The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection [Blu-ray]
DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:
The Marx Brothers – Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo – are beyond a doubt one of the most iconic comedy teams in the history of entertainment. Their zany antics, sharp witticism and merciless assault on snobbery have endured for more than a century; from their Vaudeville roots and subsequent success on Broadway, to their rise to stardom in films and radio, then resurgence on television, and finally through mass marketing of their movies on home video.
The latest incarnation of Marx mayhem is Universal’s Blu-ray set of their five Paramount releases: THE COCOANUTS (1929), ANIMAL CRACKERS (1930), MONKEY BUSINESS (1931), HORSE FEATHERS (1932) and DUCK SOUP (1933). Made during Hollywood’s unbridled pre-Code era, this quintet of comedic masterworks is representative of the Marx Brothers at their most surreal and anarchistic. These essential ingredients made their brand of humor truly unique, and became ‘properly’ compromised under the stricter regulations of the Production Code in 1934. Even the Marx’s first film for MGM, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935), which many consider to be their best, isn’t nearly as free and insane as the Paramounts. A need was felt at the time for the comedy to be grounded by strong storylines, romantic subplots and glossy, musical production numbers. The void caused by the exit of Zeppo as straight man was filled by various capable leading men, but it just wasn’t the same as it was when there were the four brothers running amok and wreaking hilarious havoc.
This collection was sourced from the best available 35mm elements and remastered in 4K HD resolution for the highest quality presentation. That said, there are still some age related issues one must allow for, such as light scratches and audio hiss, all of which is minimal for the most part. The title that contains the brunt of such anomalies is the Marx’s cinematic debut, THE COCOANUTS, which suffers from the early sound recording technology as well as having footage replaced in spots from lower grade elements. HORSE FEATHERS also still has some missing frames in the scene where the boys are running in and out of Thelma Todd’s apartment. On the plus side is the restoration of a minute and a half of previously censored footage to ANIMAL CRACKERS. This was made possible by Universal acquiring an uncut, duplicate negative of an original release British print. Audiences are now able to enjoy the film as it was first shown 86 years ago. Happily, any digital cleanup was kept at a minimum, thus giving off a pleasing grain configuration that preserves the organic image quality of the source. It can safely be said that these classics have never looked better, and die-hard fans would do well to upgrade.
Extras include a new documentary, “The Marx Brothers: Hollywood’s Kings of Chaos”, five new audio commentaries by Harpo’s son Bill Marx, film historians Anthony Slide, Jeffrey Vance and Robert S. Bader, film critics F.X. Feeney and Leonard Maltin, the Today Show interviews with Groucho, Harpo and Bill Marx, and an exclusive illustrated booklet on their career.
Treat yourself to this wonderful collection of some of the flat-out funniest movies ever made. Marx madness is a guaranteed tonic for the humdrum ‘normalcy’ of everyday life.
My highest recommendation.
-Casey62
DVD Wholesale Main Features:
Actors: Harpo Marx, Groucho Marx, Zeppo Marx, Chico Marx, Margaret Dumont
Directors: Victor Heerman, Norman Z. McLeod, Joseph Santley, Robert Florey, Leo McCarey
Writers: Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby
Producers: Herman J. Mankiewicz
Format: NTSC, Restored, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles: French
Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
Region: Region A/1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 3
Rated: NR-Not Rated
Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: October 18, 2016
ASIN: B01KHJKAKS
