Rent The 4 Marx Brothers at Paramount: 1929-1933 (1933)

Synopsis:

The Marx Brothers - Chico, Groucho, Harpo and Zeppo - are one of the cornerstones of American comedy. Starting out in vaudeville, they conquered Broadway and the big screen in their own inimitable style, at once innovative, irreverent, anarchic, physical, musical, ludicrous and hilarious. With the advent of the 'talkies', the Brothers signed to Paramount Pictures and brought their stage act to cinema audiences. They made five films in five years, all of which are collected here: 'The Cocoanats' (1929), 'Animal Crackers' (1930), 'Monkey Business' (1931), 'Horse Feathers' (1932) and one of the greatest comedies of all time, 'Duck Soup' (1933). The Paramount era represents the Marx Brothers at their absolute finest, retaining all of the energy and controlled chaos of their stage shows. Plots are unimportant - it's the gags, set-pieces and one-liners that matter: "Why a duck?", "Hello, I Must Be Going", "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", "That's the bunk!", 'Horse Feathers', "Swordfish" scene and classic mirror sequence in 'Duck Soup'.

Actors:

Zeppo Marx, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Oscar Shaw, Mary Eaton, Cyril Ring, Kay Francis, Margaret Dumont, Basil Ruysdael, Gamby-Hale Ballet Girls, Allan K. Foster Girls, Sylvan Lee, Barton MacLane, Lillian Roth, Louis Sorin, Hal Thompson, Margaret Irving, Kathryn Reece, Robert Greig

Directors:

Robert Florey, Joseph Santley, Victor Heerman, Norman Z. McLeod, Leo McCarey

Producers:

Walter Wanger, Herman J. Mankiewicz

Voiced By:

Maurice Chevalier

Writers:

George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Pierre Collings, S.J. Perelman, Will B. Johnstone, Arthur Sheekman, Al Shean, J. Carver Pusey, Nat Perrin

Year:

1933

Genres:

Classic Comedies, Comedy Drama, Black Or Dark Comedies, Cult Comedies, Late Night Comedies, Screwball Comedy, Showbiz Comedies, Spoofs and Satire, Musicals

DVD details

BBFC:

Classification is to be confirmed by the British Board of Film Classification

Release Date:

Not released

Blu-ray details

BBFC:

Universal - suitable for all ages

Release Date:

26/06/2017

Run Time:

406 minutes

Aspect Ratio:

Full Screen 1.37:1

Format:

Pal

Colour:

B & W

Languages:

English

Subtitles:

English Hard of Hearing

Special features:

• Commentary on 'The Cocoanuts' by film scholar Anthony Slide
• Commentary on 'Animal Crackers' by film historian Jeffrey Vance
• Commentary on 'Monkey Business' by Marx Brothers historian Robert S. Bader and Bill Marx, son of Harpo Marx
• Commentary on 'Horse Feathers' by film critic FX Feeney
• Commentary on 'Duck Soup' by Bader and film critic Leonard Maltin
• The Marx Brothers: Hollywood's Kings of Chaos, a feature-length documentary containing interviews with Leonard Maltin, Dick Cavett and others
• Three excerpts from NBC's The Today Show featuring interviews with Harpo Marx, Groucho Marx and Bill Marx
• Sibling Revelry, an introduction to the Marx Brothers by critic David Cairns
• A new video essay about the films by David Cairns

Disc 1:

This disc includes the following:
- The Cocoanuts
- Animal Crackers
- Special Features

Disc 2:

This disc includes the following:
- Monkey Business
- Horse Fathers
- Special Features

Disc 3:

This disc includes the following:
- Duck Soup
- Special Features