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Product Description

Marx Brothers Collection (DVD) (5-Pack)

Amazon.com

When it comes to long-awaited treats like The Marx Brothers Collection, you can never get too much of a good thing. These seven comedies can't compare to the sheer lunacy of the five classics (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup) that the Marx Bros. made for Paramount between 1929 and 1933 (available in The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection), but when uber-producer Irving Thalberg signed Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to an MGM contract in 1935 (by which time sibling costar Zeppo had become the team's off-screen manager), he knew just how to cure their box-office blues. As a result, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races were critical and commercial hits, lavishly produced according to the "Tiffany" studio's golden-age formula of glamorous set pieces and musical numbers combined with sensible plots that smoothly integrated snappy, well-written Marxian antics. Opera is the jewel of this set, with timeless scenes (the Stateroom, the Groucho-Chico contract negotiation, etc.) that rank among the greatest bits of silver-screen comedy... not to mention Groucho's flirtatious insults at Margaret Dumont's upper-crust expense.

A Day at the Races deserves near-equal acclaim ("Get-a your tootsie-fruitsie ice cream!"), but Thalberg's death in 1937 dealt a devastating blow, and the Marxes suffered from studio indifference, resulting in a succession of comedies that are timelessly enjoyable even as they fall prey to diminishing returns. By the time they made Go West and The Big Store, the Marxes were out of their element, and a few of the musical interludes indulge racial stereotypes that were common in the studio era. Despite this, these movies remain fresh and frantic, and Warner Bros. (holder of the RKO and MGM libraries) has done a marvelous job of packaging The Marx Brothers Collection to nostalgically approximate the filmgoing experience of the 1930s and '40s, with vintage shorts (Our Gang, Robert Benchley comedies, MGM cartoons, etc.) from the time of each feature's original release. Archival materials are slim but worthwhile (especially Groucho's 1961 interview with TV talk-show host Hy Gardner), and while Glenn Mitchell's commentary on Races is sparse and superficial, Leonard Maltin brings his usual superfan's enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge to bear on a full-length Opera commentary track. The new documentaries are somewhat redundant, but essential viewing for Marx Bros. neophytes. With all seven films presented in pristine condition, this is definitely a Marx Brothers Collection worth having. --Jeff Shannon

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 5.5 x 3 inches; 15.2 Ounces
Item model number ‏ : ‎ 4409550984
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Box set, Black & White, NTSC
Run time ‏ : ‎ 10 hours and 13 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ May 4, 2004
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish, French
Language ‏ : ‎ Unqualified, English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Studio ‏ : ‎ Warner Home Video
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0001HAIP4
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 5

Best Sellers Rank: #14,399 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,880 in Comedy (Movies & TV)

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Michael Patrick Boyd

A Great Collection

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

The Marx Brothers Collection contains seven movies and follows their Paramount years. Starting with A Night At The Opera and ending with A Night In Casablanca the Marx Brothers are giving a purpose were in their first five films the where just wacky and the movies did not make sense. The first four movie are good to watch, but starting with Go West the trio start to loose their magic and they never seem to regain it. Overall if you are a Marx Brothers fan want all of the movie they were in then this is a great set. The only movies that are not include are Love Happy and if you want to call it a Marx Brothers movie the History of Mankind. The Marx Brothers Collection gets an AAAA++++.

A Night at the Opera is one hour and thirty – one minutes and was released in theaters on November 15, 1935. Basically the Marx Brothers get caught up trying to put to lovers in the opera of Il trovatore.

This movie has some firsts to it. It was the very first movie the brothers did after Zeppo left the group. Also Groucho was thinking of leaving the group but Chico talked him out of it. It was the first movie the brothers did for Warner Brothers after they were let go by Paramount Pictures and finally this movie would be the first of a long line of movie story plots. In their first five pictures the Marx Brothers were just zany and would insult the good and the bad. Starting with A Night at the Opera till their final movie Love Happy the Marx Brothers would only insult the bad people and come to the rescue of the innocent. Lastly this is the first movie to feature the first of many fake Zeppos; at least that what film historians call them.

I am not got into the plot of the movie because I am sure that a few other reviewers gave away the whole story. The Marx Brothers as a trio, would be their finest film and the only to come close to (performing as a trio) is A Day at the Races. After A Day at the Races the quality of the Marx Brothers goes downhill big time. A Night at the Opera is known for two main scenes; the stateroom and contract scenes. One other footnote the Marx Brothers went on tour acting out part of the scenes to see what was and was not funny. A Night at the Opera gets an AAAAA+++++.

