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Rating:  -
O'K.............I Have The Bosko Disc....With It's Awfull Overlay Crawls...But You Can Rip These Toons One By One At Least, That's A Plus & Compile Your Own Take On Collection....All Public Domain Anyway!
Rating: -
For an "authorized" release, "Max Fleischer's Superman" is a sloppy, lackadaisical effort. Animation aficionados have been waiting for a definitive collection of the 1941-43 Superman cartoons, yet Warner Home Video cannot be bothered. Apart from correcting the introduction to "The Mechanical Monsters," Warner simply reissued the same altered versions found in the special editions of "Superman" and "Superman II." Only two of the 17 cartoons were left unscathed: "The Arctic Giant" and "Electric Earthquake." Steven T. Siegert's excellent Amazon review touches on all the things wrong with this DVD set. However, the main problem lies in Warner's cynical, quick-buck attitude - they own the original film elements (which can be seen in their "TV's Best Adventures of Superman" videocassettes) yet refuse to give these animation classics the proper presentation and respect. Bosko's "Complete Superman Collection" remains superior because it offers the original theatrical versions without audio tampering. If Warner had any integrity, they would recall the DVD set and start from scratch.
Rating:  -
The Shipping was great, all short theatrical in excellent high def. If you love history there is a special bonus about the creation of the animation used in Fleischer's Studio. As Superman Fan most have in the collection.
Rating: -
Max Fleischer's Superman is a 2DVD collection that comprises all 17 of the Superman theatrical shorts.
Superman is the quintessential super hero. Whatever way you look at it, this is the original super hero that has been often imitated but never duplicated. The Man of Steel has been doing his thing since the 1930s, in comic books, cartoons, television series, movies, video games, and various other means. The character is as timeless as time itself.
Long before George Reeves brought the character to life in a black and white television series or Christopher Reeve donned the cape on the big screen, Max Fleischer created a number of Superman shorts that were shown theatrically before feature films of the day. Fleischer had already made a name for himself with cartoons such as Betty Boop and the animated adaptation of Gulliver's Travels. Was he the ideal choice to bring Superman to life?
Indeed he was. These shorts were revolutionary when they were released for their superb animation quality and gritty storylines, and it's no surprise, nearly 70 years later, they still hold together well. Fleischer's Superman isn't one who is impervious to pain or can turn back time by flying around the world rapidly. Yes, he's still tougher and has more abilities than your average man does, but the Superman of Fleischer's shorts is a more interesting character because of his flaws and weaknesses. Sure, these shorts show their age in a few places, but they've held together than just about anything else animated in this era.
If you're a fan of Superman and you didn't already get these shorts as supplements in the Ultimate Superman Movie Collection (featuring the four Reeve films and Superman Returns), this collection is a must-own.
One minor note I want to make - The packaging includes a disclaimer about how this collection is "for the adult collector, and not recommended for children." There IS violence in these shorts (as there is in anything Superman related), but it's no worse than any thing your kids see in afterschool cartoons based on comic books. There are some Nazi/Axis references in the presentation, due to what the world was going through when these shorts were made, but most of this stuff will go over the heads of children, anyway. If I had kids, I would have no problem showing these shorts to them. You shouldn't either.
I wasn't expecting much from the presentation here, considering these are very old pieces of animation. How wrong I was! Warner Bros. and the Fleischer Estate have kept the or iginal negatives in very good shape, and the shorts look practically pristine. There are no major signs of dirt or print damage, and the Technicolor presentation still impresses. Even the audio quality holds up well, though don't expect this to rock your speakers like a modern theatrical movie would. All in all, a very good presentation.
We get two featurettes on the disc, one on the Superman mythos as a whole, with plenty of interviews. It's very enlightening and sums up well why this character is immortal. Another featurette focuses more on the Fleischer family and its contributions to animation. Lastly, there's a short preview for the upcoming Green Lantern direct-to-video presentation. I wasn't expecting there to be any features in this collection, but Warn er Bros. pleasantly surprised me, as they often do.
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's 17 excellent Superman shorts, for one low price. No fan of the Man of Steel should be without this collection (provided they don't already have the shorts in the Ultimate Superman Collection.)
Rating: -
Here we go again folks! NONE of these animation masterpieces were re-mastered! Why lie on your box art???!!!
In fact, Warner's used the same generic musical closing on almost everyone of these cartoons!!!
Why is that wrong, you might be asking? Because, every one of these films had their own, unique musical closing cues at the fade out! Through their tinkering, now the same music over and over. It is obvious and annoying!
And on the image, If they took the time to clean up the frames one at a time like Disney does to their films, then we would have something to cherish. Instead, take a look at the dirt and debris left on MAGNETIC TELESCOPE for example! HORRIBLE!
If you already bought the Superman Collectors Set with all of the movies and these thrown in, you are better off not spending the extra dough.
O.k. Warner's, why not do this set right. Really re-master them and as a bonus, give us SUPER-RABBIT (Which you own!) STUPOR DUCK (Which you own) Popeye with Bluto as Superman in SHE SICK SAILORS (Which you own!) etc. etc.
Heck, contact me and I will give you more Superman parody cartoons that you could ad!
Save your hard earned cash Super-fans.
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