Topic: Our Gang silents being prepped for DVD/Blu Ray

[falsealarms]

It appears at least some silent Our Gang shorts will be headed to DVD and Blu Ray this fall via ClassicFlix.

The co-founder of ClassicFlix has said:

In terms of timeline and how many we can restore and release: we're hoping for a release in the fall, but how many we are able to do and the level of restoration we can give them really depends on how our volumes of the sound shorts sell over the next few months. We've already spent well into six figures thus far to restore the sound shorts and, being a small company, cash flow of current releases will always dictate funding of future releases.

A raw scan of DOGS OF WAR (1923) was recently posted to YouTube.

[metaldams]

I just ordered a few months back volume 1 of silent Our Gang, the Reelclassics DVD version.  Ordered off Amazon.  The case arrived perfectly but the DVD inside contained Mary Pickford Biograph shorts, which I’m holding on to.

I guess this will all work out in the end if an updated restoration is forthcoming.  I will buy whatever is released.

[NoahYoung]

Nice news.

Regarding looking at the sales of the talkies, I hope that they keep in mind that many people probably didn't want to double or even triple-dip. I know the new releases probably look better, but I was perfectly happy with my existing DVDs. Except for a handful of silents released with the talkies by Cabin Fever, Vivendi, and Genius,  I don't believe there has been any "official" release on DVD/Blu-Ray. At least 10 years ago, TCM showed a good sampling of the silent shorts -- I think in one day, if I remember correctly. So, IMO, there should be more of an appetite for the silents among collectors.

[metaldams]

Nice news.

Regarding looking at the sales of the talkies, I hope that they keep in mind that many people probably didn't want to double or even triple-dip. I know the new releases probably look better, but I was perfectly happy with my existing DVDs. Except for a handful of silents released with the talkies by Cabin Fever, Vivendi, and Genius,  I don't believe there has been any "official" release on DVD/Blu-Ray. At least 10 years ago, TCM showed a good sampling of the silent shorts -- I think in one day, if I remember correctly. So, IMO, there should be more of an appetite for the silents among collectors.

What he says.  I’m holding onto my old DVD set of the talkies for the time being, but will definitely buy this silent set.

[NoahYoung]

What he says.  I’m holding onto my old DVD set of the talkies for the time being, but will definitely buy this silent set.

Way back in 1994 when they were released by Cabin Fever on VHS, the talkies were restored. I thought (and do still think) that they look fabulous. Don't know if the new releases are better (they probably are), but the old ones don't leave me pining for more. I thought the old TV prints from the 70s looked great, and my Blackhawk prints  look great. I have two 16mm TV prints and they leap off the screen, and are crisp and clean. The big deal, to me, with the initial Cabin Fever releases were that for the first time I had seen them with original titles.

I think it's great that the talkies have been restored again for people who don't already have them.

I have a small bunch of the silents on Super 8 and Standard 8mm, from both Blackhawk and Niles. I have found the silents to be a bit hit-or-miss, but a good rule of thumb is that the Pathes are much better than the M-G-Ms.

[HomokHarcos]

Way back in 1994 when they were released by Cabin Fever on VHS, the talkies were restored. I thought (and do still think) that they look fabulous. Don't know if the new releases are better (they probably are), but the old ones don't leave me pining for more. I thought the old TV prints from the 70s looked great, and my Blackhawk prints  look great. I have two 16mm TV prints and they leap off the screen, and are crisp and clean. The big deal, to me, with the initial Cabin Fever releases were that for the first time I had seen them with original titles.

I think it's great that the talkies have been restored again for people who don't already have them.

I have a small bunch of the silents on Super 8 and Standard 8mm, from both Blackhawk and Niles. I have found the silents to be a bit hit-or-miss, but a good rule of thumb is that the Pathes are much better than the M-G-Ms.

I was very satisfied with the complete DVD set; they were all uncut as far as I'm aware.

[NoahYoung]

Well, the caveat is that the Genius set used Blackhawk 16mm prints for some titles instead of the masters used by Cabin Fever. The later Vivendi set rectified this. I have the first 6 volumes of the Cabin Fevers on DVD, and the Genius set. I don't mind the Blackhawk titles on some as they still look great. The rest of the Cabin Fevers were never released on DVD since they went out-of-business before that happened. As far as I'm aware, the Cabin Fever DVDs were actually released after Cabin Fever was bought out.

I bought my Cabin Fever DVDs brand new on eBay several years after they went OOP. QC was bad as one of them would freeze up on some titles and now the whole DVD has become unplayable -- though it does not have one scratch on it.

WASHEE IRONEE on some sets is edited for UN-PC content -- I know this is the case on some early Cabin Fevers (maybe just VHS),  but was later corrected by Cabin Fever. One of the subsequent issues on DVD was also edited -- I forgot which one.

BTW, if I buy a DVD or a set, it will be re-issued in better quality every 5 to 10 years. If I don't buy it, it goes OOP forever.

[NoahYoung]

A raw scan of DOGS OF WAR (1923) was recently posted to YouTube.

At first glance, I though his helmet said Vietnam! 

[Mark The Shark]

Well, the caveat is that the Genius set used Blackhawk 16mm prints for some titles instead of the masters used by Cabin Fever. The later Vivendi set rectified this. I have the first 6 volumes of the Cabin Fevers on DVD, and the Genius set. I don't mind the Blackhawk titles on some as they still look great. The rest of the Cabin Fevers were never released on DVD since they went out-of-business before that happened. As far as I'm aware, the Cabin Fever DVDs were actually released after Cabin Fever was bought out.

