What classic comedians are available in non-region1? i.e., Tati, Marx Bros, A&C, etc
 

What dvds are available of any of the classic comedians, such as Jacques Tati, The Marx Brothers, Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, The Ritz Brothers, Wheeler & Woolsey, etc.? I would also interested in non-American comedians from the 1950's on back to the silent era, if their humor translates well.

I have been working on a list of region 1 titles that have been released, it is here: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=221042

Australia R4 has 4 nice Laurel & Hardy DVDS:

Sons of the Desert
Music Box
Way Out West
Be Big/Laughing Gravy

Although not perfect, the films have been restored & are in pretty good condition.

A Night in Casablanca & Room Service are available in Spain. You can also get A Night in Casablanca from Austrailia.

Jacques Tati naturally has a decent showing in France, but these DVDs have Français audio & no sous-titres.

Trafic (1971) (listed as announced, but not out yet)
Jour de fête (1948)
http://www.dvdfr.com/dvd/search.php3...e=Jacques+Tati

This doesn't exactly answer the question, but if you're not
aware of it, you should be, that MK2 and Warner are
going to be releasing what sounds like a large, very nice
set of Chaplin special editions starting in Spring 2003. And I'm
pretty sure I saw confirmation that when there are two
versions of a film (e.g. The Gold Rush), both will be included.

ficta

Chaplin is well represented on DVD (at least in region one,) I was trying to find some of the comedians that have been poorly treated in region one... Marx Brothers had a scant handful of films released, now OOP and fetching a pretty penny. Abbott & Costello had a slightly larger handful, but they had many more films to draw from, and several of their DVDs are now OOP, as well. Jacques Tati had the 3 Criterions, now OOP, and instantly snatched up by Criterion Scalpers....

Don't forget Olson and Johnson's classic HELLZAPOPPIN available as a Region 0 disc from Australia

I have that listed on the other thread, I need to pick it up soon.

Does anyone know anything about some Jacques Tati DVDs from Brazil? I have seen them on Ebay.

Kinda off-topic again however Amazon has a 2 disc 8 movie collection of Abbott and Costello from Univeral on pre-order for 20ish bucks. Amazon.ca has it for cheaper too with 30% off instead of 15% and a $5 off coupon.

Non-Reg 1 Classic Comedians
 

Check out eFilmic.com, a Taiwanese company. I ordered dvds of two Marx Brothers movies from them on eBay and the quality was quite satisfactory. However, nowhere on the case was there a manufacturer's address, so I suspect that this is at best a grey market operation. They offer all five of the Paramount Marx Brothers films (two of which, MONKEY BUSINESS and ANIMAL CRACKERS, are available from Brazil in a R0 NTSC format that is apparently licensed), plus A NIGHT AT THE OPERA and A DAY AT THE RACES. The rest of their catalog looks a bit hinky to me--a lot of stuff in plain editions that is available in special editions here in the states. They also advertise Disney's THE SONG OF THE SOUTH, which really makes me wonder! Best, Scott