and for a good sale price of $50.49. Received it yesterday and watched the first six on the first dvd. Really great stuff. Not having seen most of the early 'talking' shorts, I saw a dynamic I didn't expect. Not only was Oliver striking and strangling Stanley, but Stanley striking and strangling back, then Oliver getting mad saying, "Don't you hit me", while hitting Stanley again. Obviously, the blows were not big heavy ones, basically slapping. But seeing the little guy putting his hands around the big guys neck was indeed hilarious, considering their comedic abilities. Other things that were new to me was hearing Oliver refer to Stanley as "Stany", unless I heard wrong, and Oliver repeatedly asking Stanley, "Why don't you don't something for me?". Most people who read these reviews are L&H 'experts' it seems, but for anyone who reads this review that hasn't seen alot of their films, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. No, I know you will. Neat to see them younger than in most of the ones I've watched previously. Picture quality seems fine to me, especially considering these were made as far back as the 1920's. I'm thrilled these shorts and features were available still and assembled for the public to purchase. Hate to give this less than five stars, but when five out of ten dvd's come with scratches on them, I have to deduct at least one star. Nothing personal 'Boys'.

Let's get this out of the way first--these are not (for the most part) going to look as pristine as the L&H material released by Warner Bros or Fox. The reason being that Hal Roach did not take good care of his film library, which subsequently changed hands multiple times, most recently to Hallmark which most famously attempted to destroy the film library in order to save money on storage costs. The result is that many of these have been horribly abused over generations. They only look as good as they are through preservation efforts from various institutions and enthusiasts of recent years. And after viewing the whole set, I can safely say that these look better than they have ever looked on home video. Most L&H collectors already purchased a L&H collection of the same titles from Europe, which also included their silent shorts (the silents are separately licensed in the North America, so no point complaining about their absence in this set). Comparing the shorts from that collection, the vast majority of shorts and features look superior in this new collection. Obviously, with the lack of existing original nitrate negatives for many of these, the picture quality is not going to look as flawless as Casablanca or Citizen Kane. But the majority look pretty darn good given the circumstances. The worst looking one is easily "One Good Turn," which has a scratchy, dupey print. Yet this is the best surviving element of that film, since it has never looked great on home video. The best looking films in the set are the feature films of the mid 30s to 1940. "Swiss Miss" and "Way Out West" in particular look outstanding compared to what was released overseas. The few that don't stand out are still quite enjoyable. Sound is quite clear on these shorts, though some of the earliest shorts show their age. There are also different audio options for a select few shorts that were later reissued by MGM with new "wall-to-wall" background music. The original music is usually preferable, but its nice to get the option. There are also brand new, insightful commentaries on "A Perfect Day", "Another Fine Mess", "Sons of the Desert", and "Way Out West." The best news about this set is that there HAS been some restoration to these films, at least in terms of original title cards and missing footage from previous collections. Not a single Films Classics title card exists on this collection, nor any of the fake title reconstructions made previously. Some of these restored title cards, such as those for "The Chimp" and "Hog Wild" are extremely rare, and are presented here for the first time ever on home video. While the cuts in earlier collections were minor, this collection is entirely uncut. There are minor downsides to the collection. Like most non-studio DVDs, this collection does not contain subtitles of any sort on any of the English language shorts (however, they are provided for the foreign language shorts). The feature "Pardon Us" is an extended re-release version--the original release version circulates, so its an odd exclusion. And, while I did not get any scratches ore glue spots, the sleeve-style of packaging is still a bit worrisome. Yet these are honestly nit-picks compared to how much this collection manages to do right in showcasing a legendary career of hilarious and timeless classics. In closing, this is as "essential" as the product indicates. However, considering the age and abuse the films underwent, it would be best to expect a release similar to Flicker Alley's Chaplin At Keystone: An International Collaboration of 34 Original Films --long neglected films that are presented as best as what is possible by a smaller company.

