Bruckman

On Top of the World [CD on Demand]
$8.98
On Top of the World by Mike Bruckman (CAVS Song 2009!!!!)This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

On Top of the World
$0.99

BRUCKMAN 'S Beer and Ale Cascading Pub Wall Clock
$24.95
9" Black Plastic Wall Clock. Brand new in box. Precision quartz movement operates on one AA battery (not included). This is not a lighted clock.

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 6
$29.99
I just recently broke down and ordered two volumes out of this 10 set series of "Lost Films of laurel and Hardy"(Volumes six-this one-and three):of Laurel and Hardy and Laurel and Hardy-related silent shorts.When I viewed them,I,nearly broke down.What a disappointment.
This series has been on the market for about eight years now.I had already purchased quite a number of just the Laurel and Hardy shorts by themselves on VHS(VERY pricey!),which explains why I hesitated so long to buy them again on DVD.But I took the plunge,and definitely regretted it after what I saw.
It seems it is getting harder and harder these days to trust ANY kind of marketing relating to any DVD releases,particularly when it comes to older films like these, and these releases just reinforce that distrust.
To begin with,absolutely NONE of these films have been remastered in any way whatsoever visually,only a scant few have had part or all of their soundtracks remastered.All sources that have been used in the making of these films have been taken from existing master tapes of various origins from which only the producer Michael Agee knows for sure,but some of which we can be fairly certain of as you will see.About the only "new" thing about these films and apparently in reality about THE ONLY good selling point is the added soundtracks taken from the original Vitaphone sound discs.But they even had to push this too far by adding the Vitaphones to every other short in this collection that never had them in the first place!
The two best that come closest to complete prints and in pretty decent shape are "That's My Wife" and(with a BIG reservation) "Flying Elephants".
Let's start the ball rolling with the latter.The print of "Elephants" as I say is overall pretty darn good BUT except for an annoying square box in the right bottom area of the film....from beginning to the end!! I had to rub my eyes,thinking I was seeing things.And it isn't small,it distracts you constantly throughout the watching of the film. Whoever put it there is obviously hiding something,probably a "banner" of some kind on the tape this film was produced from.My guess would be Blackhawk films,but your guess is as good as mine.
"Putting Pants on Philip" is in not too bad of shape but I was disappointed in the film footage gaps that were extant.It's one of my all time favourite Laurel and Hardy shorts too.
"Crazy like a Fox" is a Charly Chase short and in poor shape;not a good print.
"The Soilers" is a Stan Laurel short and in God-awful shape.This short should run around 23 minutes.This truncated version runs a scant 10 and the print looks like something picked out of a garbage can.
Lastly there is "45 Minutes from Hollywood".If "The Soilers" didn't get my goat bad enough this one topped them all.If you didn't believe me when I said these films are taken from existing master tapes THIS is the proof.Less than a minute into the film and continuing throughout the picture are very visible and annoying VIDEO LINES!! Yes that's right,those lovely little annoyances I just recently took the creators of the newly produced "McHales Navy",Shout Factory,to task on in their release of that series third season.And we can't forget also the Hallmark Laurel and Hardy DVDs that also have video lines.
As I have said before;video lines are absolutely unforgivable.It shows a complete lack of respect for:
1)The product,and
2)The consumer.

