Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW! Hal Roach has put out a masterpiece, March 19, 2000
WOW! Can I say anything more! Hal Roach has put out a masterpiece. The DVD volume five contains six of their funniest silence to date. Like in volume Four we were blest with "Bacon Grabbers" which no one has ever seen unless you were in the theaters 70 years ago. In volume five we have "Leave'em Laughing" which I have only seen bits and pieces of and is restored to its original color tents when it was first release. The second reel of this film has Laurel and Hardy on laughing gas in their Model "T" Ford on Main Street in downtown Culver City. There are no other actors who can laugh in character like Stan and Ollie. The second reel of "Fluttering Hearts" has to be Hardy's best solo performance. Charley Chase baits a very drunken Hardy with a department store dummy (this is an only couples speakeasy). Hardy falls head over heels for this dummy in what is said to be the best of all the Charley Chase Comedies thanks to the excellent support of Oliver Hardy. The film "Short Kilts" a solo by Stan Laurel with Jimmy Finlayson was so good, I watch it five times Thursday after receiving the DVD in the mail. The McPherson's and the McGregors are feuding clans liken to the Hatfields and Mccoys. Things really get out of hand during a game of musical chairs. As the head of each clan trade insults at various member of each family, Stan has enough, and elopes with his betrothed. Would be brother-in-law Jimmy Finlayson does the same after Stan says no. Finally, all is at peace, everyone is married to their intended, and even young Mickey Daniels (of the Our Gang fame) along with the first leading lady (of Our Gang) Mary Kornman tries to tie the knot. But, peace is short lived, and another game of musical chairs leads to the fade out brawl. The other three are "Wrong Again", "Habeas Corpus" and "Duck Soup."
|
|
|
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
For L&H fans only, with one exception, September 5, 2004
For those who associate silent film comedy with pies and police chases, "Wrong Again" might be a revelation. Made in 1929, the year that film studios converted to making talking movies, this film is a fine example of the extent to which silent comedies had been refined and perfected since the days of Mack Sennett. It is the best of this volume of comedies starring Laurel and Hardy and other stars of the Hal Roach studio (including Laurel and Hardy in solo or supporting performances).
The world seems to be divided neatly into two groups: highly devoted L&H fans, and those who don't appreciate their humor. Much of their humor boils down to a set of recurring themes: premeditated pain directed at each other or someone else, destruction of property, "scare" humor, and humor resulting from uncontrollable laughter. Usually mixed with these elements are the duo running away from the law or from other trouble. This collection contains examples of each of these components. In general, L&H fans will savor this collection, while others might find a lot that is tedious and predictable.
"Wrong Again" however is different; it contains little or none of the typical L&H elements, but focuses more on the pure chemistry of their partnership, as well as their individual characters: the naive, child-like Stan and the arrogent, but equally clueless Oliver. The story is simple: the famous painting "Blue Boy" has been stolen; the boys are stable hands taking care of a horse named "Blue Boy"; they assume the horse has been stolen, so they try to return it. From this basic misunderstanding there emerges a number of clever situations, with the climax being attempts by the duo to place "Blue Boy" on a grand piano, as requested by the home owner, who is of course upstairs out of view of the proceedings the whole time. The film is a showcase for the depth of the duo's comedic talent: the naive clown Laurel paired with a great comic actor. In general, I find "Wrong Again" to be a silent film classic that reaches an artistic level close to that achieved by Keaton and Chaplin. Its level of sophistication looks more forward into the era of the "screwball" comedies than backward into the Chaplin era, not surprising given that the director of the film was Leo McCarey, the "inventor" of the screwball genre.
Among the other films, "Duck Soup" is interesting as the first film in which L&H star as a team. It's facinating as a film insofar as the basic chemistry of the duo appears almost complete in this film -- aside from the lack of the standard bolder hats, and other changes in their appearence, it's clear that the team's character emerged basically fully formed from the start.
|
|
|
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This DVD is a Must for Laurel & Hardy Fans, April 17, 2000
I started collecting Laurel & Hardy films in 8 mm. back in the 1960s. Today, the video and sound qualities are better than ever and Volume 5 of the so-called Lost Films of L & H series in DVD is an absolute must for true fans. Among the many treats is the first "team" film, DUCK SOUP, that turns out to be the predecessor of their 1930 talkie, Another Fine Mess. In both cases, the plot - by Stan's father no less - gets in the way. But here, in DUCK SOUP, the Stan and Ollie characters are only partially developed and they just don't seem much like the Laurel & Hardy we know and love - sort of the way they became later in those awful 1940s films for Fox and MGM when they just didn't act like themselves.Another highlight is the Charley Chase film, FLUTTERING HEARTS, that had me wondering why Hal Roach never gave him a chance in feature films during the sound era. This film is a surprise bonus if you expected to find only Laurel & Hardy. The picture quality varies from very good to stunning. For whatever reason, WRONG AGAIN seems derived from two different sources. Various shots in the same scene will be sharp as a tack while others will appear soft. If there is one shortcoming, it's in the liner notes that should tell us more about the film sources. In both HABEAS CORPUS and SHORT KILTS, a small white box in the lower right of the screen is apparently hiding some logo; I suspect it's a cable station. But I'm just carping. It's a great DVD release and I had a ball.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
