Little Rascals - The Complete Collection 10/28
10-29-08, 09:29 PM
#101
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I have the preordered DVD set that came today still unopened. I have 30 days to see what, if anything, Genius Products is going to do. I'll decide in that time whether to keep the set or send it back.
10-30-08, 05:08 PM
#103
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10-30-08, 05:51 PM
#105
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[rant]So all this is over a dozen "less than pristine" shorts, a couple with a racist line here and there snipped? Shorts that most of us saw on crappy 16mm film-chained TV broadcasts 30+ years ago censored to begin with? Yeah, it sucks that they aren't totally optimized, but it's still not bad for 70 year old shorts. They are all in one collection and on DVD. Not all of us have the laserdisc version, plus those that do, when that laserdisc player finally breaks down then you've got a white elephant in that Little Rascals set (speaking as someone with more than a few deluxe laserdisc sets that have been almost completely replicated on DVD for a fraction of the original cost). They haven't made a LD player in maybe 7 years so having a copy on an obsolete, relatively obscure format is not one of the best reasons to avoid this set. If the "less than pristine" shorts are on every disc, then they probably won't reissue it. Also, by not buying this set, then that guarantees that they won't bring out the rest of the series. Yeah, they are the crappy MGM ones, but they are just as part of my childhood as these were, probably more. When I think of Our Gang, I do include the Froggy, Mickey, and latterday Spanky and Alfalfa shorts. I'd hate to not get to complete a collections because a few anal retentive "fans" get so obsessed over minutia that they don't buy the sets. Seriously, this isn't like WKRP in Cincinnati, where the films are mutilated and all the music is replaced. Pick your battles. This is one that 99.7% of people never would have noticed and even those that do should chalk it up to a slight disappointment and then get on with their lives.[/rant]
10-30-08, 06:25 PM
#106
DVD Talk Limited Edition
What to do. What to do. I have this on my shopping list for the big sale next month (that we can't talk about yet). My decision may rest with the quality of the reply (if any) from Genius. I sure wish this was a WB release. They are the greatest at issuing replacements.
10-30-08, 06:43 PM
#107
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I finally got my copy of the set, so I could have a look at the Blackhawk prints myself.
And yikes. They're sourced from the old analog video masters done back in the 1980s for the Republic Pictures video tapes put out then. And as such, they look and sound a mess. Hissy, poppy, low contrast, low on detail, and (in the case of "Bear Facts" at least) improperly framed (you can see a big strip of black at the bottom of the screen on "Bear Facts", which probably would be invisible on a TV with overscan).
The good news in all of this is that it only effects sixteen out of the eighty shorts. I skimmed through the collection to get an final tally of the shorts with the old prints: it's all the ones Francis Rizzo posted title cards for, excluding "Bouncing Babies' (which *is* restored) and including "Anniversary Trouble" and "Little Pap" (which are not).
The other sixty-four shorts look nothing short of spectacular. They've all obviously been touched up for black and white level balancing and run through a grain and scratch removal filter. They look - and for films nearly 80 years, sound - fantastic. I'm not sure if they simply de-interlaced and touched up the Cabin Fever prints (the stuttery "RHI" logos before and after each restored short scream "I was de-interlaced!") or if these re brand new transfers, but it doesn't matter. They look great, with the possible exception of "The Pooch", on which the black levels of the image are a little too heavy.
The only rationale I can determine as to why there's a mix of restored and unrestored shorts is that they simply ran out of time on the restorations, and when someone said "use the old transfers as placeholders," they got the Blackhawk transfers instead of the more recent Cabin Fever transfers.
This is made especially clear when seven of the sixteen affected shorts are not only some of the most popular shorts in the series, but ones that, having been made in 1937 and 1938, would have had the best materials available than those made in 1929 and 1930.
If Genius had delayed the set to finish the restorations, they'd likely have missed the 2008 holiday season, and selling a set that was almost of the way there was more important than selling nothing at all. The number of sales they'll lose from having unrestored shorts on the set is much, much smaller than the number of sales they'd lose from delaying the box set until, say, January.
However, that does mean that the claim of "restored" and "remastered" is very much untrue. If Genius didn't implement a disc replacement program (which would require replacing everything but Discs 3 and 8), is it feasible that they could be rightfully accused of false advertising? I'll send them an email requesting a response and replacements, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
And yikes. They're sourced from the old analog video masters done back in the 1980s for the Republic Pictures video tapes put out then. And as such, they look and sound a mess. Hissy, poppy, low contrast, low on detail, and (in the case of "Bear Facts" at least) improperly framed (you can see a big strip of black at the bottom of the screen on "Bear Facts", which probably would be invisible on a TV with overscan).
The good news in all of this is that it only effects sixteen out of the eighty shorts. I skimmed through the collection to get an final tally of the shorts with the old prints: it's all the ones Francis Rizzo posted title cards for, excluding "Bouncing Babies' (which *is* restored) and including "Anniversary Trouble" and "Little Pap" (which are not).
The other sixty-four shorts look nothing short of spectacular. They've all obviously been touched up for black and white level balancing and run through a grain and scratch removal filter. They look - and for films nearly 80 years, sound - fantastic. I'm not sure if they simply de-interlaced and touched up the Cabin Fever prints (the stuttery "RHI" logos before and after each restored short scream "I was de-interlaced!") or if these re brand new transfers, but it doesn't matter. They look great, with the possible exception of "The Pooch", on which the black levels of the image are a little too heavy.
The only rationale I can determine as to why there's a mix of restored and unrestored shorts is that they simply ran out of time on the restorations, and when someone said "use the old transfers as placeholders," they got the Blackhawk transfers instead of the more recent Cabin Fever transfers.
