@Jayson Wall thank you for sharing the review from Robert Harris! My pre-order is still in on Blu-Ray set and i would hope more material from Restored film continue for Laurel & Hardy for a us film fans and the new generation!
The main reason I bought this was for the restored "Battle Of The Century", which is spectacular. Also, "Berth Marks" is presented in both the original 1929 version, as well as the 1936 reissue. I'm quite happy with this set.
In the 70s I wondered why the early 30s L&H shorts/features looked so crude compared to other studios' films from that time, so it was interesting to read about how badly the materials were handled all those years.
Do you have the new set? Have you watched all/most of it? Have you A/B’d it to previous L&H releases?
I've spent some time looking at various screen shots and comparisons after reading Robert Harris' posts and I can see what he is saying, and see some of what he is seeing. It is obviously an appearance he dislikes or is disappointed by. I can see from many frames an improvement in many areas over earlier releases. I can see a few with a little less quality than an earlier release in the film grain he mentions, which he is a stickler for and which I am probably not going to be much bothered by. Given the choice of a copy with more brightness but less grain, better sound and fewer flaws... I am sure I would go with it. He would trade some flaws to keep more film grain, the feeling and appearance of film which he loves. The point is made many times of the conditions of even the best elements extant for these particular well loved films, but it missed the point for those who are more in love with seeing really gorgeous early film that has survived better than these and not needing the kind of work these have. Perhaps they could've been a little less processed preserving warps and other artifacts, I haven't gotten my set, but where that processing might bother me on some films, with these it is compensated I expect by many other improvements. Perfection being no longer possible it seems there were trade-offs, and one trade-off added something that took out a possibility for another. I do see film grain in the tiles behind the bathtub in the one much scrutinized scene of comparison. There is much more in darker earlier copies but those copies are lacking in many other areas. There is one short comparison where it looks like this set's version might be a slight step down in contrast and detail, that's one short out of numerous films on here that appear likely to be an improvement in almost all areas over what was available before. So it won't look quite as much like film but in many other areas these will be improvements. That's what I am understanding from the whole thing. I guess it's upsetting that after this much work total perfection was not attained, but for people who are willing to have Metropolis with 16mm elements next to 35mm, and even stills for missing material, it seems a fairly minor caveat overall. I am a lot more finicky about sound.
I haven't received my Blu-Ray order yet, and while looking forward to enjoying this set...I'm sure it will be enjoyable to see the features, many extras and at last Stan & Oliver on the screen again now at home of course! I really hope this will be a Positive on more L&H features getting the best care going forward....into Blu-Ray and DVD market Restored finally!
I thought of an analogy for the projected film with grain look vs. modern no-grain video look... I grew up with American comic books printed on cheap newsprint, the colors were muted, the paper not shiny aside from the cover... now they reprint these same things on heavy shiny bright white paper in hardcover with the colors much brighter usually. It may have more detail than the cheaper printing plates at the big press in Sparta, Illinois could offer back in the '70s and '80s, may stand up to reading a lot better and last for generations, but it's never going to be my preferred format. I think maybe that's where someone like Robert Harris is coming from, wanting something as close to a projected film on a theater screen experience, and it can be done and has been done on Blu-Ray. On that scale this is like the hardcover collection of what were originally cheap comics; maybe some bits redrawn or re-lettered, probably entirely re-colored, and there are some great historical text pieces with it, but the Sea Monkeys ads are out, and so is the company hype page and any letters from readers of the time. I can own old comic books but I don't own a 35mm or even a 16mm film projector... so I am happy with something as complete as these are and without the kind of artifacts of decades of damage to the picture flow and sound. That it cost some film grain/detail and a projection feel is something I can stand well enough.
Yes, I do have the Bluray, and have A/B with the last DVD set---I have also seen 35mm prints from that UCLA restorations at the Billy Wilder and at Fotokem, seen the DCP from the digital files of the digital restorations as well---and Harris is correct. The set is recommended, but many of the films could've looked better in my view. Others think they look great. However, the star of this disc is the bonus features!!!!! Oh, and I have a good number of these L&H's in 16mm original print downs, Film Classic originals or Blackhawks (ugh)
Did you order DVD or Blu-Ray set and how did you like the set overall? Any specific shorts that standout on this release to you today?
The DVD. HOG WILD is remarkably clear, and COME CLEAN, ONE GOOD TURN, and HELPMATES have shots where you can see details that weren't visible before.
Hello all, Last night, my review/web article on the Blu-ray set was published online. I'm not an expert on video scrubbing, waxy images, etc. I did compare the films on the new Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations set to RHI/Vivendi's 2011 L & H: The Essential Collection DVD's and even 2002's Talkies 2 DVD set from the Netherlands. I'm impressed by the restorations. I tried to mention both the transfer quality and the comedy itself in the article. I had never seen The Battle of the Century before. The pie fight scene, with supposedly 3,000 pies thrown, is really something. As Jayson mentions, the eight hours of Bonus Materials are really great, too. 2,500 posters from various countries, scene stills, publicity photos, studio details, scripts, Pressbook articles, and on and on are part of the special features, and so much fun to check out. The Super 8 sound film interviews from October 1981 by Randy Skretvedt with L&H associates Anita Garvin, Joe Rock, and Roy Seawright give a nice perspective from people who actually worked with L&H. My web article/review is below. I'd like to see a similar set with The Little Rascals/Our Gang in the furure. Marshall My review/article of Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations Blu-ray set: "Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations" Blu-ray Review
I bought the bluray set and I've watched most of the first two discs. On the whole I'm impressed, the films certainly look better than I've ever seen them, with some scenes looking genuinely stunning. However there is something I've noticed a couple of times - the sound drifts slightly out of sync. An obvious example is in the opening few minutes of Hog Wild. Listen/watch for sudden noises such as Ollie ringing the bell then banging it on the table. It's especially annoying as this seems like such a simple thing to fix!
I only purchased the DVD set and have enjoyed them immensely. I had the same minor quibble too concerning the commentary tracks having no audio from the films underneath them. I found the posters and picture extras great too. The highlight of the extras was for myself was the Olly interview. Whilst as i was never too interested in reading the original/alternate scripts [as some other folks might be] it's just as well as they weren't really legible on from the DVDs to a 40 inch 1080. I suspect they were ok via the Blu Ray and larger TV set. I have never had any of the previous sets before [that you compared the latest set against] and am wondering if there will be another 2K set somewhere in the future from Parker Films?
UCLA Film Library is still in process of Restoring more material for film exhibition and Archival preservation. visit here to support Preservation work: Laurel and Hardy Preservation Fund | UCLA Film & Television Archive So i do hope rest of Laurel & Hardy's work will continue to be shared on physical media releases!
I hope so. As longdist01 mentions, UCLA is still working on preserving various L & H films. I wouldn't mind seeing a Little Rascals/Our Gang set like this, too. Marshall
I do too, longdist. I still enjoy having physical media releases, especially Blu-ray but DVD's too. Sure there's streaming these days. But sometimes, a program, film, etc. will be taken off the streaming site after a particular time period. Marshall
No, ordered from Deep Discount. Worked out around £50 in total. I've no doubt it'll get a UK release eventually but I couldn't wait