DVD EXTRAS

Play Movie
Scene Selections
Special Features
I. Commentary by Leonard Martin
II. Remarks On Marx (33 minutes)
III. Vintage Shorts
a. How to Sleep (10 minutes)
b. Sunday Night at the Trocadero
IV. Theatrical Trailer
Languages
I. Spoken Languages
a. English
II. Subtitles
a. English
b. Français
c. Español
d. Off

A Day at the Races is one hour and forty – nine minutes and was released in theatres on June 11, 1937. Basically Judy Standish is the owner of Standish Sanitarium for which the sanitarium is in dept. Her friend Tony brings is Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush because Emily Upjohn trusts only him. Mrs. Upjohn does not know that Dr. Hackenbush is actually a veterinarian. When Dr. Hackenbush is exposed as a fraud by Tony and Stuffy he is tricked into helping to save Standish Sanitarium. In order to save the sanitarium Judy friend Gil enters his horse in a steeplechase race. Due to the death of Irving Thalberg during the making of the film, the brothers went to doing A Films to doing B Films because the head of MGM, Louis B. Mayer did not think highly of the Marx Brothers. A Day at the Races has the distinction of being the longest Marx Brothers movie and the only one to be nominated for an Academy Award. The film was nominated for Best Dance Direction, but lost to A Damsel in Distress. A Day at the Races gets an AAAA++++.

DVD EXTRAS

Play Movie
Scene Selections
Special Features
I. Commentary by Glenn Mitchell
II. On Your Marx, Get Set, Go! (27 minutes)
III. A Night At The Movies (9 minutes)
IV. Vintage Cartoons
a. Old Smokey (7 minutes)
b. Mam’s New Hat (8 minutes)
c. Gallopin’ Gals (7 minutes)
V. Audio Vault
a. A Message from the Man in the Moon (2 minutes)
b. Leo Is on the Air Radio Program
VI. Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes)
Languages
I. Spoken Languages
a. English
II. Subtitles
a. English
b. Français
c. Español
d. Off

Room Service is one hour and eighteen minutes and was released in theatres on September 30, 1938. The main story is that Gordon Miller (Groucho) has the entire cast and crew held up in a hotel while he tries to find a backer for the play Hail and Farwell. In the meantime he has racked up a huge hotel bill and tries not to get evicted or thrown in jail along with Chico, Harpo and Leo Davis who is the writer for the play. Granted there are some laughs in this movie but not the kind that were in a Night At the Opera and a Day at the Races. Room Service has a few footnotes to it. Room Service is the only movie not written specifically for the Marx Brothers and the only movie the Marx Brothers made for RKO Studios. This is the only movie where Harpo does not play the harp and Chico does not play the piano. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is song by all three brothers at the fake death scene and at the end of the movie. Also missing from this from this movie is Margaret Dumont; Groucho’s love interest. Room Service gets a B.

DVD EXTRAS

Play Movie
Scene Selections
Special Features
I. Party Fever (9 minutes)
II. The Daffy Doc (6 minutes)
III. Theatrical Trailer (1 minute)
Languages
I. Spoken Languages
a. English
II. Subtitles
a. English
b. Français
c. Español
d. Off

At The Circus is one hour and twenty – six minutes and was released in theaters on October 20, 1939. The main plot of the movie is the Marx Brothers help out Jeff Wilson, the owner of Wilson Wonder Circus, who has been robbed of ten thousand dollars. The whole movie is very predictable and except for when you get to the last ten minutes are there any laughs. Some of the joke sketches run too long and the musical ‘Swingali’ for which Harpo plays the harp could have been omitted from the movie. It ads nothing to the story and does not move it along. Margaret Dumont, Groucho love interest in the Marx Brothers movies, does not appear until fifty – five minutes into the film. At The Circus gets a C- for little laughs and a weak story.

DVD EXTRAS

Play At The Circus
Scene Selections
Special Features
I. Dog Daze (10 minutes)
II. Jitterbug Follies (8 minutes)
III. Theatrical Trailer (3 minutes)
Languages
I. Spoken Languages
a. English
II. Subtitles
a. English
b. Français
c. Español
d. Off

Go West is one hour and twenty – six minutes and was released in theaters on December 6, 1940. Basically the boys try to recover a deed that was given to them but get stolen by a couple of greedy gangsters. Just like At The Circus the laughs are few and missing from this movie is Groucho’s love interest Margaret Dumont. Some interesting notes is Groucho does not have a solo song in this movie like past movies though he does sing with his brother Chico (a rarity) and John Carroll. Also Groucho plays guitar in this movie, something he has not done since Horse Feathers. There are very few funny scenes in this movie. Finally if you go to the Theatrical Trailer of the Special Features of this DVD, it looks like some scenes were cut. Go West gets a D+ for very few laughs and a weak story.

