Search - The Three Stooges Collection - The Early Years on DVD

A STOOGE FAN'S DREAM...TREMENDOUS STUFF!

Nathan Martin | Ft. Worth, TX. United States | 08/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I got this DVD, primarily for the public domain short films, "DISORDER IN THE COURT", "SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS", "BRIDELESS GROOM" and "MALICE IN THE PALACE", as they have never been presented on the DVD format, "respectively", until now. If you've bought the ultra-crappy editions put out by Madacy and Platinum Disc Corporation, you know what I mean. The Madacy edition has a dis-jointed audio track for both "BRIDELESS GROOM" and "SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS"...so out of sync, it's a rip-off. Then, the Platinum edition contains nearly 4 minutes of "BRIDELESS GROOM", and that's it! It is so sad to see that these people are allowed to put these DVD's on the market, with total disregard for quality. Which brings me to the item on hand, THE THREE STOOGES COLLECTION: THE EARLY YEARS, from the good folks at American Home Treasures. This disc is such a fantastic curiousity. Most will complain that the films have not been "re-mastered", or cleaned up in any sort of way, but then again, we are dealing with public domain material, which has been around for ages. Now, we have a DVD that not only successfully compiles the aforementioned Stooge shorts in their entirety, but 8 more curiousities. The other shorts are some that I've never seen. Most of which, are pre-Columbia, MGM two-reelers with Ted Healy and his stooges, Howard, Fine and (Curly) Howard. Then there are some Vitaphone short films, containing the unsung works of Shemp Howard, working opposite several other contract players. A real gem is a film entitled "ROAST BEEF & MOVIES", that stars Jerry Howard, yep, Curly, pre-Stooges! The duration of the disc, runs a little over 3 hours and 40 minutes, containing 12 shorts in all. This is a real treat for die-hard Stooge fans, like myself, and I would highly recommend it. Also, for what you get, the price is unbeatable."

Collectors' video set from Superior Home Video

Nathan Martin | 09/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great video. This is the ultimate Stooge fan collectors' video set. Narrated by Steve Allen, Volume One brings you the complete history of The Stooges. You'll roar with laughter at rare movie and stage clips and early TV appearances never before seen of The Stooges. Volume Two gives you four episodes. 'Disorder in the Court', 'Malice in the Palace', 'Brideless Groom' and 'Sing a Song of Six Pants'. This video lasts 120 minutes."

A history of the Three Stooges

Nathan Martin | 05/25/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This disc contains four classic Stooges shorts -- "Brideless Groom," "Disorder in the Court," "Sing a Song of Six Pants" and "Malice in the Palace" (all of which are in the public domain) -- and 8 others that were done before the Columbia era and feature either one Stooge or the Stooges with Ted Healy, who they worked with in their early days. The Columbia shorts are great, especially "Disorder," a classic Curly short (the other three are Shemp). Those who aren't familiar with their early work will find some interesting stuff here, including several routines that popped up later in the Columbia shorts. The quality on all is as good as can be expected. But be aware that, since most of these aren't the classic Columbia shorts, the Stooges, as seen here, are in slightly different form from the familiar versions that came later. Still, from a historical standpoint, this disc is invaluable, as several of these shorts aren't available in complete form on DVD elsewhere, to my knowledge. Other than the fact that "Nertsery Rhymes" is b/w instead of color (as it was originally released), this disc is recommended for Stooges fans who are interested in the team's history and their early work. Another nice thing: It's over 3 1/2 hours long, so it's a nice value for the price."

BETTER THAN NOTHING...YET DISAPPOINTING

David E. Haupt | 10/20/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"While I admit it is great to see the Stooges MGM shorts make their DVD debut, I was not happy with what I saw here from a standpoint of quality. I felt the same way toward the end of the cycle when Columbia was releasing the Curly shorts to video and opted for washed out 16mm dupes instead of going back to the 35mm masters that do exist in mint condition. The quality is average but the worst crime on this disc is that two of the shorts NERTSERY RHYMES and ROAST BEEF AND MOVIES were originally released in an early technicolor process but show up on this disc in black and white!! (possibly for copyright reasons??) The MGM shorts (the above mentioned two plus BEER AND PRETZLES, PLANE NUTS and THE BIG IDEA)would be the only reason to purchase this disc but better material is out there (MGM released them in pristine condition on laserdisc some time ago and they've aired on TNT). Most people have never seen these MGM shorts and do be warned that they are unlike what you come to expect out of the Stooges. The shorts are dominated by Ted Healy, a childhood friend of Moe and Shemp's who is partially responsible for forming the team. In 'The Big Idea' for example, the Stooges have two brief walk on's. Beer and Pretzles comes closest to their later work while Plane Nuts gives you an idea of their vaudeville act with Healy. It is cool to see some solo Shemp stuff represented here though. If you have the $ to blow on this disc to have them for now...have at it. If you would rather wait until better material comes along (and we know it will)....hang in there."