Columbia itself has started to release their Three Stooges shorts on DVD in collections of six or seven titles per disc so far. To date, three such collections have appeared and a fourth has been announced for a mid-November release. All three of these collections are recommended. The source material for the shorts does not appear to have been cleaned up at all, so appreciable wear is visible throughout, but the material is generally quite viewable with reasonable contrast and good white and black definition. The second collection is if anything slightly weaker than the first and third with some degree of softness showing up on several of the shorts.
Sound is acceptable on all.
This will actually be Columbia's third Stooges release this year, which bodes well for the future. Judging from the first three, this one should be on your pre-order list too. After it, only 161 more shorts to go. The views expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or the majority of our contributors.