from the bits

Michael Agee who releases a number of classic features through Image under The Hal Roach Studios imprimatur has a 12-disc Laurel and Hardy: The Definitive Edition release in the works. It will contain all the boys' work together and apart prior to 1929, plus appreciable supplementary material involving Charley Chase, Our Gang, Leon Errol, Edgar Kennedy, and many others. This planned release will not likely appear before the end of 2005 at the earliest, but when it does, it will replace the existing 10 discs comprising The Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy, and will contain almost two and a half times as much material in total as those discs.

YES! I was just hoping they'd reissue the original ten discs in a box set (as Image did their Chaplin Essanays and Mutuals DVDs); this is much better new!!!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this release basically encompass their silent work? And is there any chance of a similar compendium of their sound work?

Those who are region-free would probably want to check this amazing set out:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...272120-3739832

And if you aren't region-free, you should be just to get that set. It's amazing. (although not nearly as cheap as when I bought it, it was 57% off then!)

Yes, this is a mostly silent collection. For the talkies, go region free and get the British set. You won't be disappointed.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=355128

Hopefully, there will be news of a talkies set soon, with the release of this one.

Don't hold your breath for a talkies set. Those films are owned by Hallmark which hasn't shown any inclination to treat them with the respect they deserve. The UK set is superb in every way.

The Agee set is primarily silents plus early talkies. I have most of the Image releases and they are highly recommended. The films are funny and most of them look good. Some even look like they were shot yesterday. Agee owns the original materials and he has devoted his life to making them look and sound as good as possible.

I will be buying this new set.

Absolutely NO chance of a domestic talkies set, thanks to the Hallmark idiots, so even if Agee wanted to do such a set, he could not. As others have said, go R2.... well worth the trouble.

How many of the films from the Image discs are included in the UK set?

more news from Barrie Maxewell...and a bump for the above rumored sets

Fox has plans to offer up its six Laurel and Hardy films from the 1940s on DVD in 2006. The films, possibly offered in two groups of three, are: Great Guns (1941), A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), The Dancing Masters (1943), Jitterbugs (1943), The Big Noise (1944), and The Bullfighters (1945), but there are no details as to specific timing.

I am a pretty big L&H fan, but those 6 films mentioned above I feel were their worst- they were old and the films were pale in comparison to their earlier stuff. I would get the R2 box set but that is way too much $ and half the box are those awful colorized versions!

really frustrating for us R1 folks. Thought Lion's gates bought the rights from Hallmark, no? This change anything for us?

Wells its looks like I know what my Dad is getting for his birthday... He loves Laurel and Hardy - its one of the few films he actually watches more than once

I have the Benelux Dutch sets... I much prefer having them sorted chronologically and by type (silent shorts, sound shorts, sound features), as opposed to the scatter-shot mess of the UK discs.If you're only interested in say sound shorts, IMO this is the way to go... believe the quality is the same, no colorized versions either. With the Dutch features set you get Flying Deuces, Fra Diavolo (Bogus Bandits ), Bonnie Scotland and Babes in Toyland, which I believe are missing from the UK set. The Dutch sets also take up a lot less space: 2 double-disc single keepcases for silents, 3 for sound shorts, and 4 for sound features.

The Fox films draw opinions from all sides. I happen to enjoy them because L&H bring charm to whatever they do although the films aren't always up to Roach levels. Fox prices their stuff pretty reasonably so this will be an instant purchase from me. George Feltenstein has said that Warners' holdings (which include Fra Diavolo et al) are on his radar as well although no date has been set.

Hallmark has not sold the rights to their holdings although I wish they would to someone who gave a darn about L&H. Lion's Gate is merely the distributor.

davisdvd is reporting that the next TCM archives disc will be from Laurel & Hardy. 04.18.06 brings The Devil's Brother and Bonnie Scotland.

Excellent!

Feel like I'm resurrecting a "dead horse" with this thread, but I'm new here, and just found it.

Anyway, looking forward to getting these two films on DVD, and I agree (from a previous thread) that Hallmark is doing a "hack job" on the talkie shorts. I have several VHS tapes of the talkies on the low budget "Video Treasures" label I bought in the 1980's on VHS, and even though the tape quality was a bit low (released on the "middle" LP speed), they even had some "special features"... old home movie clips of Stan Laurel, and narration over the clips by Stan's niece. The two above mention films were released on the label I mentioned also.

As for the first Hallmark DVD release, anyone else notice an obvious "tape glitch" during "The Music Box"?

Welcome Albert. Yes the tape glitch was extremely noticable. That whole DVD was sourced from 20 year old tape masters complete with artificial fade-outs for TV commercials.

I went region free so I could buy the UK L&H DVDs.

for posterity, and to move all discussion not about the uber set to proper channels....

TCM Archives: The Laurel And Hardy Collection 04.18.06

Fox Laurel and Hardy Giftset ----> 4/11/06

FYI...

Even though the L&H silents are in the R2 sets... Agee has access to all the original elements. Stuff like camera negatives and fine-grains. All of the European masters used materials held over there.

Also, some of the highlights of this set will be a stills reconstruction of Hats Off (lost L&H short), multiple language versions of Be Big (original English, plus German and Italian versions), and 35mm fine-grain sourced versions of The Flying Deuces and Utopia/Atoll K.

bump