Search - The Milky Way on DVD

Good movie, but the transfer sucks

Dr. Phun | USA | 08/27/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is a good Harold Lloyd movie, although not one of his best (but they are all pretty good.) The problem with the DVD is that the quality of the transfer is very bad.

The video quality is poor. It is washed out in places. Contract is bad. Part of the titles are cut off.

The sound quality is absolutely horrible. In many places it shrieks like an old speaker turned up too loud. It was painful to listen to this movie at any other than a very low (i.e. barely make out the words) sound level.
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You've Just Got to Duck!

Samantha Kelley | USA | 06/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Milky Way is a later sound feature starring the silent comedian Harold Lloyd. It begins with an incompetant milkman (Lloyd) in a very funny scene at a meeting for the company. This man happens to stumble upon some prize fighters one night and agitates them until they attempt to beat him up. Little do they know how nimble he is and the middle-weight champion finds himself with birds circling his head. The fighter's promoter (Adolph Menjou) wants to employ the milkman in order to alter gossip, but he is none too receptive. Later, he gets roped into it anyway and a string of fixed fights and publicity leave the milkman with a massively inflated ego.

Lloyd is astonishingly funny in this film. His silent character is only amplified by the fact that he speaks here. Some silent stars lost something when sound came, but Lloyd seems to have fed on its power. He is truly a bright spot.

Most film collectors know that many films aren't in great condition and are able to look past the fuzzy prints and dull soundtrack to see the film they've been dying to see. This film is easy to love because of the great script and Lloyd's hilarious antics and even moreso by those people who have trained themselves to look past bad prints. For others, it might not be as enjoyable because the quality can be a bit distracting."

Wait for the Collection

Wayne A. | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 09/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This will be released as part of the Harold Lloyd set coming out in November. I'm sure we'll see a better looking and sounding print. This promises to be quite a release and may do much to revitalize the reputation of a unique comedy genius.

I watched this film two times the first evening I got a copy; I was a little astonished. As a wacky comedy from that era it's not on the level of The Awful Truth or Bringing Up Baby--it's a notch below--but it's very good and has plenty of imaginative and gut-busting moments. I was roaring through the entire ending, and that's the way it should be with a good comedy.

The aspects that prevent this from being a front-runner are a not-totally-there script, a fun but vaguely awkward performance by Adolphe Menjou as a fight promoter, and some lumpiness to the flow of the proceedings. Screwball comedy, based as it is on generally unbelievable premises and coincidences, requires carefully calibrated velocity and pacing to keep the audience from noticing the unreality of the situations. The best examples have theatrical precedents--Arsenic and Old Lace, in its film incarnation, still feels like a stage play but it works brilliantly because it's relentless. All this movie was missing was more inspired direction.

Still, Lloyd, and much of the cast, are a pleasure, and the fun almost always never stops. A solid four-star with plenty of five-star moments--including one scene where Lloyd plays a sort of boomerang game with his hat.

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