DVD EXTRAS

Play Go West
Scene Selections
Special Features
I. Vintage Shorts
a. Quicker in a Wink (9 minutes)
b. Cavalcade of San Francisco (8 minutes)
II. The Milky Way (7 minutes)
III. Leo Is on the Air – Go West
IV. Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes)
Languages
I. Spoken Languages
a. English
II. Subtitles
a. English
b. Français
c. Español
d. Off

The Big Store is one hour and twenty – three minutes and released in theaters on June 20, 1941. Basically the main story is the Marx Brothers help Tommy Rogers and his Aunt Martha Phelps from being taken over by Mr. Grover (the store manager) who wants to kill them both and run the store. There are some funny scenes like the bedroom scene and the final chase scene but that is it. The musical numbers are good; there are seven in all. This is the only Marx Brothers film where Harpo is teamed up with Groucho, Harpo and Chico play the piano together and Harpo plays the harp twice in the movie. Also this would be Margaret Dumont (Groucho’s love interest) seventh and final film with the group. The Big Store was billed as the final Marx Brother movie but would go on to make another three more films together: A Night in Casablanca, Love Happy, and The Story of Mankind (not a true Marx Brothers film, but all three appear in it). The Big Store gets a C-.

DVD EXTRAS

Play The Big Store
Scene Selections
Special Features
I. Flicker Memories (7 minutes)
II. Officer Pooch (8 minutes)
III. Where There’s Music (3 minutes)
Languages
I. Spoken Languages
a. English
II. Subtitles
a. English
b. Français
c. Español
d. Off

A Night In Casablanca is one hour and twenty four minutes and was released in theatres on May 10, 1946. This is the twelfth Marx Brothers film. Basically Groucho takes over the Hotel Casablanca were three previous hotel managers have been murdered. Unbeknownst to Groucho there is hidden World War II German treasure hidden in the hotel and Count Pfferman/Heinrich Stubel is trying to sneak it out of the country. That is basically your movie in a nutshell. The laughs are gone in this movie and there are very little musical numbers. Groucho doesn’t even sing in this movie. One little bit of trivia is Sig Ruman who plays Count Pfferman/Heinrich Stubel was also in A Night At The Opera and A Day At The Races. A Night In Casablanca gets a D- for no laughs.

Play A Night In Casablanca
Scene Selections
Special Features
I. Acrobatty Bunny (7 minutes)
II. So You Think You’re A Nervous Wreck (10 minutes)
Languages
I. Spoken Languages
a. English
Subtitles
I. English
II. Français
III. Español
IV. Off

