The Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The Opera/A Day at The Races/A Night in Casablanca/Room Service/At the Circus/Go West/The Big Store)
starring: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones
directed by: Edmund Goulding, Sam Wood, William A. Seiter
directed by: Edmund Goulding, Sam Wood, William A. Seiter
List Price: $59.98
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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 9780790793498
Format: Box set, Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
ISBN: 0790793490
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 5
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: May 04, 2004
Running Time: 613 minutes
Sales Rank: 789
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: November 15, 1935
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Editorial Review:
Description:
This set includes seven of only thirteen Marx Brothers films ever made! Collection includes: 'A Night at the Opera' (1935) - The Marx Brothers turn Mrs. Claypool's opera into chaos in their efforts to help two young hopefuls get a break. It contains the famous scene where Groucho, Chico and Harpo cram a ship's stateroom with wall-to-wall people, gags, one-liners, musical riffs and two hard-boiled eggs. 'A Day at the Races' (1937) - Groucho stars as Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a horse veterinarian dispensing horse pills and quips with equal glee. Chico selling racing tips, Harpo destroying a piano to turn it into a harp and favorite foil actress Margaret Dumont make this thoroughbred comedy wall-to-wall hilarity. 'A Night in Casablanca' (1946) - This parody of the Bogart/Bergman 1943 classic features the Nazis vs. the 'nutsies' as the Marx Brothers foil Axis criminals when they find stolen jewels and paintings Nazis have hidden in a hotel. 'Room Service'/'At the Circus' - These two films are combined on one disc to provide double doses of laughter. In 'Room Service' (1938), Lucille Ball and Ann Miller provide comic co-star support while the Marx Brothers play producers trying to keep their show above water and a hotel room over their head. In 'At the Circus' (1939) Groucho stars as professional shyster lawyer J. Cheever Loophole in the middle of big-top bedlam as the boys try to save the circus and look to Margaret Dumont for the money to do so. Groucho sings one of his famous songs, 'Lydia the Tattooed Lady.' 'Go West'/'The Big Store' - Another Marx Brothers twin bill makes this a hilarious comedy 'two-fer.' In the first, the Marxmen 'Go West' (1940) to the land of outlaws and Indians where the fun never stops and where they outwit a land grabber. In 'The Big Store' (1941), Groucho plays Attorney Wolf J. Flywheel who with sidekick Wacky (Harpo) and bodyguard Ravelli (Chico) are investigating the shady dealings of a crooked department store owner. Bonus extras include commentary by Leonard Maltin.
Amazon.com essential video:
When it comes to long-awaited treats like The Marx Brothers Collection, you can never get too much of a good thing. These seven comedies can't compare to the sheer lunacy of the five classics (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup) that the Marx Bros. made for Paramount between 1929 and 1933 (available in The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection), but when uber-producer Irving Thalberg signed Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to an MGM contract in 1935 (by which time sibling costar Zeppo had become the team's off-screen manager), he knew just how to cure their box-office blues. As a result, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races were critical and commercial hits, lavishly produced according to the 'Tiffany' studio's golden-age formula of glamorous set pieces and musical numbers combined with sensible plots that smoothly integrated snappy, well-written Marxian antics. Opera is the jewel of this set, with timeless scenes (the Stateroom, the Groucho-Chico contract negotiation, etc.) that rank among the greatest bits of silver-screen comedy... not to mention Groucho's flirtatious insults at Margaret Dumont's upper-crust expense.
A Day at the Races deserves near-equal acclaim ('Get-a your tootsie-fruitsie ice cream!'), but Thalberg's death in 1937 dealt a devastating blow, and the Marxes suffered from studio indifference, resulting in a succession of comedies that are timelessly enjoyable even as they fall prey to diminishing returns. By the time they made Go West and The Big Store, the Marxes were out of their element, and a few of the musical interludes indulge racial stereotypes that were common in the studio era. Despite this, these movies remain fresh and frantic, and Warner Bros. (holder of the RKO and MGM libraries) has done a marvelous job of packaging The Marx Brothers Collection to nostalgically approximate the filmgoing experience of the 1930s and '40s, with vintage shorts (Our Gang, Robert Benchley comedies, MGM cartoons, etc.) from the time of each feature's original release. Archival materials are slim but worthwhile (especially Groucho's 1961 interview with TV talk-show host Hy Gardner), and while Glenn Mitchell's commentary on Races is sparse and superficial, Leonard Maltin brings his usual superfan's enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge to bear on a full-length Opera commentary track. The new documentaries are somewhat redundant, but essential viewing for Marx Bros. neophytes. With all seven films presented in pristine condition, this is definitely a Marx Brothers Collection worth having. --Jeff Shannon
Average Rating: 
Rating:
- Marx Brothers CollectionThis is a great collection of the Marx Brothers movies. I bought this collection because it contained ... Read More
Rating:
- A very funny time waching these moviesKick off your shoes and plan to stay awhile for a laughen good time. you won't be disappointed as ... Read More
Rating:
- Good entertainmentI found the collection an enjoyable alternative to most TV shows today. The video quality of some of the ... Read More
Rating:
- Marx Brothers collection(7 movies)This is a great collection for any Marx Brothers fan. Some of their best are included here, including "A night ... Read More
Rating:
- The funniestOur family loves the Marx Brothers. These are not the best known movies, but they still have that MB flair for ... Read More
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