Customer Reviews

Three Stooges, the (Colorized) [01] - Goofs on the Loose / Three Stooges, the (Colorized) [02] - Stooged & Confoosed Pack

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I WAS SKEPTICAL AT FIRST WITH MAKING THE STOOGES COLOR, BUT BELIEVE ME THEY DID A GREAT JOB. YOU CAN TOGGLE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE BLACK AND WHITE AND COLOR VERSIONS WHILE YOU WATCH. EVEN THE BLACK AND WHITE VERSIONS LOOK ALOT CLEANER. THE EXTRA FEATURES INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THIS COLORIZATION PROCESS WAS DONE. THIS COLOR METHOD IS FAR SUPERIOR TO COLORIZATION ATTEMPTS YOU HAVE EVER SEEN. ITS UNBELIEVABLE. I WAS SKEPTICAL AT FIRST BUT NOW IM A BELIEVER.

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on suckin' 'til you DO succeed!"
And as a Stooges fan for well over forty years, I must say that Columbia Pictures HAVE succeeded with these new versions of the Stooges' classic shorts.
I, like many others, turned up my nose when I first learned of these new colorized versions; however, I purchased both DVDs yesterday and have watched them many times since then and I admit it: I was dead wrong! These new versions are GREAT!
The "bonus" short included on the DVDs, "Colorizing The Classics," explains the meticulous research that went into creating these versions, and displays the obvious affection the art directors of the new versions have for the Stooges' legacy.
Besides, if you REALLY can't stand the color versions you can always watch 'em in black and white, and the B&W versions are NOT simply the colorized ones with the color "turned off," they are separate restorations of the original B&W versions with only minor digital "cleaning up" of scratches and other defects in the original film stock.
Now I'm ready for some SHEMP shorts with the new and (IMHO) improved look!
NOTE: The only reason I gave this release four instead of five stars is that on one of my DVD players, the little icon for "camera angle" which you use to "toggle" between the color and B&W versions stays on the screen and will not go away. This is annoying, and is most likely the fault of the player because it doesn't happen on my other, older DVD player. But it is annoying enough for me to knock the set down one star.
By the way, I noticed another reviewer complained about "missing" Stooges shorts and their feature films. All the Stooges' feature films that I am aware of ("...In Orbit;" "...Around The World In A Daze;" "The Outlaws Is Coming;" etc.) and even some of the more "questionable" features, i.e., "Stop! Look! And Laugh!" with Paul Winchell, are currently available on DVD. Besides, most of those feature Curly Joe DeRita or Joe Besser and frankly do not show the Stooges at their best.
Yes, there are MANY original Stooges shorts which have not made it to DVD yet. But the fact that Columbia/Sony spent so much time and money on these "new" versions can only bode well for the future of the Stooges, and seems to indicate a commitment on the studio's part to preserve the great comedy legacy of the Three Stooges!
"Moronica For Morons!"

I have never seen a colorized movie look so good,the color never goes out of the lines and it looks like it could have been filmed in color,I am very impresssed by it,it is very sharp and clear and it looks like we are there with them back in the 30's,there's alot of outdoor stuff so you get alot of tree's and houses which take you back to that time period....I hope they release more of these...

I initially gave this DVD a 1-star review without having seen it yet (idiot that I am), but after viewing it, I ate a lot of crow and promptly deleted the review. My intense skepticism leading up to it was completely dashed away by the time "Men In Black" from the "Goofs On The Loose" DVD was even finished, and all I could say after that was WOW!

Columbia did a first-rate job of restoring the original black & white prints, and VERY high kudos go to West Wing Studios for the positively marvelous colorizations! The Stooges almost literally came to life on the screen and in a visual clarity unsurpassed to this point and more than likely will remain that way. I will always love the Stooge shorts in black & white, but I have to say that the color versions are really growing on me and I find myself watching them more often!

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that there are only 4 shorts on each disc; I realize the time-consuming and painstaking process that undoubtedly went into this, but I still feel they could've added more shorts. At least 6 shorts per DVD would've been better. You certainly can't argue with the value of this 2-disc package; the price is very reasonable. I was sent the wrong DVD in the original shipment, but Amazon quickly rectified this and the correct ones were shipped immediately; I wasn't at all upset about that, mistakes will happen.