5 people found this helpful

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Andrew McCaffrey

A Day and a Night at the movies

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 25, 2004

Verified Purchase

Let's be perfectly honest. The films in this collection are not exactly the highest regarded films of the Marx Brothers' illustrious career. Oh sure, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA and A DAY AT THE RACES are almost universally praised, but the rest fail to completely satisfy the masses. I had some doubts when I initially thought about pre-ordering this set. Since some of the discs were being released individually, I wondered if it would make more sense to just purchase NIGHT and DAY, forgetting about the rest. In the end, I decided to take the plunge and buy the whole thing.
Thankfully, I found a lot here to like. While overall this is a far inferior set of films to their previous work at Paramount, it isn't without some merit. There's a lot of funny stuff here, and only one film that I would classify as an out and out failure (the awful ROOM SERVICE featuring the criminally underused Lucille Ball). NIGHT and DAY are rightfully regarded as classics (12th and 59th respectively on the American Film Institute's list of the hundred funniest films), and the rest of the films are at least amusing and entertaining.
The three constants in this collection are, of course, the Brothers themselves. Groucho with his quick one-liners, Chico with his sly crafty schemes, and Harpo with his utterly bonkers and hilarious silent persona. These films are at their finest when the Brothers are on screen and at their nadir when vainly trying to develop the supporting romantic subplots.
One sad thing I noticed while watching the film was not just seeing the Brothers age, but noticing how progressively cheaper the movies themselves looked as the years progressed. The earliest films in this collection, NIGHT and DAY, were produced under the careful eye of Irving Thalberg who had the entire resources of MGM at his disposal. Big musical numbers, high production values, sharp scripts, and lots of rehearsal time were the order of the day. But after his sudden death (while only in his late 30s) during the production of A DAY AT THE RACES, the Brothers found themselves bounced around different producers and managed by studios suits who just didn't know what to do with the talent that they had. The result is significantly less care given to each subsequent picture. The huge opera house set seen in NIGHT is wonderful and the cheap sets in, say, GO WEST just look woeful in comparison.
This set comes with a multitude of DVD extras, many of which have nothing to do with the Marx Brothers. Someone thought it would be a good idea to place some contemporaneous cartoons and short films on the DVDs, with the idea (one assumes) of giving the viewer the ability to recreate a night out at the movies in the 1930s in the comfort of their own home. All this taught me was that if I were a cinemagoer in the 1930s, I'd stay in the lobby through the cartoons and shorts until the main feature began. To be fair, though, I should mention that I did enjoy one or two of them; Robert Benchley's HOW TO SLEEP won an Oscar, deservedly so. There are also some trailers included, which are welcome. In the spot for THE BIG STORE, they address the camera in character and announce this as their first farewell picture, and as one can see from a quick perusal of the black print on the box, it would not be their last.
For Marx Brothers fans, there are two DVD commentary tracks: Leonard Maltin for DAY, Glenn Mitchell for NIGHT. Maltin's comments are informative and fun; I was amused by his shouting at one of the movie's bad guys. Mitchell is a little more reserved, and unfortunately allows a lot of dead air. According to the box, he is a "Marx Brothers Authority", which leads one to wonder if there exists an academy somewhere, churning out these experts. "Respect mah Marx Brothers Authority!" he never shouts, alas.
There are also two mini-documentaries featuring interviews. The two female romantic leads from NIGHT and DAY are, in fact, still alive and remarkably coherent; while it's nice to hear from contemporary "comedians" about what a great influence the Brothers were and are, it's more satisfying to hear from the co-stars themselves about how the Brothers were to work with.
One word of caution, however. Since Zeppo had left the act after DUCK SOUP, he doesn't appear in this set. Some of his replacements (and their songs and love-interests) are truly painful. Consider yourself warned.
This collection should truthfully be called a mixed bag, yet I enjoyed the films so much that I can't help but recommend this. The worst film here at least has some good jokes sprinkled in it, and the best films are priceless. Yes, taken as a whole, the Marx Brothers' MGM years were poorer than their Paramount years, but so are most other films by any great comedians. Take these movies on their own merits and hopefully you don't be disappointed. I wasn't.

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Ken Dearden

Enjoyable, good, clean and witty humour

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

The Marx Brothers films need to be viewed several times to appreciate the skill and wit of their performances. This box set contains "A Night in Casablanca", "Go West", two of their less well-known films, "The Big Store", "At the Circus", "A Day at the Races" and "A Night at the Opera", four excellent films. The musical antics of the Marx Brothers are brilliant too, particularly Harpo's mirror scene in "The Big Store" and Groucho's "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" from "At the Circus".

3 people found this helpful

Philip Roberts

6 Great Marx Bros Movies & A Night in Casablanca!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 25, 2011

Verified Purchase

As I said above: 6 Great Marx Brothers Movies plus A Night in Casablanca! The six great movies in order of greatness are:
A Night at The Opera
The Big Store
A Day at the Races
Go West
At the Circus
Desk Front.

A Night at Casablanca is a let-down compared to the other films, but 6 great films for [] pounds is a superb deal, so let's not quivel.

There are also a lot of extras, most of which are garbage. Watch the extras on A Night at the Opera, but don't bother with the other discs.

Still for 6 Great Marx Brothers films plus a Night at Casablanca, I believe this set is easily 5-Star value.

Marx Brothers Collection: A Night At The Opera / A Day At The Races / At The Circus / Go West / The Big Store / A Night In Casablanca [DVD ]
Marx Brothers Collection [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC ]

4 people found this helpful

TB_family

6 Films

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 18, 2014

Verified Purchase

6 of the great Marx Brothers films packed into one box. Timeless classics and always a good for a laugh. These films are proof that you don't have to swear, kill or blow things up to make a good film. I managed to buy these for 11GBP and they are well worth the money.

The picture quality is clear and the sound quality is good.

If you buy them with this set ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000FFJVGO ) you will have a good collection of Marx Bros films

5 people found this helpful

OzIrish

The Original Comedians

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 27, 2019

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The Marx Brothers are one of the original comedian set. They just never age and the comedy was clean and very clever.
Spile Milligan once said they were the inspiration for the comedy of The Goons, I can well believe it.

One person found this helpful

Jeanette Horn

Marx Bros box set

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

A laugh a minute! If you enjoy the Marx Bros then you are going to love these classics. Whats more to say? Money well spent even though the films are quite old now they re still hilarious!

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The Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The Opera/A Day at The Races/A Night in Casablanca/Room Service/At the Circus/Go West/The Big Store)

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Genre	Comedy
Format	Multiple Formats, Box set, Black & White, NTSC
Contributor	Marx Brothers
Language	English
Runtime	10 hours and 13 minutes