Next Columbia DVD

Peter · **on:** December 15, 2004, 05:25:11 PM

Hi,
This will be the first time I've written to this site, so here goes.
Does anyone know when Columbia will be releasing the next "Three Stooges" DVD/DVD's?
I live in the UK, where we haven't seen "The Three Stooges" on TV for about 10 years (apart from very occasionaly on Sky TV).
Thanks in advance,
Peter

Baggie · **Reply #1 on:** December 16, 2004, 12:17:06 PM

Thank God, another person from the UK. You'll find reading this site can at times be bloody depressing as America have so much more Stooges stuff going on than us. (Although I'm informed the good folks of the US don't have good access to Laurel and Hardy like we do, so there ya go). I dunno when the next one will be released, but you can get plenty of the stuff already released on DVD/VHS on amazon.co.uk or amazon.com, but shipping is a bomb from amazon.com, so choose the stuff you buy carefully!

Peter · **Reply #2 on:** December 16, 2004, 01:05:13 PM

Hi Shempetta,
I love Laurel & Hardy as well.
I have the aforementioned box set (not to rub it in with our American friends).
I also bought the "Lost Films Of L & H" as well - some of the prints are better, as well as the musical backing on a few of them.
I hope to buy the "Three Stooges" box set of 12 DVD's (600 minutes of laughs), which at $98 is not bad at all.
Which Columbia shorts do you need?
Perhaps we could compare notes.
All the best,
Peter

Larry Larry · **Reply #3 on:** January 04, 2005, 11:20:05 PM

I suspect that the delay over the next Stooges DVD has to do with those stupid "colorized" DVDs that Columbia tried shoving down our throats last year.

Instead of releasing the shorts in box sets, in chronoligical order with bonus features, Columbia is sitting around counting their pennies from those 2 turds hoping they can keep milking 3 Stooges fans for the same shorts twice: once in black in white, and then again in color the next year.

Hopefully those 2 sets flopped, and hopefully Columbia will wise up and release DVD box sets in order, or at the least go back to releasing 6 shorts at a time, preferably the ones they havent' gotten around to releasing yet.

Peter · **Reply #4 on:** January 05, 2005, 03:29:22 PM

Hi Larry,
Thanks for your views - I personally can't wait to get the Colourised DVD's - the colour looks superb - worth paying the extra for.
However, if it came down to either continuing with the current way of releasing the DVD's or starting to release them in chronological order, I think I could manage without the colourised ones.

Peter

shemps#1 · **Reply #5 on:** January 05, 2005, 10:18:18 PM

The colorized DVD's are not worth it all, unless you get one out of sheer curiosity or think having telephone polls shoved up your rectum is worth the seering pain.

Larry Larry · **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2005, 11:22:02 PM

Quote from: shemps#1 on January 05, 2005, 10:18:18 PM

The colorized DVD's are not worth it all.

They are not only not worth it, but by buying them you're sending a message to Columbia saying you support this crap.

I've bought all the other Stooges DVDs except these 2 colorized pieces of trash and that stupid Stop Look and Laugh (and Waste).

Peter · **Reply #7 on:** January 07, 2005, 04:49:54 PM

Hi Larry,
Well, be that as it may, I'm mightily impressed with the quality of the colourisation that has been performed on these DVD's - and that is just from what I've seen on the Internet.
I will wait until they come down in price a little though.
Here in the UK, we have to take what we can get - we don't have the luxury you have of seeing the Three Stooges on telly virtually every day.
The last time they were aired on something resembling a regular basis was about 14 years ago when they used to be shown on our Channel 4 on a Saturday morning before horse racing.
Peter

xraffle · **Reply #8 on:** January 07, 2005, 07:19:50 PM

Quote from: Larry Larry on January 06, 2005, 11:22:02 PM

They are not only not worth it, but by buying them you're sending a message to Columbia saying you support this crap.

I bought them because I was curious to see how the colorization turned out. However, I don't think Columbia got the message because these DVDs didn't sell well; hence the big delay on the future DVD releases. It looks like Columbia gave up on Three Stooges DVDs because they spent a lot of money on the colorization DVDs and they didn't sell well.

