Unknown Marx Brothers, the: Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Leslie Nielsen, Steve Allen, Irving Brecher, Robert Dwan, George Fenneman, Robert Fisher, John Guedel, Bill Marx, Maxine Marx, Minnie Marx, David Leaf, Courtney B. Conte, David Niles White, Frank Merwald, John Scheinfeld: Amazon.ca: Video

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A roguishly clever and energetic documentary about the exploits of the Marx boys, this is as humorous and irreverent as the comedians' distinctive brand of humor. Directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld accomplished the nearly impossible: they produced a fast and funny documentary as enjoyable as any piece of fiction. Though it runs for over two hours, this is so full of factual detail and amusing rumor about the exploits of the Marx boys that it could easily have gone on another 30 minutes. Its one flaw is the disappearance of the minor Marx brothers about halfway through, and the lack of information regarding the last days of all involved. --Rochelle O'Gorman

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

3.6 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Hooray For Captain Spaulding!, Feb 11 2003

By

Andrew McCaffrey "The Grumpy Young Man" (Satellite of Love, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Unknown Marx Bros (DVD)

As a biography of the Marx Brothers, the documentary does a competent if not excellent job. There are numerous interviews with their few surviving friends and various Marx offspring. But if you're looking for an in-depth, detailed portrait of how they lived their lives, then I would recommend reading one of the numerous books that have been published on the subject (Harpo's autobiography HARPO SPEAKS! is particularly worthy, especially on their childhood and pre-movie period).

That said, where this program shines is when it displays various pieces of scratchy old footage. Whether it was seeing Harpo's first role in a recently discovered silent movie, or an elderly Groucho trading barbs with Bill Cosby, the clips here are gems. Included here is material shot for the aborted Marx Brothers 50's TV series which (if not for Chico's deteriorating health) would have featured Groucho, Harpo, and Chico as guardian angels (the theological implications of this are astounding). There are also a few of the commercials that Harpo did for Labatt's Beer. As his son points out in one of the interviews, they're the most surreal advertisements you're likely to see. The bulk of this footage (and the documentary itself) consists of their public and television appearances after their movie careers had ended.

The DVD also contains a few outtakes from Groucho's YOU BET YOUR LIFE television show. Relatively tame by today's standards (a sample, which was too raunchy for those early days of television: "You met your wife in the dark-room? Was she well developed?"), but funny all the same. Groucho's quick wit gets him into trouble with the overbearing censors of the era, and as a disapproving contestant on You Bet Your Life tells him, "That's going to be censored, Groucho." The despondent reply: "I know."

This isn't the place to go if you want to spend a couple of hours convulsed with laughter. But it is a wonderful, if light, look at the career of the Marx Brothers. The production of the documentary has a slightly cheap feel to it, and Leslie Neilson's narration is a little flat. But while it can't compete with the volumes of books written on the subject, it does do one thing that the prose can't -- show us the Brothers in action. And with material that you're not likely to have seen anywhere else, this is invaluable for any fan of the Marx Brothers.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Geart Documentary but Incomplete on DVD, Jan 19 2003

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Christopher A. Goble (Rock Island, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unknown Marx Bros (DVD)

This is a great documentary, but the DVD has severly edited the documentary that was show on PBS. I have the whole documentary on tape and this is not it. The DVD leaves out the WWI years and a lot of the later films. Why? I don't know, but be warned, if you have seen the documentary before, this DVD is an edited version.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Whyaduck!??, Mar 4 2004

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J. Newton (Franklin, N.H. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Unknown Marx Bros (DVD)

Well, I bought this DVD to replace the VHS version I own. Imagine my surprise when I find out the DVD is a completely re-
edited version of the tape! So now both versions have material exclusive of each other as well as repeating segments. Talk about a lame duck! It's like having a mother-in-law move in- you can't get rid of her. So I need to make room for both! The tape version has some great Marx Bros cartoon characters, the movie trailers, and even different clips from material shown on the DVD. Once again, the idiots at Winstar screw up (see my comment on Bastard Out Of Carolina). What would I give to have them stand at the wrong end of a shooting gallery; I'd horsewhip them if I had a horse....

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Who?
To all fans of the Marx Brothers, I don't see why you shouldn't watch this DVD. However, this is not the meaty biography you may be expecting. Read more

Published on Jan 14 2004 by Kent

3.0 out of 5 stars Could Have Been So Much Better
I have seen all of the Marx Brothers movies except for Love Happy (which I heard was unfortunately not that great). I got this DVD for Christmas and really enjoyed it. Read more

Published on Jan 2 2004 by William Murphree