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Three Stooges Collection: Volume 1 (The)
R1 - America - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Cory Max (31st May 2008). |
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The Film
 Finally a DVD company has smartened up and listened to the general public. For years, the legions of Three Stooges fans around the world have been clamoring for the comedy shorts of their favorite bunch of knuckleheads to be released in chronological order. Up until now you had to either settle for public domain shorts that were in poor condition, or purchase DVD’s created by someone who thought it would be cheeky to group similar themes in the Stooges repertoire. Unfortunately, this would lead to unevenness in the quality of the performances of the trio. This has been the main reason why I have been such a steadfast hold out in purchasing anything by one of my favorite comedy teams. But finally, Sony has found a way to open my wallet and I must agree that I’m elated. The Three Stooges Collection: Volume One - 1934-1936 is a complete delight for any true comedy fan that is happily mired is what is known as Stoogemania. If you are unfamiliar with the Stooges, here’s a brief lesson. From 1934 until 1955, Moe, Curly and Shemp Howard, along with Larry Fine created some of the finest comedy shorts in film history for Columbia Pictures. The original lineup consisted of Moe, Shemp and Larry as the trio of lovable buffoons who were the butt of slapstick abuse from the leader of the team, Ted Healy. The group was featured in a few MGM films in the early thirties, but mostly as supporting comic relief. When Shemp decided to strike out on his own in 1932, his brother Jerome (Curly) took his place. Their big break came in 1934 when Columbia studios owner Harry Cohn signed them as an independent act, free of Ted Healy, whom MGM thought was the real star. Their first release was Woman Haters, which was completely done in song and barely resembles anything familiar to most fans. It was in their second feature, Punch Drunks that they began to hit their stride. All of the comedic timing and roles are in place and from this point on, the Stooges never looked back. While Columbia was churning out Oscar winning films by Frank Capra, the Stooges shorts were the most profitable portion of Cohn’s film output, and would be so for many years. The first installment in this collection features 19 of the best comedy shorts that the Three Stooges created in the early years of their career. Hoi Polloi, Pardon My Scotch, Disorder in the Court and Three Little Beers are just a few of the classics that Sony has painstakingly re-mastered for this release. For years, fans have had to deal with DVD versions culled from the public domain or copied from VHS transfers, each of which were loaded with grain, splits and damage. Now, for the first time since their original film releases, they can be viewed in the almost pristine presentation that greeted moviegoers during the Depression. I urge anyone who loves the Stooges to rush out and buy this DVD set. If enough people show their support for this DVD by parting with their hard earned dollars, Sony will be eager to release successive sets. This set includes the following titles: Disc 1 Woman Haters (1934) Punch Drunks (1934) Men In Black (1934) Three Little Pigskins (1934) Horses' Collars (1935) Restless Knights (1935) Pop Goes The Easel (1935) Uncivil Warriors (1935) Pardon My Scotch (1935) Hoi Polloi (1935) Three Little Beers (1935) Disc 2 Ants In The Pantry (1936) Movie Maniacs (1936) Half-Shot Shooters (1936) Disorder In The Court (1936) A Pain In The Pullman (1936) False Alarms (1936) Whoops, I'm An Indian! (1936) Slippery Silks (1936)
Video
I have to say that I sit here in amazed astonishment with the job that Sony did with this transfer. Let’s face it, the Stooges are not everyone’s cup of tea, and to witness the loving care that was put into the video presentation of these disc’s gives me hope for future restorations. All of the comedy shorts on the two discs in this first collection are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Every blight, scratch and bit of debris that was so pronounced on past television broadcasts has been removed. Contrast and brightness levels are on target and appear both crisp and clear. I really tried hard to spot some form of problem with the transfer, but to mention any of them could be considered nitpicking.
Audio
Anyone familiar with the slapstick style of comedy of the Stooges, would know that the sound effects for the eye gouges, slaps and pratfalls that they performed are key to the comedy of the trio. The audio portion is presented in a Dolby Digital 1.0 mono soundtrack that is clean, with hardly any notice of auditory hiss, which was prevalent on the VHS releases years ago.
Extras
There are no supplements on either disc. Hopefully, sales of this first volume of comedy shorts will be brisk enough to convince Sony that future installments need some form of historical presentation to showcase the importance and stature of these true Kings of Comedy.
Overall
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