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DVD Laurel & Hardy II Collection (Way Out West/Block-Heads/Chickens Come Home)
The combination of choleric, combustible Oliver Hardy and mild, perpetually helpful Stan Laurel sustained dozens upon dozens of comedies, including the popular Way Out West. What makes this hour-long feature stand out is not just the physical hijinks (of which there are plenty), but the moments of surprising elegance, like a supple soft-shoe duet accompanied by what can only be called cowboy doo-wop. The plot concerns keeping the deed to a gold mine out of the hands of a greedy saloonkeeper (frequent comic foil James Finlayson), but it's just a pretext for gleeful slapstick orchestrations. Laurel & Hardy II also includes the underrated Block-Heads, another hour-long feature which starts out in the trenches of World War I and ends in a 13th floor apartment in New York; domestic strife and even lost limbs become fodder for jokes, yet the movie never feels cruel or ghoulish. It's the lightheartedness of their brutal mishaps that marks their success. Both features are from the late 1930s. An additional short from 1931, Chickens Come Home, features Hardy running for mayor and trying to squelch his past indiscretions, with Laurel as his right-hand man. No matter the circumstances, they wear bowler hats; wherever they go, madcap devastation follows. --Bret Fetzer
Review(s): DVD Laurel & Hardy II Collection (Way Out West/Block-Heads/Chickens Come Home)
If you care about "The BOYS" get the UK set
It is a shame that American film classics ( like L and H) get more attention and love outside of the US than in it.
I just bought the Universal Laurel and Hardy 21 Volume Box set which is only available in Europe from Amazon UK (region 2). This set is EVERYTHING people are saying it is. It is a complete film history of the boys which starts with the boys early silent films ( some solo efferts) and goes though the Hal Roach Features. All the prints are restored and of pristine quality. A truly beautiful set and a worthy tribute to the boys. There are some missing films ( I assume for copyright reasons) such as Babes in Toyland, The Devils Brother, Bonnie Scotland and Flying Deuces.
To acomadate these DVDs I bought a region free DVD player off Amazon,which is the only way to go if you really want to collect. The DVD player was very cheap. plays beautfully and is well worth the investment. As a side note if you have a region free player all the DVDs in the Universal Box set are also availble as single dics, in case you don't want to spend all the money at once or just want a few of the films. If you love Laurel and Hardy this is the only way to go! Anything to screw Hallmark and the corperate monster!! Why did they buy these great films just to sit on them and distribute half-A prints!!!
The Boys- 5 stars; great work. Studio- one star; bad job
This is a pretty bad copy of Laurel and Hardy's work. This is what I think the studio should do:
1. Release all 32 silent shorts that have both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. BOTH OF THEM. No Charlie Chase shorts with only Hardy; no shorts with just Laurel; BOTH!!! They should put them in chronological order (starting with LUCKY DOG) with four shorts on a DVD. That makes eight DVDs.
2. Release all 40 sound shorts (chronologically) that have Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. They should release ten DVDs with 4 shorts on each disc.
3. Release all the full-length movies with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. They include PARDON US; PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES; THE DEVIL'S BROTHER; SONS OF THE DESERT; BABES IN TOYLAND; BONNIE SCOTLAND; THE BOHEMIAN GIRL; OUR RELATIONS; WAY OUT WEST; SWISS MISS; BLOCK-HEADS; THE FLYING DEUCES; A CHUMP AT OXFORD; SAPS AT SEA; GREAT GUNS; A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO; AIR RAID WARDENS; JITTERBUGS; THE DANCING MASTERS; THE BIG NOISE; THE BULLFIGHTERS; NOTHING BUT TROUBLE; and ATOLL K. Release them separately. One movie a disc.
4. Release a two disc DVD set of movies that have Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in only small parts. Such shorts as THE STOOLEN JOOLS; ON THE LOOSE; WILD POSES; ON THE WRONG TREK; and THE TREE IN A TEST TUBE and the full-length movies THE HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929; HOLLYWOOD PARTY; and PICK A STAR.
5. Each DVD should have trailers of that short or movie (if available), photos, production notes, subtitles in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Mexican, and whatever other languages they think the DVDs should have.
These DVDs should be painstakingly remastered with state-of-the-art technology so that each film has the best sound and picture quality. Also, no sets. We comedy lovers like to chose what movies to watch and not have to buy a whole set (aka: It's a Gift). Also no colorization of any kind.
So that makes 8 DVDs of their silent shorts, 10 DVDs of their sound shorts, 23 DVDs with their full-length movies, and a two disc DVD set with their short movie appearances.
Please say this review was helpful and if you know someone that works at Lions Gate Home Entertainment, please print this review up, give this to that person you know, and ask that person to give this to the person in charge of the Laurel and Hardy DVDs. Thank you.
I want a good copy!
"Way Out West" is my favorite Stan & Ollie film. It is consistantly clever; the horse on the balcony, the head under the pail, the bodies in the piano, and of course, the delightful dance sequence. Alas, I sold my really fine VHS version, expecting someone to eventually give justice to this fun romp. When do you think someone, even Criterion, will wake up and realize that quality entertainment cannot be compromised, and a loving public will not settle for mediocrity?
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