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54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great DVD Filled With Classic Laurel and Hardy Films, June 22, 2000
This review is from: The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 8 (DVD)
This DVD includes several classic Laurel and Hardy silent shorts. The first is "Two Tars" which many consider to be one of theire greatest works. It has Laurel and Hardy as sailors on leave who pick up two girls and go for a drive....with disaterous results.The next is "The Second Hundred Years" which finds the boys as convicts who try to break out of prison. The third films is "Slipping Wives" which is one of the earliest appearances of Laurel and Hardy together at hal Roach studios. Ollie is a butler and Stan is a paint salesman who is hired by Pricilla Dean (Who co-stared with Lon Chaney in "Outside the Law") to act as a great writer of fairy tales and make her neglectful husband jealous. Film highlights include Stan's pantomine of the story of Samson and Delialah and the final frantic chase.This films basic storyline was used several years later in one of Laurel and Hardys' last short films, "The Fixer-Uppers" Also included on the DVD is "From Soup to Nuts" in which Laurel and Hardy are hired to act as butlers for a swanky dinner party given by Anita Garvin (Who fans will remember from her performances as Mrs. Laurel in the sound films "Blotto" and "Be Big!") Ms Garvin is a great actress and is a welcome addition to any Laurel and Hardy film. In addition to these Laurel and Hardy teamed films there are also two additional shorts, "Scorching Sands", and "Should Tall Men Marry?" This DVD is a showcase of some of the best works of Laurel and Hardy during their silent film days and is highly recommended for any Laurel and Hardy fan.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Must with TWO TARS on this Disc!, November 14, 2001
This review is from: The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 8 (DVD)
Volume 8 in this fine series starts off with one of the greatest silent comedies of all time, TWO TARS. I've loved this film ever since I was a teenager in the 1960s and owned an 8 mm. print. Fortunately, this film comes down to us in excellent condition. Another big hit, FROM SOUP TO NUTS, is on this DVD. A hilarious film, SOUP is more "Low Brow" humor of rather predictable gags at a dinner party. However, I've seen this film in theater audiences and almost had to call for paramedics because some people were laughing so hard. (Incidently, if you've never seen an L&H film with an audience, you haven't really seen it. An audience transforms these films). THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS and SLIPPING WIVES show us the boys' early work as a team when producer Hal Roach was still trying to promote Jimmy Finlayson as a star. Fin would find his niche on the Roach lot, but as a supporting player in L&H films. Two of Stan's earlier solo films without Hardy, SHOULD TALL MEN MARRY? - his final solo work - and SCORCHING SANDS, a spoof of the adventure film, Under Two Flags (this spoof is also known as UNDER TWO JAGS) show Stan as a comedian badly in need of a character. He does funny things but without much logic. SANDS is interesting because it also stars his then-wife, Mae Laurel, who was so tempermental, nobody wanted to employ Stan as a result of his association with her. His career took off when she went back to Australia. Personally, I believe that L&H did their best work in their silent films so this series is a treasure trove. Highly recommended.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
STUNNING!, March 16, 2005
This review is from: The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 8 (DVD)
I will not go into a synopsis of the material as that is readily available but will comment on the series itself having viewed them all.
This is a stunning collection of the early work of the `boys` and is presented from restored 35mm material much of which is taken from the original surviving negatives. Several of the titles in the series, have until fairly recently, been considered lost forever.
Each disc has detailed information on the titles and every film is presented with either the original vitaphone sound on disc (again recently discovered) synchronised with the picture or with a composite vitaphone soundtrack.
Even for those who don`t normally view `silent` movies these are astounding prints of what is now the historic formation of one the most inventive and forever lasting comedy teams ever to grace the silver screen.
Each disc deserves five stars for content, quality and value.
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