Pilsner Panther · **Reply #9 on:** January 07, 2005, 10:10:11 PM

Quote from: xraffle on January 07, 2005, 07:19:50 PM

Quote from: Larry Larry on January 06, 2005, 11:22:02 PM
They are not only not worth it, but by buying them you're sending a message to Columbia saying you support this crap.

I bought them because I was curious to see how the colorization turned out. However, I don't think Columbia got the message because these dvds did not sell good at all; hence the big delay on the future DVD releases. It looks like Columbia gave up on Three Stooges DVDs because they spent a lot of money on the colorization DVDs and they didn't sell good.

Or maybe they didn't sell well,[/b] xraffle. Beware, the Grammar Police are watching, so make sure you write "gooder" in the future!

Senorita Rita · **Reply #10 on:** January 08, 2005, 02:15:12 AM

Quote from: shemps#1 on January 05, 2005, 10:18:18 PM

The colorized DVD's are not worth it all, unless you get one out of sheer curiosity or think having telephone polls shoved up your rectum is worth the seering pain.

I bought a movie (from Columbia/Screen Gems) on DVD that included the colorized version of "Hoi Polloi" as a bonus. I have to admit that it was very well done. The print was as crisp and clean as I've ever seen it. The colors are realistically done, and it gives the images an almost 3 dimensional quality. As an experiment and/or a novelty, its fine. I still wouldn't buy a whole set of these things, and I don't encourage tha colorization of more B/W films. But it looks much better than the colored-in attempts of the past.

xraffle · **Reply #11 on:** January 08, 2005, 09:16:23 PM

Quote from: Pilsner Panther on January 07, 2005, 10:10:11 PM

Or maybe they didn't sell well,[/b] xraffle. Beware, the Grammar Police are watching, so make sure you write "gooder" in the future!

Sorry for the careless mistake. I fixed it.

Pilsner Panther · **Reply #12 on:** January 08, 2005, 09:45:06 PM

Quote from: xraffle on January 08, 2005, 09:16:23 PM

Quote from: Pilsner Panther on January 07, 2005, 10:10:11 PM
Or maybe they didn't sell well,[/b] xraffle. Beware, the Grammar Police are watching, so make sure you write "gooder" in the future!

Sorry for the careless mistake. I fixed it.

Thanks for paying attention... go to the head of the class!

shemps#1 · **Reply #13 on:** January 08, 2005, 09:55:14 PM

Damn, the "Good Cop" got here first.

TAUBLAR · **Reply #14 on:** February 07, 2005, 01:27:02 AM

Quote

I bought them because I was curious to see how the colorization turned out. However, I don't think Columbia got the message because these dvds did not sell good at all; hence the big delay on the future DVD releases. It looks like Columbia gave up on Three Stooges DVDs because they spent a lot of money on the colorization DVDs and they didn't sell good

This is from Shelly Jacobs at The Classic Horror Film Board........

"Not true, as sales are on target, with a total of 192 copyrighted episodes being colorized. Remember, most of the world with TV has NOT ever seen the Stooges , in b&w or color. This means that it will be introduced to them -- for the first time -- just like it was to my generation in 1958 on b&w TV, but this time in color for color TV broadcast . . . and DVD, and the new Personal Video Players, eventually on cell phones with coming much better video resolution, storage capacity and battery life, and webcasting/downloading.

The old "b&w-only in-the-theater before the main feature" paradigm died with record revenues for Columbia and the Stooges [re personal appearances and new full length films, not residuals] when a new paradigm was created with broadcast television. The same is about to happen again, creating a new multiple in revenue for the newly colorized product, then still again when released in hi-def format for DVD and TV broadcast. Hey, someone has to pay for all those cool gadgets we want that SONY produces!"

