The Marx Brothers DVD Collection

[cinemabon]

What a pleasure, and joy it is, to finally be able to watch with impunity the great work of these master comedians. I have been a fan of the Marx Brothers since I was a boy in the 1950’s, first seeing their work on television and then being able to see the original 35mm prints in Hollywood in revival theaters in the 1970’s. There can be no doubt, this new DVD collection contains the definite work of these boys in their finest hours, delivering lines with knockout punch timing. Their years at Paramount were their best.

They came to Hollywood from Vaudeville and Broadway during the advent of sound. They conquered Los Angeles as quickly as their act took New York, and stayed for over thirty years, bringing a raucous laughter with their irreverence for authority to the masses. Their life story is spelled out in so many books and documentaries that it is redundant to rehash what so many people know about them already. Suffice it to say that we have their best work from Paramount on DVD and can watch it at our leisure. That said, I will now comment on the inferior quality of the package that Universal Studios put together.

The sad part of this joyous occasion is that there will never be another release of this magnitude for work that is this rare and precious. The Marx Brothers honed their craft in music halls and stages across America before putting near perfect delivery lines on film. You would think that the studio, which put these discs into so lovely a package, would have treated the films better. Instead, we are subjected to faded prints, full of scratches, with burnt and torn frames that flash by along with a sound track that sounds like it was dragged through the mud! It is outrageous! Further, the supplemental material is practically non-existent. There are three small (and I mean small) segments from the “Today” show on NBC with appearances by Groucho and Harpo as old has-beens in the mid-1960’s. The third segment is Harpo’s son, William, on a book tour who shows short snippets of his Dad (home movies indeed!). I was shocked there was NO running commentary on any of the films, and that there are no other special features offered but trailers.

How sad of Universal to spend all that money creating the discs and putting them in such a pretty box only to short change the customer with such a cheap shot. It’s a disgrace to classic film DVD collectors and a shame on the Marx Brothers to have their work presented in such a shoddy fashion.

But, we have the films. While they are great to finally own, it is a sad day when their work is just another way for a studio to squeeze more money out of the public, instead of giving them a keepsake for generations to come.

[wpqx]

I haven't picked up the new set, but from what I hear, I won't anytime soon. MGM did a fine job with their Marx Brothers films (at least A Night at the Opera which was the only one I picked up), and it is a shame with the shoddy job of the Universal box set. The Marx Brothers at Paramount was one of the greatest runs of comedy of all time, and great as A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races might be, I'd rather watch Duck Soup four times in a day, than catch those two. Also Coconuts is brilliant, and Horse Feathers has my single favorite Harpo moment. It occurs when he is shoveling books into a fire inside of the dean's office. It goes on for about five seconds, but that man was a genius.

[cinemabon]

Great Groucho from Duck Soup:

If you can't take a taxi, leave in a huff. In fact you can leave in a minute and a huff.

You haven't stopped talking since you came in, you must have vaccinated with a phonograph needle.

Groucho: Take a letter to my dentist. Dear dentist, enclosed you find a check for five hundred dollars. Yours truly, now send that off right away.

Zeppo: I'll have to enclose a check first.

Groucho: You do and I'll fire you.

To Margret Dumont: You'd better beat it, I hear they're going to tear you down and put up an office building where your standing.

To Chico: I've a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it

Send a wire to our troops... the enemy has captured hills 7 and 8 putting thirteen hillbillies out of work... last night, the enemy crept into one of our machine gun nests and laid an egg... send that off collect.

Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honor, which probably more than she ever did.

We're three men and a woman trapped in a building, send help at once. If you can't send help, send more women.

Chico: Hey, careful with the water... it's the only water we got.
Groucho: Well, it's the only woman we got!

Hail, Hail Fredonia!