DVD Release!


Huzzah! It's finally going to be let loose on Region 2 DVD on 5th Feb. I haven't seen this in an age....NOW can they please see about Here Comes Mr Jordan...?

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Yes, that's grand for those in the UK, but when do us Americans at home get our Region 1 DVD release of Olsen & Johnson's classics from Universal Pictures? I live just a few miles from Universal Studios in Hollywood and yet can't get them to give me any information.

Dejael

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If you go on to ebay.com you can find a couple sellers with copies! Region Free! So us Americans can enjoy this movie now! $10 + free shipping from seller wilberforce1

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Thanks! I'll check it out! Wanna buy a duck? He's no fun, he fell right over!

Dejael

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Any news about DVDs of Olsen & Johnson's other Universal films on DVD?
CRAZY HOUSE (1943), GHOST CATCHERS (1944), & SEE MY LAWYER (1945) ???

Dejael

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[deleted]

It's just been released in France (PAL VERSION).

http://www.amazon.fr/Hellzapoppin-Chic-Johnson/dp/B000VIFM8G/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/402-6433513-7155343?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1192000769&sr=8-1

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How 'bout that:

http://www.amazon.com/Hellzapoppin-Chic-Johnson/dp/B000OV7OVS/


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It's a DVD-R

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It certainly is a DVD-R bootleg. The credited maker of the product, Nostalgia Home Video, simply released a DVD-R version of the same VHS videotape version of this movie that they have been selling for years through outlets like Movies Unlimited.
It's a nice looking product, but it's still a bootleg. I don't see how they can get away with selling this while Universal still owns the rights to it. Perhaps they licensed it, as the British DVD version did, but I don't think so.

I really like their cover art, taken from the original 1941 movie poster.

Dejael

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You can buy "Hellzapoppin" and a few other Olsen & Johnson comedies on moviesumlimited.com. Has anyone dealt with them? I'm curious what the quality of the DVD will be like. I ordered the DVD off the site but haven't received it yet.

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Please see my message just prior to yours. The DVD and VHS videos of HELLZAPOPPIN' (Universal,1941) sold by Movies Unlimited are the Nostalgia Home Video bootleg releases. There has, as of 2009, never, ever been any authentic Universal video releases of this film in America Region 1. It has only been released by Universal in the UK Region 2 PAL format.

This is so unfortunate since now Universal has released ALL of Abbott & Costello's films made by the studio on video and DVD.

Let's hope Universal will soon release all four of the Olsen & Johnson films made at the studio in a nice box set. That would be wonderful!

Chic Johnson says, "How much do you charge to haunt a house?"
Harry Selby replies, "How many rooms?"

Dejael

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I'm so sorry. I didn't even bother to read other posts and just posted mine. Now I feel like a fool. I spent $20 on a poorly made copy. I thought I stumbled upon something good.

Since you seem to know more about this than me, I noticed on moviesunlimited another Olsen & Johnson comedy called "Crazy House", but I don't see it in imdb's listing. Did this go by another name? I was thinking "See My Lawyer".

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Hi,

Yes there is a listing on the Imdb of CRAZY HOUSE (1943). Check it out! I rate this film right up there with HELLZAPOPPIN'(1941). They are both great comedies.
I love the way O&J also poked fun at Abbott & Costello. They had some good gags
about them here and there, when someone would mistake them for A&C.

O&J made four films at Universal Pictures, and a few more at other studios prior to that. GHOST CATCHERS (1944) and SEE MY LAWYER (1945) are not yet available on DVD from any source other than a DVD-R from a film collector's 16mm print.

The Movies Unlimited - Nostalgia Home Video versions of these films aren't bad, and are the best we will see these films until Universal releases all 4 of them sometime in the future.

Dejael

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Just watched the UK DVD release last night. They haven't cleaned it up much (if at all) - lots of vertical lines in some shots - but overall it's very watchable.
No extras, but then again who cares?
That's the first time I've seen this film since it used to be on TV in the 70s. Not as laugh-out-loud funny as I remember from childhood (well, talking animals always seemed funnier as a kid!), but still well worth it. Strangely, the songs seem to be better than I remember. The water ballet sequence seemed a little half-hearted, but the big Lindy Hop / Jitterbug dance number is sensational.
Many of the gags resurfaced in the Airplane! films 40 years later. Although an Olsen/Johnson vehicle, Martha Raye seems to hog most of the screentime (not that I mind, her performance is excellent!).
Very nostalgic!

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