Hello, I just borrowed this dvd from a friend of mine and the cover looks like this When looking for it in stores and online, all I could find is this one Is there any difference or is one just a rerelease with a new cover?

I own both, and I'd say that they share about 20% of the same content but for the most part are different. I can't remember which one is better as it has been a few years since I have viewed either. I do remember one is better than they other though...

Wow, only 20%? That's a huge difference. I'd really appreciate it, if you get a chance, to check them out again and post the differences and which one is better. Thanks.

Edit: I also just noticed that the first one is 80 minutes while the second one is listed as only 66 minutes. The second also supposedly has some special features while the original has none.

Can anyone else confirm that the old version has that much different material than the more recent release? What about for other cast members, are they all that different? I always thought the cover change was just because the DVDs changed studios. Looking now though I see that there are a few that differ in length. If they all have this big of a difference in material I'm going to have to forget uniformity and get the old versions too.

The first one has the transfer from the original Best of EM VHS tape. If it helps, I owned the VHS and I remember looking at both versions one time and choosing to upgrade the VHS version rather than purchasing the new version. It's been awhile since I viewed it but amongst other things, it has the Buckwheat's been shot takeoff of the Kennedy/Oswald assassinations. I believe it also has the Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood episode where Mr. T is his landlord.

That Buckwheat shooting was just a bit too much. It ate a lot of the time - which could have been filled in on DVD with more Eddie stuff. JMO

I read that the original VHS actually had some skits that weren't included on the dvd, including "Kill The White People" and I think a third Mr. Robinson.

Wow I thought it was the same DVD with a new cover. I have the old one. I may check the new one out.

Same here. Had I known this had different material I would have bought it. The first one is pure gold, so I'll happily buy another volume with more skits from Eddie's prime.

I purchased today the best of EM with UPC code 031398115243. According to the back cover, this one runs for 66 minutes. Where can I find the older version with the Gumby cover?

^ Amazon seller's marketplace or ebay. Any second hand stores would be a good place, too.

I don't seem to find the Amazon.com listing. I prefer buying there than on ebay.

Actually, all three releases are different... the VHS has some stuff not on the two DVDs, and as someone else said each DVD is different. (The same goes for the Dan Aykroyd "best-of"... the VHS is different from the DVD version.) There's also a VHS of "SNL hosted by Eddie Murphy", which is different as well. I've heard of a "fan edit" that combines the best of all the different releases, but have not seen it available anywhere yet.

They do share one thing, the bits are horribly dated.

Not to thread crap too much but the Murray years are probably the hardest for me to rewatch.

I laughed my butt off when they aired but I would watch the Billy Crystal/Martin Short/Christopher Guest period over I'm Gumby Dammit! anyday.

I didn't realize they came out with a new compilation. If it's only 20% shared content, I might have to pick that up.

I too noticed a difference between the Gumby-DVD and the old VHS version - one glaring one is that there is no Gumby skit on the VHS version. Also they don't have the complete Buckwheat assassination on the VHS version.

The older edition is alot better.

On the new one they took 13 sketches out & added 3.

Here's a detailed list of what's on each Eddie Murphy DVD:

Saturday Night Live: The Best Of Eddie Murphy (1999 - Trimark)

Buh-Weet Sings (October 10th, 1981)
Credits (1999)
Eddie Murphy's Monologue (December 15th, 1984) Not on Lionsgate DVD
White Like Eddie (December 15th, 1984)
James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party (November 5th, 1983)
Velvet Jones School Of Technology (November 7th, 1981)
Ebony & Ivory (May 22nd, 1982)
Black History Minute (December 15th, 1984)
Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood (October 2nd, 1982)
Black Talk (April 17th, 1982) Not on Lionsgate DVD
The Little Richard Simmons Show (October 3rd, 1981)
Prose And Cons (October 3rd, 1981)
Buhweet And De Dupreems (March 20th, 1982) Not on Lionsgate DVD
Big Damn Plastic Bubble (February 27th, 1982) Not on Lionsgate DVD
Rock & Roll & Then Some (February 11th, 1984) incomplete
Salon Dion (February 25th, 1984) incomplete & Not on Lionsgate DVD
Hymie Town (February 25th, 1984)
Milestones (December 15th, 1984) Not on Lionsgate DVD
The People's Court (January 23rd, 1982) incomplete & Not on Lionsgate DVD
Buckwheat Dead (March 12th, 1983)
Opie's Back (October 9, 1982) incomplete & Not on Lionsgate DVD
Speaking Freely (February 25th, 1984) Not on Lionsgate DVD
Merry Christmas, Dammit! (December 15th, 1984) incomplete & Not on Lionsgate DVD
Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood (October 17, 1981) Not on Lionsgate DVD
Career Corner (April 10th, 1982)
Buckwheat Dead (March 19th, 1983)
Velvet Jones' Romance Novels (October 9, 1982) Not on Lionsgate DVD
Solomon's New Coat (January 22nd, 1983) Not on Lionsgate DVD
Stevie Wonder Impersonator (May 7th, 1983) incomplete & End Credits run over it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday Night Live: The Best Of Eddie Murphy (2004 - Lionsgate)

James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party (November 5th, 1983)
Credits (2004)
Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood (October 17, 1981)
Buh-Weet Sings (October 10th, 1981)
White Like Eddie (December 15th, 1984)
Velvet Jones School Of Technology (November 7th, 1981)
Ebony & Ivory (May 22nd, 1982)
Black History Minute (December 15th, 1984)
The Little Richard Simmons Show (October 3rd, 1981)
Hymie Town (February 25th, 1984)
Buckwheat Dead (March 12th, 1983)
Prose And Cons (October 3rd, 1981)
The Buckweat Story Starring Byron Allen (March 12th, 1983) Not on Trimark DVD
Career Corner (April 10th, 1982)
Lishman's Deli (December 15th, 1984) Not on Trimark DVD
Rock & Roll & Then Some (February 11th, 1984)
Buckwheat Dead (March 19th, 1983)
Pudge & Solomon (December 4, 1982) Not on Trimark DVD
Stevie Wonder Impersonator (May 7th, 1983) incomplete & End Credits run over it.

Extras: None on Trimark DVD
Focus On Film (October 9, 1982)
Outtake: Dion's (December 10, 1983)
Outtake: Old South Slave Songs (March 19, 1983)
Outtake: Opie's Back (October 9, 1982)
Outtake: Two Faces Of Jerry (October 31, 1981)
Outtake: E.T. is Dead (November 20, 1982)
Outtake: (?)
Outtake: Dion's (November 12, 1983)
Outtake: Sylvester School of Speech Therapy (October 9, 1982)
Outtake: Pudge & Solomon (December 10, 1983)
Outtake: (?)
-All the Outtakes are incomplete-

I started a Yahoo group for SNL On DVD.

Thanks for clearing this up. I have the original one and besides the outtakes, nothing is really forcing me to pick this up immediately. If it had Tyrone Green's "Kill the White People" skit it would be a no brainer.