As a lover of both silent comedies and Stan and Ollie, this set is a wonderful release from Eureka, who has not released any significant silent comedy in a while, but this set has put them back in my good books.
The films are spread over two discs, the first featuring them appearing in the same films, but not necessarily equally billed as such, or even sharing the same scene in one case, and the second disc features them as an official double act. The first two films on Disc One are pre-1927, but nice to have as extras.
As you can expect, their earliest films are in good but not pristine condition. There are occasionally lots of dirt and scratches and the occasional blurrier shots from less-than-perfect prints. However, as these are made from a mishmash of the best sources still available, it’s great to see something that has not been lost to time, like so many other films of the era which have suffered that fate.
When we get to the 1927 films, the picture quality gets noticeably better, and although the unavoidable scratches are still there, the amount of detail in the image is sometimes astonishing.
Also worth noting is that this set includes the longest version of The Battle Of The Century, which was confined to just one remaining segment until a few years ago when a more complete print was discovered. Although it’s still missing some scenes, the continuity is handled well. According to the commentary track, Lou Costello is an extra in the fight scene, and Marx Brothers leading lady Margaret Dumont also appears, once again playing a prim and proper character that she would be associated with later in her career. Although custard pie gags were nothing new, the pie fight in this was the biggest ever filmed, until Blake Edwards eclipsed it in The Great Race several decades later.
Regarding the structure of the actual films themselves, the comedy comes thick and fast. As mentioned in the booklet, the talkies had to allow a lull in the onscreen slapstick for audiences to laugh, and not drown out the dialogue, which is no problem here.
The commentary tracks on each short are very informative, if a bit repetitive, I found it a better option to listen to than the musical accompaniment, as the anecdotes and trivia are top-notch.
Bonus features include 2 radio interviews with Stan Laurel, the second one tinged with sadness and Ollie had passed away a week before. The footage of them on their UK tour is accompanied by a 78rpm recording of them talking about their visit, and an orchestral rendition of their theme. The sound has been cleaned up and sounds incredible.
Also included are 8mm digest versions of some of the titles elsewhere in the set. The simple sound of a projector over them is quite charming, for a while, and commentary tracks are also provided for them.
On the whole, this set is one of my favourite releases of the year. The fantastic booklet included in this first run mentions that more volumes will appear in the future. My only gripe is that there is no ‘Play All’ option for the shorts, which means you get the Eureka logo before each film after you select it, and the copyright notice at the end of each one. Seeing as the average length of each film is around 20 minutes, it would have been a welcome option.
Summing up, this is a jewel in the crown of silent comedy releases. Mostly of excellent quality, outstanding special features and a booklet that is worth reading, I cannot recommend it enough.
Review by Steve Wells
SPECIAL TWO-DISC BLU-RAY EDITION FEATURES:
Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Scott Saslow
1080p HD presentations on Blu-ray from 2K restorations of Lucky Dog, 45 Minutes from Hollywood, Duck Soup, Slipping Wives, Love ‘em and Weep, Why Girls Love Sailors, With Love and Hisses, Sailors, Beware!, Do Detectives Think?, Flying Elephants, Sugar Daddies, The Second 100 Years, Call of the Cuckoo, Putting Pants on Philip, and The Battle of the Century
Scores by a variety of silent film composers including Neil Brand, Antonio Coppola, Eric le Guen and Donald Sosin
Brand new audio commentaries on Lucky Dog, 45 Minutes From Hollywood, Duck Soup, Slipping Wives and Love ‘em and Weep by film historian and writer David Kalat
Brand new audio commentaries on Why Girls Love Sailors, With Love and Hisses, Sailors Beware and The Second 100 Years by Patrick Vasey, editor of The Laurel & Hardy Magazine and host of The Laurel & Hardy Podcast
Brand new audio commentaries on Do Detectives Think? and The Battle of the Century by film writer Chris Seguin and Kyp Harness (The Art of Laurel & Hardy: Graceful Calamity in the films)
Brand new audio commentaries on Flying Elephants, Sugar Daddies, Call of the Cuckoo and Putting Pants on Philip by Glenn Mitchell (The Laurel & Hardy Encyclopedia)
Brand new audio commentaries on The Second 100 Years and The Battle of the Century by silent film accompanist Neil Brand
Alternate Robert Youngson score on Putting Pants on Philip, newly restored by Stephen C. Horne
Brand new interview with Neil Brand
Laurel & Hardy in the UK – 1932 recording by Laurel and Hardy to promote their UK tour, featuring footage of the duo visiting Tynemouth
Turning Point: Stan Laurel – Extensive interview with Stan Laurel from 1957
Stan Laurel talks to Tony Thomas – 1959 interview, featuring footage of Laurel & Hardy visiting Edinburgh as part of their 1932 UK tour
Sailors Beware – Super 8 version with audio commentary by Chris Seguin and Glenn Mitchell
The Bulldog Breed – Super 8 version of Do Detectives Think? with audio commentary by Chris Seguin and Glenn Mitchell
The Mad Butler – Super 8 version of Do Detectives Think? with audio commentary by Chris Seguin and Glenn Mitchell
The Battle of the Century Pie Fight – Super 8 version with audio commentary by Chris Seguin
Stills Galleries for each short
PLUS: A collector’s booklet featuring newly written notes on each film by writer and comedian Paul Merton, and a new essay by silent cinema expert Imogen Sara Smith
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