In conclusion, I say to those that still aren't sure about this: as a long-time and hardcore Three Stooges fan, if this can win ME over, it can win ANYONE over. Don't be skeptical and colorblind like I was; view these with an open mind and I know you'll enjoy them too!

This collection is soitenley worth your money. This 2 DVD set, 8 shorts in total(allbeit a bit skimpy), are amazing quality and is the best you've ever seen the stooges, even better, you have the option to watch them in full color thanks to technology.

Both DVD's have unprescedented picture quality. Whether you are watching the digitized color or the remastered black and whites, the picture is crisp and clean and there is little if any distortions between the eight twenty minute shorts.

The 8 shorts, all from the 30's and a few in the 40's, most soitenly during the prime time of the stooges era (All Curly), are some of their best shorts ever made. I am waiting for the very first stooge shorts Hoi Poiloi and Women Haters which are viewed by many as their best ever skits.

The color factor of the collection is the main selling addition, and 8 shorts is a bit skimpy for 2 DVD's (about 2 hours total), Columbia could have added at least 10 shorts on each DVD, but I still say seeing them in color and the remastered original prints look is worth your hard earned dough. I personally love the color addition and it's amazing how they can take a 1930's short and make it look like it was released yesterday. It really makes you feel like the short was truly filmed in color. It doesn't look too synthetic or fake, the realistic color with skin tones, color backdrops and every thread of clothing is a site to behold.

I admit, some shorts look better than others, and the indoor scenes seem to suffer the most, but when the action is outdoors, everything looks a bit more natural. When you view the shorts, take a close look at the trees (most notingly in the "Sitter Downers Episodes" when they are working on the house, it's amazing how a computer can bring the color and environments to life. At times I thought the skin tones of the stooges was a bit off at parts, they sometimes have a sunkist orangy tint, but considering the age of these shorts,(We're talking 70+ years here people) what is not to like? Don't want to bother with the color? No problem. With the press of the "angle" button on your remote, you can instantly go back to the remastered black and white originals.

The first DVD includes the rare Violent is the Word for Curly" You Nazty Spy" "No Census, No Feeling" and "An Ache in Every Stake". Certainly not some of their best efforts, but the rare "Violent is the Word For Curly" is a must have for fans. You Nazty Spy" really is a funny spoof on the Hiter Regime and Moe makes a terrific Adolph. An Ache In Every Stake is outrageously funny as Curly and Larry really take beatings. Seeing them try to cater to a party is a funny idea within itself. No Census, No Feeling is probalby the weakest of the bunch, but don't think it's not entertaining, it's s till prime era of stooges when they had their most energy, so a true fan will love every one.

DVD 2 includes Playing the Ponies. This particular short was never released on DVD. Hard to believe considering this is one of their memorable ones. The spoof starts out with the stooges running a restaurant with Curly of course doing all the hard labor in the kitchen. They get suckered into selling the restaruant and trading it in for a run down horse. The lame story may sound silly but the energy and fun filled slapstick humor of the stooges manages to work throughout the 20 minute spoof. Men in Black, one of their earliest shorts, which was nominated for an Oscar, is one of their best shorts ever made. Stooges portrayed as Doctors will get your gun wrenching throughout. The Sitter Downers contains enough slapping and bashing of Larry and Curly to do most stooges fans in, Moe really lays into them and the smacking and eye-poking and is as funny as ever. Watching them attempt to build a house for their wives is funny within itself. Pop Goes The Weasel, a bit of a take off of the other future (boxing/wrestling) short called Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937), is a short that was never released on VHS and a rare find for stooge fans. One mentioned the fact that this short was censored or edited out, I 100% guarantee it is uncut and very uncouth, you won't be disappointed. The ending sequence he was referring to that was left out was regarding "Grips Grunts and Groans" which was released later in the 30's.

I seriously like what Columbia is doing with bringing out remastered shorts. If the addition of color does not entice you, you may not want to spent the 40 smacks on just 8 shorts, but know this up front... whether you're watching this in black and white or in color, this is the best the Stooges have ever looked, so keep that in mind. They want to give us the best possible Stooge collection and this is a good start. When will there be more though???

