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 Post subject: [2004-05-04] "The Marx Brothers Collection" DVD 5-disc set (Warner)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:25 pm 
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When it comes to long-awaited treats like The Marx Brothers Collection, you can never get too much of a good thing. These seven comedies can't compare to the sheer lunacy of the five classics (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup) that the Marx Bros. made for Paramount between 1929 and 1933 (available in The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection), but when uber-producer Irving Thalberg signed Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to an MGM contract in 1935 (by which time sibling costar Zeppo had become the team's off-screen manager), he knew just how to cure their box-office blues. As a result, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races were critical and commercial hits, lavishly produced according to the "Tiffany" studio's golden-age formula of glamorous set pieces and musical numbers combined with sensible plots that smoothly integrated snappy, well-written Marxian antics. Opera is the jewel of this set, with timeless scenes (the Stateroom, the Groucho-Chico contract negotiation, etc.) that rank among the greatest bits of silver-screen comedy... not to mention Groucho's flirtatious insults at Margaret Dumont's upper-crust expense.

A Day at the Races deserves near-equal acclaim ("Get-a your tootsie-fruitsie ice cream!"), but Thalberg's death in 1937 dealt a devastating blow, and the Marxes suffered from studio indifference, resulting in a succession of comedies that are timelessly enjoyable even as they fall prey to diminishing returns. By the time they made Go West and The Big Store, the Marxes were out of their element, and a few of the musical interludes indulge racial stereotypes that were common in the studio era. Despite this, these movies remain fresh and frantic, and Warner Bros. (holder of the RKO and MGM libraries) has done a marvelous job of packaging The Marx Brothers Collection to nostalgically approximate the filmgoing experience of the 1930s and '40s, with vintage shorts (Our Gang, Robert Benchley comedies, MGM cartoons, etc.) from the time of each feature's original release. Archival materials are slim but worthwhile (especially Groucho's 1961 interview with TV talk-show host Hy Gardner), and while Glenn Mitchell's commentary on Races is sparse and superficial, Leonard Maltin brings his usual superfan's enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge to bear on a full-length Opera commentary track. The new documentaries are somewhat redundant, but essential viewing for Marx Bros. neophytes. With all seven films presented in pristine condition, this is definitely a Marx Brothers Collection worth having. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
This set includes seven of only thirteen Marx Brothers films ever made! Bonus extras include commentary by Leonard Maltin.

Disc 1: A Night At The Opera [1935]
The Marx Brothers turn Mrs. Claypool's opera into chaos in their efforts to help two young hopefuls get a break. It contains the famous scene where Groucho, Chico and Harpo cram a ship's stateroom with wall-to-wall people, gags, one-liners, musical riffs and two hard-boiled eggs.

Disc 2: A Day At The Races [1937]
Groucho stars as Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a horse veterinarian dispensing horse pills and quips with equal glee. Chico selling racing tips, Harpo destroying a piano to turn it into a harp and favorite foil actress Margaret Dumont make this thoroughbred comedy wall-to-wall hilarity.

Disc 3: A Night In Casablanca [1946]
This parody of the Bogart/Bergman 1943 classic features the Nazis vs. the "nutsies" as the Marx Brothers foil Axis criminals when they find stolen jewels and paintings Nazis have hidden in a hotel.

Disc 4: Room Service [1938]/At The Circus [1939]
These two films are combined on one disc to provide double doses of laughter. In "Room Service," Lucille Ball and Ann Miller provide comic co-star support while the Marx Brothers play producers trying to keep their show above water and a hotel room over their head. In "At the Circus," Groucho stars as professional shyster lawyer J. Cheever Loophole in the middle of big-top bedlam as the boys try to save the circus and look to Margaret Dumont for the money to do so. Groucho sings one of his famous songs, "Lydia the Tattooed Lady."

Disc 5: Go West [1940]/The Big Store [1941]
Another Marx Brothers twin bill makes this a hilarious comedy "two-fer." In the first, the Marxmen "Go West" to the land of outlaws and Indians where the fun never stops and where they outwit a land grabber. In "The Big Store," Groucho plays Attorney Wolf J. Flywheel who with sidekick Wacky (Harpo) and bodyguard Ravelli (Chico) are investigating the shady dealings of a crooked department store owner.

Special Features
  • Commentary by Leonard Maltin on "A Night At The Opera"
  • Commentary by "The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia" author Glenn Mitchell on "A Day At The Races"
  • All-new documentaries "Remarks On Marx" and "On Your Marx, Get Set, Go!"
  • "The Hy Gardner Show" [1/1/61] excerpt featuring Groucho Marx
  • Vintage Shorts
    • "Fitzpatrick Traveltalk's Los Angeles: Wonder City Of The World"
    • "Sunday Night At The Trocadero"
    • Robert Benchley's Academy Award-winning "How To Sleep"
    • "Pete Smith Specialty Quicker 'N A Wink"
    • "Flicker Memories"
    • Joe McDoakes's "So You Think You're A Nervous Wreck"
    • "Fitzpatrick Traveltalk Cavalcade Of San Francisco"
    • Robert Benchley's "A Night At The Movies"
  • MGM cartoons: "Gallopin' Gals," "Mama's New Hat," "Jitterbug Follies," "Old Smokey," "Officer Pooch," and "The Milky Way"
  • Looney Tunes cartoons: "The Daffy Doc" and "Acrobatty Bunny"
  • Our Gang comedy shorts: "Party Fever" and "Dog Daze"
  • Audio-only: musical outtake "A Message From The Man In The Moon" performed by Allan Jones, "Where There's Music," and an MGM radio promo "Leo Is On The Air"
  • Theatrical trailers

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001HAIP4/?tag=imwan-20

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 Post subject: [2004-05-04] "The Marx Brothers Collection" DVD 5-disc set (Warner)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:45 pm 
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Great set.


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 Post subject: [2004-05-04] "The Marx Brothers Collection" DVD 5-disc set (Warner)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:05 pm 
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I bought it first thing this morning when I woke up.
Definitely worth having.

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 Post subject: [2004-05-04] "The Marx Brothers Collection" DVD 5-disc set (Warner)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:31 pm 
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Sweet.


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 Post subject: [2004-05-04] "The Marx Brothers Collection" DVD 5-disc set (Warner)
PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:47 am 
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Dendritic Oscillating Ontological Tesseract

Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 51027
Location: Milwaukee
Hm, I should probably buy that.

The other set has their better movies, but there are still some gems in this collection.


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 Post subject: [2004-05-04] "The Marx Brothers Collection" DVD 5-disc set (Warner)
PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:41 am 
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A Night at The Opera is the greatest movie of all time (IMO) just ahead of Duck Soup, The Godfather, the General or Goodfellas.

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 Post subject: [2004-05-04] "The Marx Brothers Collection" DVD 5-disc set (Warner)
PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:59 am 
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Boney Fingers Jones

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I've had this for years. Highly recommended.

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