Three Stooges 1937-1939: Colle

 

 

Create your own review

After buying Volume 1 and seeing the top quality of these remastered sets, I immediately purchased Volume 2. Great work Sony!! It is even better than Volume 1. IMO, 1937-1939 is when the Three Stooges were at the top of their form. Hilarious and SOITENLY a MUST HAVE for all you Stooge fans out there!!! Keep these volumes coming, Sony!! A definite treat!!!

As a "Three Stooges" fan who purchased the first "Three Stooges Collection" volume one the 1934-1936 years I wondered if Sony Pictures would continue to release future sets with the same level of quality shorts found in the volume one set or if this was another studio ploy to screw stooge fans out of their hard earned money, yet again. In the past Sony Studios has been famous for releasing products with inferior quality and sometimes canceling future installments for no reason leaving fans with incomplete sets.

Well "Three Stooges" fans can now exhale because Sony Pictures has released the second "Three Stooges Collection" volume two from 1937-1939 with the same amazing video and sound quality as found in the volume one set. Once again fans will be happy to find that all 24 shorts in this outstanding two-disc set are in chronological order and In my opinion they're isn't a bad one in the bunch. By 1937-39 the "Three Stooges" were finding their groove and the quality of their shorts was a testament that bigger and better things were still to come from the boy's.

Of the 24 shorts presented in volume two many of them really stand out "Grips, Grunts and Groans", "Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb", "Three Missing Links", "Calling all Curs" and my personal favorite "Violent is the Word for Curly" are filled with hilarious high jinks as only the three Stooges could serve up for their legions of fans. Volume two is also somewhat of a milestone for the Three Stooges as we are treated to the new stooge theme song as first heard in the short "Flat Foot Stooges". The debut of "Three Blind Mice" melody as the Stooges new theme song, which replaced the "Listen to the Mockingbird." theme is a welcomed change and it enhanced the stooge shorts from then on.

Once again Sony Pictures has done an incredible job with the video and sound remastering and they should be commended for their efforts. The digitally remastered video transfers are simply amazing; no longer do these shorts look like they were made over 70 years ago and the completely restored soundtrack is the best I've ever heard. Missing from the newly remastered shorts is the debris, grain, dirt and sound hissing that used to plague these wonderful shorts. The set contains 24 shorts on two single sided discs packaged in slim cases. The disc artwork and packaging is fantastic to say the least, making this set even more attractive and highly collectible for fans to own.

On a final note Stooge Fans will be pleased that these newly remastered shorts are finally presented complete and uncut, politically incorrect and in all they're Black & White splendor for fans to enjoy over and over. Hip Hip Hooray!

DVD Features:
Disc #1
- Play All Episodes
- Episode Selections
* Grips, Grunts and Groans
* Dizzy Doctors
* Three Dumb Clucks
* Back to the Woods
* Goofs and Saddles
* Cash and Carry
* Playing the Ponies
* The Sitter Downers
* Termites of 1938
* Wee wee Monsieur
* Tassels in the Air
* Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb
* Violent is the Word for Curly

Disc #2
- Play All Episodes
- Episode Selections
* Three Missing Links
* Mutts to You
* Flat Foot Stooges
* Three Little Sew and Sews
* We Want Our Mummy
* A Ducking they did Go
* Yes, We Have No Bonanza
* Saved by the Belle
* Calling all Curs
* Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise
* Three Sappy People

The Three Stooges shorts presented here run from January of 1937 with "Grips,Grunts and Groans" and end with December of 1939's "Three Sappy People".This issue like its' predecessor has been remastered beautifully in a Hi-Def transfer and onto DVD.They have never looked this good...ever.
This second issue sees the Stooges on the rise as far the quality of their material is concerned.While there are many good shorts and sequences up to and including this volume,one can see that many of these films were just stories made up in order to hang gags upon with little or no connection to the next sequence.The fluidity of the stories were improving however but this would be always be a point of contention with The Three Stooges and their shorts.Another drawback was their re-use of footage and gags from previous shorts.Watch the end of "A Ducking they did Go".It looks like they ran out of an ending idea and tagged on a clip from a previous short from the first volume in this series;the trouble is it doesn't work.The first short it was used in made sense but here the guys go from clowning around a duck pond in a forest to jumping through brush and onto wild steers in a desert-like area,that cart them away willy nilly.The use of stock footage would plague the Stooges throughout their careers and especially in their later ones in the 50s and really cheapened the laughs.Another thing the Stooges always did was walk a fine line on the hitting and other physical violence;usually instigated by Moe.If executed just right it was funny but if the timing or sequence in which it was done wasn't just right,it was tasteless and definitely non-funny.
No one ever could accuse the Stooges of being hoi-polloi or shooting for the balcony with their style of comedy.It was low comedy with a touch of the Marx Brothers and Mack Sennett thrown together and no one could do it better than Curly,Larry and Moe.Volume Two is the Stooges on the rise and the next volume would see them come into their own.Until then enjoy these "Three Sappy People" doing what they do best;being the very funny guys they were.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Search Listmania!