The shorts are not reprints of the VHS or prior DVD releases. They truly are remastered from start to finish and being a fan of the stooges for 20 years, I can honestly say I've never seen a single short look better than on these two DVD's. The colorized versions are very well done and they were painstakingly conceived by some real savvy people and some top notch technology. A nice little bonus on how the shorts were remastered in color is included and quite interesting if you're wondering "how they'd do that?" I hope the two DVD's offered are not the last, as I would love to have every stooge short ever made (remastered) and in color on DVD. If it takes years to have this accomoplished, I would be willing to wait. Well worth your dough if you're a fan especially if you want the absolute best. Moe, Larry and Curly would be proud.

**Final Call** - A stooges fan's dream, I can't say enough, you need this collection. It's time to relive the funny days of old, this is great stuff.

I wasn't sure what to expect with these DVDs, but I was happy with what I did find. The black and white versions of each film - especially "Playing the Ponies" - were far better than my old VHS copies. The color was also wonderful - you couldn't even tell they were filmed in BW - and you experience the Stooges from a whole new perspective. I can understand the viewpoint of the anti-colorization crowd (that it's vandalism to colorize old films) but they seemed to really do well here... and like I said, the BW versions look better than ever.

My only complaint - and this is nothing new - is that four shorts per disc is far too few. There should be at least ten per disc, but I doubt we ever see that.

Color?!? No Way! At first that's how I saw this, as some things should just be kept in B&W. But, I try to keep an open mind so I tried it out. I must say that I am impressed at the job they did for the color. It gives it a feel of the shorts being made not that long ago (even if the colors are pastel), and a thought that the stooges are still alive (given what they look like in color). Anyway, I will not be negative towards the color as the B&Ws are still available and this was obviously not easy to do. Unfortunately, there are 2 big reasons of why this didn't get 5 stars. 1: They can obviously put more than just 4 shorts put dvd, but knowing how corporations are, it could be a money thing. 2: The shorts are not even in order which boggles my mind. I would not want to have to go through dvds trying to view these in order. I would rather watch from the 1st short (only short to be a musical) to the last Shemp short (I will not count Joe Besser as he had a contract refusing to take much comical abuse). Why they don't do that I don't know. Especially since if it was that hard to make it in color, then there shouldn't be a reason of not putting it in order. Then again, it could have something to do w/ the each stooge's families. Who knows. It is still worth having for a collection, but they could have still done it a lot better.

I have already written a separate review for each of these collections [each is available as single disc, 4-episode set, as well] where I gave my opinion of the color and the content. Having owned them for several months now, I find myself choosing the color versions over the black and white each time I view the episodes. In my youth, having watched many of the episodes over and over on TV, in black and white, and in un-mastered versions, I must say that I enjoy these brilliant remastered films, especially in color. The color appears natural, and, for me, adds quite a bit to the overall experience and enjoyment. In fact, many of the reviews of the color versions are quite favorable.

But, I will only speak for myself. I will not try to speak for other fans, or for ALL fans, for that matter. "Purists" are certainly entitled to their opinion. Their feelings are valid. But being a purist doesn't necessarily give one higher authority or integrity. A preference is a preference.

Some reviewers have commented on the lackluster sales volume for these sets. I have not seen the statistics on the sales, although my guess is that these have not been monster hits. But, part of that, I suspect, is due to the fact the the price for each set is not cheap, especially in light of the fact that only 4 episodes are featured per set. Personally, I ordered mine via Amazon Marketplace vendors and paid between $10-$12 for each. Not bad. [I suspect that the colorization and remastering were no cheap endeavors, eh?]

And...since the sets offer the option of viewing the episodes in either color or the remastered b&w, to protest you have to be totally, even morally opposed to the colorization! For my part, if the studio releases more volumes, I would likely purchase them, depending on the specific episodes included. I will say that the inclusion of only 4 episodes per disc is skimpy and ungenerous, and even unsatisfying. That said, however, for many of us, the color opens up a fun little new world.

Why so much negativity regarding the colorization of Stooge shorts?? I'm an avid Stooges fan and agree that the black and white versions are better, because this is how we remember them for all these years. I think its great seeing the colors, they bring out new details in the episodes. I agree that the marketing is a bit of a rip off (4 episodes per DVD instead of 6) As a whole I would rate this 4 and one half stars.

I just bought this set and like it. it's not like the color that Ted Turner tryed to do years ago that looked bad theses look great and the B&W ones look good too.If your a stooge fan get it you won't be sorry they did a good job at remastering them.