Topic: My Review of The Three Stooges Collection Vol. 2

[xraffle]

Sony did an amazing job with this set. Every single short looks the best I’ve ever seen. If you thought Volume 1 was good, this set is even better, at least in my opinion. In volume 1, I had a few little complaints about the quality. However, on this set, I don’t have any. All shorts look fantastic. They all look like they were transferred from the original negatives. The only thing is that Yes, We Have No Bonanza still has that flat, tinny sound quality starting when the crooks bury the money. It’s not as bad as the previous DVD release, but it’s still noticeable.

On Volume 1, the re-released shorts, especially the colorized ones, didn’t look as good as when they were first released. This isn’t the case on this set. All re-released shorts look much better. Just when I thought Violent Is The Word For Curly couldn’t get any better, this set has proved me wrong. On this set, the short looks glossier and sharper.

On the previous DVD releases, Grips, Grunts, and Groans, 3 Dumb Clucks, and Back To The Woods all looked very dupey looking. Well, those have all been fixed on this set. They all looked as if they were filmed yesterday. Even Wee Wee Monsieur was a massive improvement. The previous DVD release was really dark, but on this set, it’s much better. It wasn’t dark at all. You will also be impressed by some of the other shorts as well, especially Goofs and Saddles and Cash and Carry. Watching these shorts will be a completely different experience for all of you.

There are a couple of minor flaws on this set. Other than the minor sound issue on Yes We Have No Bonanza, there is also a slight jump in audio after Curly falls over the horse and a pot lands on his head. There is also music clipping only on one short, Calling All Curs, but it’s not too bad. Depending on your DVD player, you may experience more shorts with music clippings. When I tried it on my 8 year old DVD player, several shorts had clippings. However, when I tried it on my other, newer DVD player, that short was the only one that had music cut off. These flaws are very minor and can easily be overlooked. They’re not nearly as bad as the flaws on Volume 1. This set is definitely $20 worth spending. At less than $1 per short, you can’t go wrong.

There are no extras, except previews, on this set. But 24 shorts for only $20, I’m not complaining. As long as we get the shorts fully restored and remastered, I really don’t mind if there aren’t any extras.

Overall, Sony did an excellent job with this set. They did a much better job than I expected and I hope they keep up the good work.

Screenshots
Here are some screenshots that compare the old releases to the new releases. Hope they’re helpful. If any of you would like me to provide other screenshots, please let me know and I'll be glad to post them.

Grips, Grunts and Groans "All The World's A Stooge" DVD Volume 2 DVD 3 Dumb Clucks "All The World's A Stooge" DVD Volume 2 DVD Back To The Woods "All The World's A Stooge" DVD Volume 2 DVD Wee Wee Monsieur "G.I. Stooge" DVD Volume 2 DVD Healthy, Wealthy, and Dumb "Healthy, Wealthy, and Dumb" DVD Volume 2 DVD Flat Foot Stooges "Cops And Robbers" DVD Volume 2 DVD Calling All Curs Chromachoice DVD Volume 2 DVD Three Missing Links "Stooges At Work" DVD Volume 2 DVD

[falsealarms]

That's great stuff. I enjoy the comparison - a definite improvement throughout.

[locoboymakesgood]

I love comparison screen shots! xraffle, if you could do some more I'm sure the community would appreciate it. Maybe I can slap them up on a website to compare like DVD Beaver does.

[xraffle]

I love comparison screen shots! xraffle, if you could do some more I'm sure the community would appreciate it. Maybe I can slap them up on a website to compare like DVD Beaver does.

I'll be glad to. What other shorts would you like to see?

[FineBari3]

Thank you very much for taking the time to make the comparison screenshots!!!!

Karma for you!   

[xraffle]

Since Sony did such a great job with these shorts, I can't wait until they release 1945 as I really want to see a nice, crisp copy of "Micro-Phonies."

Anyway, thanks for the karmas. It was my pleasure.

[headstooge]

almost a great job

[xraffle]

Sorry to bump up this old thread, but I just want to inform people that I can no longer provide screenshots for anymore upcoming releases . I used to capture the images using PowerDVD on Windows XP. However, I just got a new computer that has Windows Vista on it and the PowerDVD software I have is an older version. I've had terrible problems when trying to install XP programs on Vista, so I'm not taking anymore chances. The new version of PowerDVD is $50 and I don't feel like spending that kind of money at the moment, especially after I spent enough on the computer. Since I have no software to capture the DVD images, I am unable to provide anymore screenshot comparisons. Vista is just loaded with issues. At first, I didn't believe any of the bad stories about it, but now I do. If you have a good enough computer that has XP, my advice is to stick with it.

If anyone knows any free software out there that I can use to capture DVD images, please let me know.

[xraffle]

Scott,

Thanks for your post. As a matter of fact, I just downloaded "AV Video Morpher" for free at download.com. It plays DVDs with no sound. I don't know why, but it does capture images and that's really all I need that software for anyway. I had to do tons of research before I could find a reliable site to download a free DVD image capture software. I'm glad I finally found one. So, when Volume 3 comes out, I will post some comparison screen shots. I probably won't post any review for it as I'm sure the screenshots will say it all.