I bought my Cabin Fever DVDs brand new on eBay several years after they went OOP. QC was bad as one of them would freeze up on some titles and now the whole DVD has become unplayable -- though it does not have one scratch on it.

WASHEE IRONEE on some sets is edited for UN-PC content -- I know this is the case on some early Cabin Fevers (maybe just VHS),  but was later corrected by Cabin Fever. One of the subsequent issues on DVD was also edited -- I forgot which one.

BTW, if I buy a DVD or a set, it will be re-issued in better quality every 5 to 10 years. If I don't buy it, it goes OOP forever.

An uncut "Washee Ironee" is on one of the stand-alone volumes Hallmark released prior to the Genius set. I think the second one which was confusingly labeled "Volumes 3 and 4" -- the first Hallmark DVD was a repackage of the Cabin Fever Volumes 1 and 2 with Leonard Martin's intros included, but this was not continued on the other two discs.

An uncut "Bear Shooters" was on the "Hal Roach Studios" DVD "Laurel & Hardy And Friends," which is essentially the tenth and final volume of "The Lost Films Of Laurel & Hardy" series. As far as I know it's complete but has audio of the M-G-M lion roaring whereas I believe the original had a musical fanfare instead.

I have a list of the shorts on the Genius set with Blackhawk titles, I can dig it out if you want specifics. I think there were about 16 of them and they affected every disc in the set but one. All were corrected for the single disc releases done later, and those ended up in later copies of the box set as well. At least one of the silent shorts on the bonus disc also had Blackhawk titles (as well as a Gaylord Carter 1984 score replacing the original score for one of them) but I don't know if this was ever corrected.

I don't have the Blu-Rays but I watched a few shorts with a friend who bought them and the improvement is significant. I would say they are definitely worth the upgrade.

[Tony Bensley]

I'm actually quite surprised there's been nothing posted about "The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection Centennial Edition Blu-ray/DVD release on here!

While I've only viewed a 1/2 dozen shorts on this Blu-ray set so far, I have found the PQ to be a vast improvement over the RHI-Entertainment DVDs!! Hal Roach's Rascals have never looked better!!! 

"Dogs Of War (1923)" is also one of three restored silents included on the Bonus disc of this excellent set:
https://www.classicflix.com/products/copy-of-the-little-rascals-the-complete-collection-centennial-edition

CHEERS! 

[7stooges]

Great news, via David, producer and founder of ClassicFlix:

Scans on over 60 silent Our Gang shorts (of the surviving 88) have been performed to date and we continue to look for additional material to fill in gaps of missing footage from the scans we already have. It's a time-consuming task, but we hope to have the first release (Volume 1) likely late summer/early fall 2023.

The number of shorts for the first volume will be 10. While not in exact chronological order, we will follow a rough chronology presenting the shorts we consider HD worthy: OUR GANG (1922) through BACK STAGE (1923).

PROD#, SHORT

# 1. Our Gang - (In most complete form)
# 2. Fire Fighters
# 3. Young Sherlocks (from 16mm Kodascope)
# 4. One Terrible Day
# 6. Saturday Morning
# 7. The Big Show! (from 35mm)
# 8. The Cobbler (from 35mm)
# 9. The Champeen! (from 16mm Kodascope)
# 11. A Pleasant Journey
# 13. Back Stage

FYI - We have materials on the below shorts, but all are from VERY rough 16mm prints so we won't be including them in the main volumes. They will be made available at some point either on DVD or as a bonus feature on a future BD volume.

# 5. A Quiet Street
# 10. Boys to Board
# 12. Giants Vs. Yanks

ENJOY!

[NoahYoung]

I recently picked up SPOOK SPOOFING in Super 8. Watched it last week -- it was as bad as I remembered it to be when I borrowed a print from a friend about 30 years ago. I also just got BARNUM AND RINGLING which I haven't watched yet.

From the silents I've seen, the Pathes are much better than the M-G-Ms, though I'm not too fond of some of the Pathes I've seen, either. DERBY DAYS, from one of the old DVD sets from Vivendi/Genius, I wasn't too fond of.

[J_Kasumi]

Dude, that's delightful! I'm a fan of classic theatrical shorts. From the Stooges to the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, so knowing this warms my heart. I'll need to buy it soon, and add to my collection of shorts I own.

[NoahYoung]

Watched BARNUM AND RINGLING last night. It was OK. Nothing special. Oliver Hardy has a cameo -- which I had already known about.

If it was made today, there would be an uproar over child endangerment and animal abuse. At one point, Jean Darling is hanging from a ceiling fan as it's spinning. You can see it's her -- not a rag doll. Plus, some of the "costumes" they put on the animals were probably uncomfortable for them -- like a balloon strapped to a goose's neck!

This short reminded me of PUPS IS PUPS when the animals run loose in the hotel.

My view on the silent Our Gangs is that, to me, they're way different than "The Little Rascals" talkies I know and love. The first talkie season, 1929/1930, is similar, but those are the worst of the Roach Our Gang talkies. Some magic happened over the summer break in 1930 that changed eveything for the better, since from that point on, the Roach Our Gangs were consistently good with only a handful of clunkers.

Another interesting point, Blackhawk Films, in their on-screen prologue to many of the Our Gang silents, claims that it was the longest running short subject series in film history, which is incorrect since they went from 1922 - 1944,  while the Stooges went from 1934 - 1959. Now Blackhawk was in business starting in 1927, so it is very possible that those prologues were written before 1956 or so.