Laurel & Hardy

I never thought I would see the day that I would rate any product that contained the greatest film comedy team of all time,Laurel and Hardy,with just one star!!
But it seems Hallmark has managed to elevate banality,mediocrity and utter codswollop to an entirely new level.
And it is with no small sense of regret that I have to say this.
I have seen most of these films in their European release formats and to say these Hallmark versions are far inferior to those would be an understatement.The European mindsets' credo generally seems to be when releasing anything whether it be audio or visual to obtain the best possible sources from which to work with then do the necessary work in order to release the best possible product that you can.All related North American industries should have taken a page from their book YEARS ago!
Here are just a few examples of what I have noticed in this Hallmark DVD:
All of these prints seem to be incomplete and the original elements used are average to worse in condition.No effort it seems was used at all to obtain the best possible negatives from which to work from.And what "work" has been done is strictly basic digital transfer with a slight alteration for contrast.In other words the films look a little better than their VHS counterparts but countless imperfections of all sorts run rampant throughout ALL of these pictures and have astoundingly not been corrected in any way.
'Sons of the Desert' does not contain the original MGM opening(with lion roar and music....the same for most)and it inexplicably has fade outs for what appears to be commercial breaks!! I can only surmise that this print originated from some TV showing in days past.Now that's quality!
'County Hospital' gives us a print of the "Film Classic" 50s version complete with the opening "plaque".
'The Music Box' has a horizontal tape glitch line(!) running from bottom to top just as Stan opens the back of the wagon near the beginning of the film.
The rest of the shorts are again totally average in their transfers and quality.
Let me state clearly that ALL of Laurel and Hardy product that is extant is available in its' original theatrical format(i.e.as orginally seen) with proper opening sequences intact and
accompanying music.So there is no excuse whatsoever that Hallmark would/should release such an INFERIOR product such as this.
And although I sympathize with those who have longed for The Boys to be released onto DVD(I am one of those!) there is no way we should just en masse accept anything that is thrown at us.We as consumers,not to mention the men who made these wonderful films,deserve nothing short of the best,and that is FAR from what we got.
In conclusion this release shows what is wrong,has been wrong,with the entire audio/video industry for much too long a period in North America.Inferior product foisted on an unsuspecting public either through faulty/inferior manufacturing or,as in this case,just plain indifference.It is about time we became more pro active
about this multi-billion dollar a year industry who without OUR hard earned money/support would go nowhere fast.
We should not accept such tripe as this Hallmark release and as such they deserve our utter contempt.
Stan Laurel when alive could not stand to watch his films when run on TV because of them being cut to fit time restraints.I shudder to think what he would think of this release of his films.These men deserve so much BETTER!

What an absolutely fantastic DVD collection! In the past it has been very difficult to find any Laurel & Hardy features in the stores. Amazon.ca is the only way to go! This collection had
me in stiches from start to finish. In a movie world full of vulgarity, thought by some to be entertainment, it is so refreshing to watch the boys show everyone what real comedy is all about. These features are suitable for all members of the
family. I highly recommend it!

I bought this DVD as a Christmas gift for my father, an avid Laurel & Hardy fan, and when we tried to watch it the day after Christmas, it would not play in his brand new DVD player. We tried it on another DVD player at a neighbor's house and it would not work there either. The only place it would somewhat work was on my sister's laptop, but she was leaving to go home to California the next day. It is unfortunate that when trying to return an electronics product you are also only credited with half of the price of the movie because it was opened. How else would you know that it works? I undersand Amazon needs to have policies on these items, but they should assist the consumer in getting a new, working copy from the manufacturer as an exchange or at a reduced cost. Not only was my father looking forward to watching this set of classics, but there are no comparable DVDs to get as a replacement gift (in B&W/costwise). I'm sure this can happen anywhere, but at least if you buy a DVD at a store and need to return it, you can deal with an actual person. Just one of the downfalls of online shopping, I guess.