Product Details

• Actors: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Nick Baskovitch, Alice Belcher
• Directors: Archie Gottler, Charles Lamont, Clyde Bruckman, Del Lord, Jack White
• Writers: Al Giebler
• Format: Closed-captioned, Black & White, Full Screen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: October 30, 2007
• Run Time: 340 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (162 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000SSQ7JW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,791 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #55 in Movies & TV > DVD > Westerns
  • #66 in Movies & TV > DVD > Sports
  • #73 in Movies & TV > DVD > Musicals
• For more information about "The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 1: 1934-1936" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

When the Three Stooges first signed with Columbia Pictures, their deal was for one short. 1934's Woman Hater, done entirely in rhyme, wasn't a huge success, but the Stooges hit their stride with their second short, Punch Drunks, and began to settle into their definitive roles - Moe as boss, Larry the middleman and Curly as their foil. Witness the rise of these comedy icons in this high-spirited collection containing the first 10 Columbia shorts, all of which have been remastered for the best quality picture and sound. You'll experience the eye-pokes, face slaps, hollow head knocks and knuckle cracks like you've never heard or seen them before. So go ahead, nyuck yourself out!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

402 of 414 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bonified viewed review of DVD set, July 12, 2007

By 

stooged and confused - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 1: 1934-1936 (DVD)

THIS IS AN ACTUAL VIEWED, IN FULL, REVIEW FROM AN ADVANCED COPY OF THE NEW DVD SET I RECEIVED FROM SONY PICTURES ON 10/18/07:

To Stooge or not to Stooge, that is the question. For almost a decade since Sony began issuing The Three Stooges shorts on DVD, fans have been asking when chronological ordered sets would be released. During the last nine years, previous compilations have been a mixed bag of quality prints; odd pairings of titles; ill fated "themed" discs, and a color/B&W series. Some shorts were duplicated several times, while other films never saw the light of day. The number of shorts appearing on each disc steadily decreased. If you've felt burned by previous DVD releases that had splices, missing dialogue or deleted scenes, worry not.

Sony got the message. The Three Stooges Collection 1934-1936 is the first in a series of DVD's that presents the shorts in their original release order. For ardent fans, it's a knucklehead's dream. For the beginner, it is the proper way to be introduced to the legendary trio. Each short has been restored to its original running time.

For those of you not familiar with the history of the Three Stooges, they made more films than any comedy team. A total of 190 shorts (or two reelers) and five starring feature films were produced from 1934 through 1965 at Columbia Pictures. They hold the record for the longest running studio association in Hollywood history. This was no accident. Simply put, The Three Stooges are funny. They produced a bunch of classic episodes. Of course, with 190 titles, there are some lemons in the barrel. However, with the first set of chronological shorts, each one has plenty of Stooge brilliance. Even their first short, "Woman Haters", an oddity done in rhythm, has enough mayhem to rise it above the "musical novelty" that it was originally billed.

The Stooges' career was drenched in irony. During their heyday of appearing in the classic short films, the Stooges longed to make feature length movies, fearing that the shorts were holding them back. But it was the Columbia shorts that kept them alive. Because of their running time (between 16-18 minutes), The Three Stooges shorts were like mini sitcoms. They weren't bogged down with dated musical numbers and gooey romantic sub plots like features starring Abbott and Costello and The Marx Brothers, for example. The pacing was that of animated cartoons and the Stooges were human cartoon characters. The short films they made 70+ years ago fit surprisingly well in today's video game generation of quick paced action, fast edits and short attention spans.

The other alleged nail in their career coffin was television. When the shorts market dried up in theatres due to the popularity of TV, the Stooges thought they were finished. Their backlog of films were sold in syndication and millions of people have been exposed to them ever since, therefore rescuing them from obscurity and cementing them as pop culture icons.

The first 19 of these episodes are featured in this collection. But they don't look like they did on TV. Sony has lovingly restored each short to its original brilliance and the results are nothing short of spectacular. The quality of the restoration is on par with that of Disney, the Looney Tunes series and classic films like "Wizard Of Oz", "Casablanca", and "Singin' In The Rain."

I've seen each of these Curly shorts more times than I should admit to, and watching these newly mastered films is like seeing them for the first time. Gone are the hairline scratches, dust, pops and other debris commonly found on TV and previous VHS and DVD prints. The black and white resolution is rich and some of the shorts look like they have a glossy finish to them. On "Three Little Pigskins", the picture is so clear at times, I can see the beauty parlor sign behind the boys and read that a polish and fingerwave cost 79 cents. The picture quality is that pristine! Those glorious sound effects jump from my speakers. The oldest film on the set is 73 years, and it looks beautiful on a widescreen HD TV.

So, if you're still asking yourself the question: to Stooge or not to Stooge, the answer should be as predictable as a slap from Moe. Why, Soitinly!

256 of 267 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1934-1936 Three Stooges Filmography listing, July 10, 2007

By 

Classic Lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 1: 1934-1936 (DVD)

Here are Three Stooges compleat 1934-1936 classic shorts listing with chronological order.

1934

Woman Haters / Punch Drunks / Men In Black / Three Little Pigskins

1935

Horses' Collars / Restless Knights / Pop Goes The Easel / Uncivil Warriors / Pardon My Scotch / Hoi Polloi / Three Little Beers

1936

Ants In The Pantry / Movie Maniacs / Half-Shot Shooters / Disorder In The Court / A Pain In The Pullman / False Alarms / Whoops, I'm an Indian / Slippery Silks

Total nineteen classic shorts. Some of the finest Three Stooges shorts made between 1934-1936. Disorder In The Court, Movie Maniacs are two of the best examples of three Stooges early period. Thanks for reading.

65 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nyuk nyuk nyuk!, July 11, 2007

By 

Keven McQueen (Richmond, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 1: 1934-1936 (DVD)

At last, Sony has (eventually!) gotten around to releasing ALL the Stooges' films, and in chronological order. I just hope they don't intend to wait several months between releases. The Stooges made films for 23 years and if each DVD set includes just two years' worth of shorts, without a frequent release schedule it could be a decade before all the films are out. In other words: Sony, please don't "spread out."