I have been a Laurel and Hardy fan since I was a young boy. There were frequent showing of some of their shorts and films on television and of course "March Of The Wooden Soldiers" every Christmas. And I have loved them from the first time I saw them, how could anyone not?. The love these two men had for each other, on and off the screen were always well known. It was inevitable that Hal Roach, their producer, would eventually team them up, although Leo McCarey, another fine director, also gets credit for putting the boys together. They both started out very early, Stan working with Charley Chaplin's company, and "Babe" Hardy, as he was known working as an extra, usually in the bad guy roles very early on. The were teamed up first in "The Lucky Dog" in 1919, which came and went quickly. You could see in this early silent, that there was chemistry with them, with their scenes together. It would take 7 years before they were together again, and in 1927, they made their official first movie together. "Putting Pants On Phillip" which was Stans favorite film with Babe of all the films they made. They made some very good silent films like "Liberty" where they are high on a scaffolding overlooking Los Angeles. And make no mistake, they were really high up there, similar to Harold Lloyd climbing that building in "Safety Last". No digital effects back in those days. Of course everyone knows "Big Business" another great where the boys try to sell Christmas trees in the summer, although this film was made in mid late December of 1928. But the silents were fading and in early 1929, the boys filmed their first sound film "Unaccustomed As We Are", and they never looked back. They made a perfect transition from silents to sounds because their personalities and their voices fit perfectly for sound, unlike some other actors and actresses who couldn't fit with the conversion to sound. And from 1929 till 1954/55, the boys stayed and worked together, either in films, or live tours and shows. Their final appearance in public was in 1954, when they appeared on the TV show "This Is Your Life" when they were surprised by host Ralph Edwards. Stan was a little nervous and ill at ease, but Babe enjoyed it. It was a touching final appearance, and it marked the final time that boys put on their trademark bowler hats. As soon as they put them on, you saw Laurel and Hardy as we all know and loved them, it was a fitting finale. The boys were even preparing to do television, they were lined up with Hal Roach Jr. to do some TV shows, in color, but shortly before filming started, Stan suffered a stroke, and then shortly after that Babe also suffered a stroke. Stan's stoke was minor, and he recovered, but Babes stroke was more serious, he lost a lot of weight, but it didn't help. Babe died in 1957. Stan never made another film or movie again for respect to his partner. Stan lived long enough to see the fans admiration for himself and for Babe. Stan died in 1965. For years the boys films have been long neglected and handled improperly. They have been treated better in Europe, where they have also been loved and respected for years. There was a wonderful box set released in the UK several years back which contained all their silents and most of their sound films. It has fairly good prints, although the silents look a little rough. And it also has 'uuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhh' colorized versions of the films which look terrible. However to play the dvds in America you would need a region free player, and the set was fairly expensive, so this was a costly venture. However, the boys now get the attention to detail they deserve. This new collection contains all of their "Hal Roach" sounds and shorts. There were several they made for other companies, but they are not included here. They are however easily available else where."March Of The Wooden Soldiers, Fra Diavolo, Bonnie Scotland, and The Flying Deuces" are missing from this collection. Also none of their silent shorts are included. However you get all of the sound shorts and all of their features in chronological order, with excellent prints, many of them restored as close as possible to the original theatrical releases.This collection also contains a few of the European versions of some of their shorts and features. They feature Stan and Babe speaking phonetically in either French or Spanish. These are fun to watch, especially watching Stan and Babe speaking in their own voices. These European versions contain footage not found in their American versions. I have seen many versions of these shorts and features on other collections, I have the UK box set also, and I can positively confirm that these shorts and films in this brand new collection, look and sound the best I have seen or heard. They have been newly transferred in high definition, so there is much more clarity and sharpness than ever before. Of course they are not perfect, still scratches, and sound distortions remain, but they are kept to a minimum. They have been updated as much as possible to today's video standards, and can be enjoyed by everyone. Some have complained about the packaging. I have had no problems so far. The package is in a book format, and I find that I can remove discs without a problem. I found no scratches on the discs, when I opened my collection. Unless a complete restoration occurs for a slightly possible future blu-ray release, these are the best that Stan and the Babe Hardy will look and sound. There are some good bonuses also here. A few commentaries for some of the films, a short tribute to the boys from Dick Van Dyke, Jerry Lewis and others, a interactive tour, some shorts where the boys made guest or cameo appearances. And the book contains some good info on each short and film. So rejoice L+H fans, we finally have a proper release to enjoy. And hopefully their silents will be released properly also in the future. If you are a fan, this is definitely the upgrade you have been waiting for. A big thumbs up.

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!

really funny great service .

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

excelente colección de sus películas

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.