Peter · **Reply #15 on:** February 09, 2005, 01:54:16 PM

Hi,
So this looks encouraging doesn't it.
If 192 (out of 198) Three Stooges episodes are being colourised, which ones are they missing out.. and why?
Assuming all 192 are the 'Columbia Shorts', this means that some (including most of the Besser ones) should be released on DVD for the first time, and despite what some people think of Colourisation, this can't be a bad thing at all.
Now, if only these people would re-do the colourised Laurel & Hardy films as well.
Peter (writing from "Stooge Starved" UK).

TAUBLAR · **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2005, 04:07:20 PM

Quote

If 192 (out of 198) Three Stooges episodes are being colourised, which ones are they missing out.. and why?

The 6 that are not being colorized are the "public domain" titles (Brideless Groom, etc.) to which Columbia let the copyrights lapse.

shemps#1 · **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2005, 04:10:04 PM

Where are you guys getting these numbers? Are you including the shitty Derita films?

Peter · **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2005, 04:22:31 PM

Hi,
The 198 shorts are all those from "Woman Haters" (1934) to "Sappy Bullfighters (1958), so no, they don't include the Curly-Joe De Rita films.
Regards,
Peter

shemps#1 · **Reply #19 on:** February 09, 2005, 04:47:12 PM

There are only 190 shorts, not 198. Not to mention there are only 4 shorts in the PD, not six.

Peter · **Reply #20 on:** February 09, 2005, 04:49:48 PM

Just testing

You're quite right of course.
Perhaps I was wishing there were 198

Regards,
Peter

Baggie · **Reply #21 on:** February 09, 2005, 05:25:28 PM

Amazing cover up there, Peter.

Lola-Lou · **Reply #22 on:** February 09, 2005, 05:42:22 PM

I agree that the colorized L&H films should be re-done. The ones that are colorized look like shit! They look like someone went over them with colored pencils. The colors they use don't even look like the right shade. I could do it with Microsoft Paint...Then again maybe that's what they used.

Genius In the Lamp · **Reply #23 on:** February 09, 2005, 08:00:45 PM

So the colorized DVDs are a success ...

And Elvis is still alive, Sir Paul McCartney is really a Scotsman named William Campbell, and there really are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

First of all, if you're going to write a spurious press release, get your facts straight. There are 190 Stooge shorts; everybody and his brother knows that. Second of all, it wouldn't be cost effective to colorize those Shemp remakes and Joe shorts if only the hardcore completist is going to buy those particular shorts (even if we're not exactly dealing with marketing wizards in this instance).

I've said it about 100 times before, and I'll say it again: Colorization was a lousy idea when it was introduced, and it's a lousy idea now. The Columbia/Sony brain trust (and I use that term loosely) should give it a rest - the permanent kind.

Pilsner Panther · **Reply #24 on:** February 09, 2005, 08:51:41 PM

Quote from: Genius In the Lamp on February 09, 2005, 08:00:45 PM

So the colorized DVDs are a success ...

And Elvis is still alive, Sir Paul McCartney is really a Scotsman named William Campbell, and there really are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

First of all, if you're going to write a spurious press release, get your facts straight. There are 190 Stooge shorts; everybody and his brother knows that. Second of all, it wouldn't be cost effective to colorize those Shemp remakes and Joe shorts if only the hardcore completist is going to buy those particular shorts (even if we're not exactly dealing with marketing wizards in this instance).

I've said it about 100 times before, and I'll say it again: Colorization was a lousy idea when it was introduced, and it's a lousy idea now. The Columbia/Sony brain trust (and I use that term loosely) should give it a rest - the permanent kind.

It's hard to do anything more than quote you, Genius. The colorized Laurel & Hardy films are some of the worst shit I've ever seen on a large or small screen, and they're a total insult to the memories of the immortal Stan Laurel and Babe Hardy.

What I mean is, why? Why do this at all!? If the "reasoning" of the complete idiots who colorize these classics is that younger people can't relate to black and white films, there's years of evidence— right on this site— that that's not true at all.

Pilsner's Picks will be presented in 1970's "Rechanneled [fake] Stereo" from now on.. it's a major improvement!