Remember when Laurel & Hardy’s silent films were virtually unavailable on video, outside of UK imports? Thanks to Flicker Alley (and Blackhawk Films and Serge Bromberg) for rewriting the scenario: we now have the legendary comedy team’s silent output beautifully restored and available on Blu-ray, complete with the recent release of “Laurel & Hardy: Year Three.”
Given the neglect and overuse of negatives and original prints, what’s left of the duo’s silent films “has survived almost by accident, and not by design,” note co-producer Bromberg and film historian Richard W. Bann. The latest volume in this remarkable project includes their 1929 shorts, along with audio commentaries by Bann and author/historian Randy Skretvedt as well as newly recorded scores by Neil Brand, Robert Israel and others.
But wait, there’s more—including a video essay by John Bengtson on selected locations away from the studio, a silent version of their talkie “Berth Marks,” two 1929 talkies, a dubbed version of “Double Whoopee” by actor Chuck McCann, an MGM convention announcement by L&H, and image galleries. Info: flickeralley.com.
“Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations, Vol. 2” (produced by Jeff Joseph of SabuCat for MVDvisual) features eight of the beloved team’s similarly neglected 1929-1935 shorts. The Big Noise, however, is the bonus features. The silent versions of “Brats” and “Blotto,” offered to cinemas not yet able to present sound films, are a revelation—they’re just as funny as the sound versions we know because the gags are primarily visual, abetted by the team’s facial expressions in addition to titles. The new scores by Andrew Earle Simpson are the perfect accompaniment.
There also alternate versions of “Blotto” and “Another Film Mess” with voice and effects tracks only, a 1936 MGM promotional short, and a 1952 “Ship’s Reporter” interview with L&H uncharacteristically out of character. Plus commentary tracks by by Bann and Skretvedt, film trailers, and image galleries. Both new Blu-rays include nice souvenir booklets, themselves a rarity these days. Info: MVDvisual.com.
L&H’s first two feature films have been newly remastered for ClassicFlix’s Blu-ray release, “Laurel and Hardy-The Restored Features, Volume 1.” The team ends up in prison when they sell a bottle of homemade hooch to a policeman in “Pardon Us” (1931); “Pack Up Your Troubles” (1932) has them trying to locate the grandparents of their late World War I buddy’s orphaned daughter.
Rick Greene’s hefty two-volume series of books on marketing Laurel & Hardy’s films, “Promotional Pandemonium,” is complete with Volume Two now available. (Volume One covered the 1930s Hal Roach Studio features, Volume Two covers their short films and the 1940s features).
The Hollywood Museum in the historic Max Factor building is planning an L&H exhibit next year. Their current exhibit on the Marx Brothers has proved so popular it’s been extended until March.
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