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Rating:  -
Amazon misstates the facts regarding in which DVD Region these discs will play. ALL TEN of the "Lost Films Of Laurel And Hardy" series of discs are REGION ZERO, which means they will play ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. You can buy with assurance that the discs will perform perfectly as designed.
Rating: -
Like most of the discs in this series, this seems to be geared more towards the hardcore fan as opposed to someone who's just getting into the boys or who's never seen any of their stuff before period. This is one of the discs, however, that starts to have more material of interest to really hardcore fans as opposed to even a fan who isn't that new but still likes this kind of obscure stuff. Probably my favorites on this disc are 'Unaccustomed As We Are' and 'With Love and Hisses.' UAWA was the boys' first talkie, as evidenced by the clever title, and while it's pretty funny and entertaining, it feels kind of rushed, and like they were overcompensating for the new medium of sound, by how much dialogue there is, kind of like showing off that they could really talk now. It's the same reason the silent version of this short doesn't work, because of an overabundance of dialogue. However, this whole short was classic enough that they remade it as the final third or so of one of their very best movies, 1938's 'Blockheads.' 'With Love and Hisses' is actually a pre-teaming effort, but is one of their funniest, since they're moving towards being more and more of a real team even though they were only cast together in the film by happenstance. It contains some incredibly racy scenes in the end, stuff that very soon the Hays Code would make illegal. Stan, the sapheaded new recruit, is supposed to be guarding the clothes of the soldiers, Ollie included, who are going skinnydipping, and manages to burn them in the campfire when he decides to join them. A group of women are passing by, and they have to hide behind a billboard; to make matters worse, there is going to be an inspection of the unit that very day. As Ollie shouts in consernation in a hilarious intertitle, "Holy Mike--I forgot about the inspection--and here we are--*raw*!"
'Should Married Men Go Home?' is another L&H short, and it's also quite strong and funny, though not one of my favorites of their silent career. It also contains the "fifteen cents" gag at the soda shop that was later used in their third talkie, 'Men O' War,' and was even funnier then because the humor was really dependent upon dialogue. I actually liked the version of 'Double Whoopee' with sound dubbed in better than I had expected to, but it can get more than just a little annoying, having sound effects and speech dubbed in when it was already funny and self-explanatory enough already. Who thought this was a good idea? Although at least it was done pretty tastefully, instead of being used as a device for making fun of silent film like is too often done when people dub in sound effects and made-up lines and voices. 'Sailors Beware' is another pre-teaming effort, but is also quite good and entertaining. The lowest point on this disc is the 1934 sound short 'Mixed Nuts.' It's only mildly entertaining, and pretty topical to the Depression era. I agree its inclusion probably was a mistake and they meant to include one of Stan's solo shorts of the same name.
Rating: -
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.
Rating:  -
I quite enjoy Laurel and Hardy, and the lost films series of DVDs are adequate. Unfortunately, there is still not a complete collection of their work available in the US (their available work, that is, since some films are lost).
If you enjoy Laurel and Hardy, they're worth a look - but be warned! Most of the films are silent. They're still quite good, mind you, I enjoy them immensely. But they do have a different flow and feel to them vs. the talking shorts they did in the 30s.
The dvds usually contain about 4 Laurel & Hardy shorts and about 2 "miscellaneous" shorts. Sometimes there will be older films with only one of the boys, but not both. Typically there's at least one Charley Chase short. Chase was a fine actor of this era that is sadly forgotten (seriously. Try searching online for "forgotten charley chase"). The Chase shorts are very good and enjoyable.
The "Mixed Nuts" short on this disc is, as best as I can tell, a mistake. The one included was from 1934, and does not have Laurel or Hardy in it. It was a Hal Roach film, directed by James Parrott, so it's not completely out of place. But, I'm willing to bet that they had actually intended to include the "Mixed Nuts" from 1922 which featured Stan Laurel 5 years before the team up.
Rating:  -
I think like most people my first introduction into Laurel & Hardy's films were through the "talkies". By watching short subjects like "Brats", "The Music Box", "Me & My Pal", & "Helpmates". And their feature films like "Way Out West" "Sons of the Desert", "Swiss Miss", & "Pardon Us".
Growing up Laurel & Hardy were my childhood heros, and I don't know what that says about me as a person. I would watch their movies religiously. I knew all the gags. I could see them coming a mile away, but I always laughed. And even to this very day, after some 15 years once in a while I'll still watch them. And that was what made them so special. The characters they played were so likeable. You didn't mind watching them over and over. Even if you knew the bits, you just still liked to take some time out of your day and watch these two characters. I personally think of Laurel & Hardy as the greatest comedy team in history. What other comedy team has managed to still make of laugh for the past 80 some odd years? And who still have fans all over the world? The only other team I can think of is The Marx Brothers.
Someone let me borrow this dvd knowing how much I enjoy their comedy. I've seen very very few silent Laurel & Hardy comedies. On this dvd there are 6 short subjects, 5 on which star Laurel & Hardy. "Mixed Nuts" made in 1934 does not include them, therefor I will not review it. I will go through each short individually.
"UNACCUSTOMED AS WE ARE" (1929) - This is billed as their first talking picture. The chemistry is in place but the piece feels rushed. It's 21 minutes and it doesn't allow "the boys" to go into their facial expressions..ie Stan's blank stare Oliver's disgusted look as he stares at the camera suggesting "Do you see what I have to put up with?" Had this one been made a little later it could have been better. ** 1\2 out of *****
"SHOULD MARRIED MEN GO HOME?" (1928) - It took me awhile to appreicate this one. At first it thought it was OK now it think it's a little better. The beginning moments are the best. A gag involving a door is very funny and would later be used in their talking short "Come Clean". Here though the gag works best. Also you'll notice to "15 cents" gag as "the boys" find out they do not have enough money to buy 4 drink. It would later be used in "Men O' War" but the dialogue is needed to make the piece truly funny. The usual characters are not here but it doesn't matter. That chemistry is there. I feel the end is a bit disappointing but it the piece does have it's highlights. *** out of *****
"SAILORS BEWARE" (1927) - "The boys" do not have many scenes in this one together, Infact it's Stan Laurel and Stan Laurel only who is the star. It's very funny to watch and at times reminded me of a Harold Lloyd short. Stan had enough presense to him to carry the short. There is one very funny scene involving Stan and baby and a dice game. Just watch and see. *** out of *****
"Double Whoopee" (1929) - Originally release as a silent someone got the "bright" idea to add sound to this piece. As one could imagine this becomes not only distracting but annoying. All of the male voices are done by Chuck McCann. As with some of the pieces here pacing and chemistry are in place but I felt the piece didn't really go anywhere. Also of note is the fact that Jean Harlow is in this. Not one of "the boys" best but OK. *** out of *****
"WITH LOVE AND HISSES" (1927) - "The boys" are not playing their usual chatacters in this one and have a few scenes together. To be honest the piece kind of bored me. The ending though is comedic brilliance. If not a little risque. ** out of *****
So there you have it. I would not recommend this as an introduction into Laurel & Hardy's work. I personally wouldn't show this to young kids or older people who have never heard of Laurel & Hardy or are not familiar with their work. This is for the fans. It's fun to watch these early pieces and see how infact the chemistry did grow and how they wold become one of the greatest comedy teams in history.
Bottom-line: Early collection of Laurel & Hardy shorts. I would say is really just for the fans. Shows how the team grew. Some highpoints but nothing really shows the team at their best.
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