More stars for Bob - less for this DVD release...
I find it harder and harder to accept that in an age of hi-def blu-ray and 3D television we still get older films released on DVD that do not present the entire image as filmed by the director. The pan-and-scan versions of Bob's widescreen films on this set are simply unacceptable. If proper elements were lacking after a thorough search of the (Paramount?) vaults and elsewhere then we should have been duly notified in the package. As it is I find this set no better than the old public domain versions that float around. I applaud Shout! for recognizing a market for Bob Hope films on DVD; I chastise them for not taking us seriously by giving us crappy versions. We're not all old codgers who don't know the difference between P&S and widescreen and don't know when they're being ripped off. I'll gladly pay more for the next set if that's what it takes for them to do it right.
The good, the bad, and the great Hope
Volume 2 is an even wider mix of Bob Hope comedies in one package. Most of these have been previously released; even less spectacular is the prints have been untouched ("The Great Lover" is still dark & scratchy, while "Paris Holiday" retains its splash-colored Technirama).
Why 4 stars instead of 5? Depending on what you like, this volume really shows the difference between Hope at the top of his game, and Hope when he should've called it quits years earlier.
"The Great Lover" (1949) is the earliest offering, showing Hope in fine wisecracking-cowardly-womanizing form as a scoutmaster leading his troupe through Europe (via luxury liner) while crossing paths with a charming murderer & lovely Rhonda Fleming (look for a hilarious cameo from Jack Benny). "Son of Paleface" (1952) is one of my personal faves. A zany sequel to the 1948 original, Hope plays the Harvard-educated "idiot son" of Painless Potter who returns west to inherit his Daddy's fortune while fending off town...
A Nice Collection
It was nice to get a quality release of these Bob Hope Movies but as mentioned before it is very disappointing that these were released in 4:3 instead of 16:9 even thou it mentions 16:9 on the DVD. Why most movie company's continue to think we of the older generation won't purchase the movies we grew up with is beyond me. I'm always searching for the movies from the 50's 60's and 70's that I love and its annoying watching the continued release of the modern crap that is put on disk before the quality from the past. For Bob Hope fans this is a good purchase even thou it's like your watching it as presented on TV in the 70's. It still enjoyable to have a good copy even thou it's not in the original release format.
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