This is made especially clear when seven of the sixteen affected shorts are not only some of the most popular shorts in the series, but ones that, having been made in 1937 and 1938, would have had the best materials available than those made in 1929 and 1930.
If Genius had delayed the set to finish the restorations, they'd likely have missed the 2008 holiday season, and selling a set that was almost of the way there was more important than selling nothing at all. The number of sales they'll lose from having unrestored shorts on the set is much, much smaller than the number of sales they'd lose from delaying the box set until, say, January.
However, that does mean that the claim of "restored" and "remastered" is very much untrue. If Genius didn't implement a disc replacement program (which would require replacing everything but Discs 3 and 8), is it feasible that they could be rightfully accused of false advertising? I'll send them an email requesting a response and replacements, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
10-30-08, 06:46 PM
#108
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[rant]So all this is over a dozen "less than pristine" shorts, a couple with a racist line here and there snipped? Shorts that most of us saw on crappy 16mm film-chained TV broadcasts 30+ years ago censored to begin with? Yeah, it sucks that they aren't totally optimized, but it's still not bad for 70 year old shorts. They are all in one collection and on DVD. Not all of us have the laserdisc version, plus those that do, when that laserdisc player finally breaks down then you've got a white elephant in that Little Rascals set (speaking as someone with more than a few deluxe laserdisc sets that have been almost completely replicated on DVD for a fraction of the original cost). They haven't made a LD player in maybe 7 years so having a copy on an obsolete, relatively obscure format is not one of the best reasons to avoid this set. If the "less than pristine" shorts are on every disc, then they probably won't reissue it. Also, by not buying this set, then that guarantees that they won't bring out the rest of the series. Yeah, they are the crappy MGM ones, but they are just as part of my childhood as these were, probably more. When I think of Our Gang, I do include the Froggy, Mickey, and latterday Spanky and Alfalfa shorts. I'd hate to not get to complete a collections because a few anal retentive "fans" get so obsessed over minutia that they don't buy the sets. Seriously, this isn't like WKRP in Cincinnati, where the films are mutilated and all the music is replaced. Pick your battles. This is one that 99.7% of people never would have noticed and even those that do should chalk it up to a slight disappointment and then get on with their lives.[/rant]
2. The MGM shorts aren't owned by RHI/Genius: they're owned by Warner Bros. (since Warners bought Turner Entertainment, which owns the old MGM library) However, the success of this set might determine whether they'll release the MGM "Our Gangs".
10-30-08, 07:10 PM
#109
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As for the three silents - "Dog Heaven" and "Spook Spoofing" are new restorations, but they're also 400% silent. Unlike the Cabin Fever series, no attempt was made to bring someone in to do a score.
"Barnum and Wringling, Inc." is a Blackhawk print, with an unusual openign title card sequence explaining the history of the series. It, however, DOES have musical accompaniment - "copyrighted"," the title cards note, "in 1984 by Blackhawk Films."
"Barnum and Wringling, Inc." is a Blackhawk print, with an unusual openign title card sequence explaining the history of the series. It, however, DOES have musical accompaniment - "copyrighted"," the title cards note, "in 1984 by Blackhawk Films."
11-01-08, 06:50 PM
#110
DVD Talk Legend
caligulathegod I can see your point of view, but I do think that it warrants people sending emails and sitting on the fence waiting to see if their is any reaction. I have The cabin fever disc and can hold out for either a corrected set, or a price drop/deal.
11-04-08, 03:39 PM
#112
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It's still available at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Rascals...5834704&sr=8-1
But I am going to see if they fix the problem first before I buy.
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Rascals...5834704&sr=8-1
But I am going to see if they fix the problem first before I buy.
11-04-08, 05:37 PM
#113
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Yesterday I received a replacement dvd from Warner Home Video for Popeye vol. 2. Like the Little Rascals collection, this one also had alternate opening credits on just 2 of the toons. Yet WB quickly acknowledged the problem and prepared a replacement dvd.
This is a sharp contrast to Genius Products and their failure to even reply to the complaints about the Little Rascals collection.
For now, I am taking the Rascals release off of my shopping list and I'll put it on my Netflix Queue instead.
This is a sharp contrast to Genius Products and their failure to even reply to the complaints about the Little Rascals collection.
For now, I am taking the Rascals release off of my shopping list and I'll put it on my Netflix Queue instead.
11-05-08, 07:33 AM
#114
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I want to thank everyone here who provided the info about the problems with the set--from the unrestored shorts to the one discovered (albeit small) edit.
I had this near the top of my buy list, and I was basically just hoping for a good deal over the holiday season. But, I'll be skipping it. There are lots of other things to get, so this moved FAR down the list. Maybe I'll get to it in a couple of years. Maybe not.
I had this near the top of my buy list, and I was basically just hoping for a good deal over the holiday season. But, I'll be skipping it. There are lots of other things to get, so this moved FAR down the list. Maybe I'll get to it in a couple of years. Maybe not.
11-05-08, 09:22 AM
#115
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Courtesy of ymymeatemup over at www.thelittlerascals.net:
For those who haven't sent out any email complaints to Genius or to RHI, but would like to, here are a couple of email addresses you can use:
[email protected]
[email protected]
It probably makes more sense to complain to RHI (the first contact) since they're the actual producers of the set. Genius Products is the distributor, but of course, complaining to them as well might light more of fire under the collective rear end of RHI.
Bob
For those who haven't sent out any email complaints to Genius or to RHI, but would like to, here are a couple of email addresses you can use:
[email protected]
[email protected]
It probably makes more sense to complain to RHI (the first contact) since they're the actual producers of the set. Genius Products is the distributor, but of course, complaining to them as well might light more of fire under the collective rear end of RHI.
Bob
