W.C. Fields Six Short Films (Criterion)
Picture: C Sound: C Extras: D Film: B
When
watching W.C. Fields it is hard not to think of some of the comedians today
that have imitated his style. These
films are absolutely classic in every way and should not be forgotten. Along with the other masters of the day such
as Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields managed to
have a more serious side, but still have laughter. Although his character at times may have been so intimidating
that he only chose to do short films with that character because audiences
might begin to hate him if the films were full length. The six short films include: Pool Sharks,
The Golf Specialist, The Pharmacist, Fatal Glass of Beer, The
Barber Shop, and the infamous The Dentist.
These
6 short films start with his early 1915 silent film Pool Sharks, which
is obviously the film that shows the most age.
Although Criterion did a fine job of brightening up the picture and
restoring some of the damage, there are still many marks, but nothing to
completely take away from the experience.
All of the short films are presented in their original full-frame aspect
ration and were created from either composite prints or duplicate
negatives. All show their age. These
same 6 films are also available for about $8 on DVD from Madacy, but there is
no comparison as far as quality is concerned.
Not only is this version much cleaner, brighter, and better sounding,
but the framing is also correct. Madacy
ignored the fact that the 6 films were off-centered and therefore many of the
scenes look crooked and the credits cut off many of the
names…unacceptable!
So
there is no sense even going on about how horrible the other DVD is, when this
version is superior in every way. This
version really cleaned up the muffled sound that was apparent in the film, and
sounds good, despite using Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono. Fields often had a really muffled voice to begin with and
technology back then was not what it is today.
Therefore the sound can often be subdued and faint, but Criterion was
able to mix the films so that there is a consistent sound level that allows for
a less distracting viewing. Fields does
not sound like he is talking through a paper bag now!
Overall,
this set is recommended you are a fan of Fields, or you can appreciate smart
comedy and rather raunchy comedy for the time. It is great to see these films in restored versions and although
they do not look perfect they clearly look about as good as they will probably
get.
- Nate Goss