Let's move on and look directly at what is printed on every one of these releases.
"...their original Vitaphone soundtracks have been restored from vintage 16" phonograph recordings made in the 1920s".Sounds great,right? Every silent film buffs dream come true?
If you look closely at the notes for the indiviudal releases for each movie they mention the Vitaphone soundtracks included.Some will actually tell you that the Vitaphone disc is specifically from and for that particular movie;for example,"Original Vitaphone music and Effects soundtrack".Those are the ONLY ones to believe.Any others that say something like " Vitaphone soundtrack and effects" or just "music and effects" are NOT from or for the movie you are watching;which appears to be the case with the majority of shorts in this series,whether Laurel and Hardy or not.They found some original discs for some films but the majority are lost and have used an amalgam of what discs they do have to provide accompaniment for the rest of the shorts in this series.It does get stale very quickly listening to the same music over and over and over again.
"These vintage films have been meticulously digitally restored from the original 35mm negatives,dupe negatives or new safety fine grains".Another piece of great restoration right?
Remember what I said about "45 Minutes from Hollywood"? That's right,TAPE LINES!! What this tells us is NONE of this material has been remastered...none.It has been digitally transferred;that's it.What movie hasn't in recent years since the advent of digitalization?? Transferred from....?? Master Tapes."45 Minutes.." proves that beyond a shadow of doubt.You have to read between the lines here.When they restored from 35 mm negs and dups you have to ask "When were they restored"? My answer would be many,many years ago for most of this material,if not all, by people not even associated with the current producers of this DVD compilation.Want proof? If the covering up of the logo in "Flying Elephants" in this volume isn't enought to convince you,then go to Volume Three of this series.The first film on that DVD is "Liberty".A very good print one must admit.However what does one see in the opening credits? The good old Hal Roach plaque!! The same plaque used for all TV releases for the 1950s and onwards!! So the impression they give that these are NEWLY restored films is plain bunk,through and through.You can bet these films were transferred to tape years ago,taken from sources sometimes good(35 mm negs)and very bad(terrible mutli-generational dupes) and thrown together to get as close as they can to complete prints.Sometimes it works nicely,other times you just want to throw the DVD out the window.
"These films have never been shown on television and most have never been released for home video".
I think the above example of "Liberty" destroys the first point of never having been shown on TV before;completely.Most if not all HAVE been seen on TV since the 1950s(the Laurel and Hardys in particluar) and I personally recall having seen them.Then they say that most have not been released on home video.Technically I suppose the Laurel and Hardy-related films out number the actual Laurel and Hardys so I guess they can claim that "most" of the films haven't been on home video( even that is arguable).But if we are speaking of just Laurel and Hardys,Hal Roach themselves released all of them themselves on home video(VHS) before putting them onto DVD!I bought them as did many others.The fact that they just didn't bother to change the package blurbs from VHS to DVD is the culprit here.
Some of the releases mention that these DVDs couldn't have been released without the "assistance of...",usually film historian and preservationist David Shephard(who has done tremendous work in his field,especially on Chaplin material) and,on this Vol.6 release,by Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films in Paris.I have reviewed two DVD releases by Serge and Lobster films,"Flying Deuces-the Restored Version" and "Slapstick Emporium-The Stan Laurel Years,Vol#1 and both are highly recommended.I mention this because I think both David and Serge held back ,kept the good stuff for themselves and gave Michael Agee the leftovers for this release."The Soilers" is a good example.As I said above it is an absolute truncated abomination of a print.Want an excellent,full print? Get Serges' Stan Laurel "Slapstick Emporium" release where it sits in all its' full(24 minutes) and crisp,glorious splendor for all to see.
In conclusion this DVD of "Lost Films",which were not lost(ANOTHER misleading statement) is a complete disappointment and an unmitigated failure on the part of the producer Mr.Agee.The liner notes give us false and misleading statements throughout leading the potential buyers of these products assuming they are getting one thing when they are actually getting something altogether different.Under close scrutiny they just do NOT hold up at all.
Let me be clear.As one of the Boys most devoted and biggest fans,there is nothing I'd rather do more than give them a ten star rating(if it was possible) for their great performances in these films;as they deserve nothing less.It is the visual aspect(as opposed to the performing aspect)of these releases that so degrade my appreciation that I can not in good conscience give this release any more than I have.Not only is it an insult,as I have already stated,to the product and the consumer it is the greatest insult to the memories of the greatest screen comedians there have ever been;Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.And in their name I will never accept such shoddy workmanship as the producers of this release,and others that have come before would have us do,as any where near "acceptable".....NEVER!The only releases acceptable and worthy of appreciation are the recent MGM and Fox films(see my reviews for those).
Avoid these releases altogether.The Laurel and Hardy product in North America AGAIN gets short shrifted.Will it never end?