Customer Rating:  
Summary: Stooges rule!
Comment: I am a Three Stooges fan. This video lived up to the shorts I remember seeing on late night TV. The quality of the shorts were very high. The only problem I had was that I thought I was getting all of the Jerome "Curly" Howard shorts. I was disappointed that the one short I was looking for was not included in the set. It was made the next year. So I will be looking for volume #5.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I don't experience many belly-laughs from films these days...
Comment: ...but a half dozen of these Stooges shorts had my husband and I rolling with laughter. As with most video collections, some tracks were far better than others. Still worth owning. We'll pull this 2-disc set out the next time we need cheering up.
Gail Strumberger
Author: "Shock Therapy-Planaphobic"
Customer Rating:
Summary: You Won't Regret Your Purchase !!
Comment: Bought the whole "Stooges" series from 1934-1945. Top notch quality. Watching on 50" Plasma. No commercials, etc. Video quality is the best.
I had wanted to get this series for a number of years...sorry I waited. Amazon's services was AAA. They kept me updated on my order, were fast and efficient. I have bought other products and videos from Amazon over the past 3 years. Always a good experience.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Remember: " 'Gritto' spelled sideways is 'ottriguh-guuuhhh'..."
Comment: The fourth chronological collection shows Moe, Larry and Curly at their best with the twenty-one shorts from 1943 to 1945. In many ways, the shorts are transitional, as ill-health has begun to take its toll on Curly. Problems with high-blood pressure and other medical issues, including a series of mini-strokes that worsened in 1946 are evident in the later shorts in the collection. Even in the classic, "Micro-Phonies," one of their best shorts, shows Curly at just slightly less manic and physically frantic as those of just a year or two earlier. Still, with a few exceptions, these two- reelers show the comedy team at their slapstick best.
Before commenting on the films themselves, it is important to note that Sony has done a fine job in restoring the shorts. Gone are the scratches and out-of-focus scenes, as well as the crudely edited offerings previously shown on TV. Picture and sound are excellent; one can imagine the enjoyment experienced in theaters when these classics first appeared onscreen.
Many of these shorts are not seen today on television. During the war years, plots revolved around antics against Nazis and "Japs" in ways now considered to be politically incorrect. In particular, "The Yokes on Me" features the Stooges efforts to capture three Japanese "escapees" from a relocation camp. Although the physical comedy is typical stooge slapstick, the idea that US Citizens were imprisoned in WWII remains repugnant. Still, the short reflects the (unfortunate) prevailing attitude of the times. Other shorts, such as "No Dough Boys" are more innocuous, parodying stereotypes in more cartoonish "over-the-top" ways.
"They Stooge to Conga" is the first of the 1943 shorts and is considered to be the most violent of the shorts. Even slapstick devotees cringe when Curly impales his telephone pole climbing spike in Moe's eye, ear and skull. I would agree that is over the top, but it is like a car wreck: one feels compelled to watch. Look for Dudley Dickerson, the gifted African-American character actor, whose brilliant comedy antics are sadly seen as too-stereotypical for today's audiences. The Stooges used him in a number of their comedies. Given the nature of the times, his performances are physically inspired pieces of slapstick.
"Back from the Front", released later in 1943, features Moe's third impersonation of Hitler. The short takes place on the S.S. Schickelgruber and features non-stop mayhem. The stooges look interesting in their full beards.
"Micro-Phonies" is one of my favorite Stooge shorts. Although Curly's physical mannerisms have been slowed by his medical difficulties, facial expressions and precision mimicking of "The Voice of Spring" are priceless. Together with Moe and Larry, he offers musical interpretations of several classics that makes one wish that the Stooges had done more with song and dance in their comedies.
Like all of the shorts, viewers have their preferences. Still, most of those in this volume are entertaining, providing laughs some 60-plus years after their original release.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Item Review
Comment: Big fan of the stooges. Added this little baby to my growing collection of this version of the stooge shorts. This is a wonderful collection to buy for any stooge lover out there. So far...so good.
|
