[.ca] The Three Stooges: All the World's a Stooge (Full Screen) (ISBN 0767847571)

From Amazon.com:
If you want to hear "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk" in Spanish and Portuguese as well as in English, then the DVD format is for you. The Three Stooges: All the World's a Stooge gives a generous 124 minutes of seven Curly classics in a random order: "Grips, Grunts and Groans" (1937), "The World's a Stooge" (1941), "3 Dumb Clucks" (1937), "Three Little Pirates" (1946), "Uncivil War Birds" (1946), "Back to the Woods" (1937), and "Violent Is the Word for Curly" (1938). The shorts cover some familiar territory; "Grips, Grunts and Groans" is only the Stooges' 20th short in the Columbia series, and it is practically a rewrite of "Punch Drunks," the second. Here Curly is driven wild by a perfume rather than a song and is put into a wrestling ring rather than a boxing ring. Even the backscreen projection of the crowd is the same one used in the earlier film. "Three Little Pirates" contains the famous "Mahah, Ah Ha" routine from their vaudeville days. "Back to the Woods" is one of their relatively rare costume efforts. The highlight of "Violent Is the Word for Curly" is a pleasant little vaudeville song about the alphabet. In "Three Dumb Clucks," Curly gets to play a double role. The audio and video are generally good. The film of "Three Little Pirates" used for the transfer to DVD, however, shows a defect 10 minutes into the episode in the form of vertical lines flickering to the left of the picture, which some might find distracting. --Frank Behrens

Additional Features:
The 124-minute DVD contains these shorts: "Grips, Grunts and Groans" (1937) The Three Stooges face a potential bout with disaster when the wrestler they're supposed to watch over gets too drunk to fight. All the World's a Stooge (1941) A millionaire disguises the Three Stooges as children and brings them home to convince his wife not to adopt. "Three Dumb Clucks" (1937) "'Til death do us part" takes on new meaning as the Three Stooges try to prevent their father from marrying a gold-digging young floozy whose friends plan to kill him after the wedding. Three Little Pirates (1946) In order to walk the plank to freedom, the shipwrecked Stooges must escape from the governor of Dead Man's Island and survive Black Louie's Pirate Den. "Uncivil War Birds" (1946) As Civil War breaks out, the Three Stooges decide to join the army, but the battle lines are redrawn when Moe and Larry join the Union and Curly enlists with the Confederates. "Back to the Woods" (1937) The threat of the white man is nothing compared to what happens when the Indians come face to paleface with the Three Stooges. "Violent Is the Word for Curly" (1938) When gas station attendants Larry, Moe, and Curly put a little too much super in "super service," they hide out at Mildew College for Women, where they teach the student body how to swing.

Some Good Stuff:
This volume of classic Three Stooges comedies contains six shorts. While the quality of the shorts themselves are uneven, there are several Stooge masterpieces here. My two favorite shorts in this collection are "3 Dumb Clucks" and "Violent is the Word For Curly," which I think are two of the funniest Stooge comedies ever made (especially "3 Dumb Clucks"). I also enjoyed "Grips, Grunts and Groans" (with Curly posing as a wrestler) and "All the World's a Stooge" (where the Stoooges pose as children). There are two shorts in here from 1946 ("Three Little Pirates" and "Uncivil War Birds") in which Curly is lacking the manic energy that had made him so popular im the early films. "Back to the Woods" I just didn't like. However, even the bad shorts here have some great routines in them (the Maja Aha bit from "Three Little Pirates" is a classic) and the Stooges' screen personalities are always engaging. This DVD may look pretty scratchy, but this is the best condition you'll ever see these films in. Compared to so many public domain videotapes and TV broadcasts, the films look clear and sharp. The only real special feature is a small booklet of liner notes, although Stooge fans should find listening to the films in Portugese a good enough bonus.

Pretty good.:
This is a pretty good DVD. GRIPS, GRUNTS, AND GROANS and ALL THE WORLD'S A STOOGE are okay shorts, I guess. THREE DUMB CLUCKS is great. Curly does an interesting performance playing himself and the Stooges' father. Remade with Shemp as UP IN DAISY'S PENTHOUSE. THREE LITTLE PIRATES is a great short. Curly gives his last great performance with the Maha-Aha routine. UNCIVIL WARBIRDS is a pretty good short, with another one of Curly's last great performances. BACK TO THE WOODS was very weak and boring, however. Too slow and uninteresting. VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY is a great short. The "Swingin' the Alphabet" song is classic. This DVD is good enough to purchase. I'd buy it if I were you.

Poor quality on one episode:
The quality on "Three Little Pirates" is poor ... I have to wonder if this DVD has been repressed, based on what the other reviewers said. There are very obvious vertical scratches (often more than one simultaneously) on the print for most of the second half of this short. Is this the best that Columbia can come up with?

Excellent collection of Stooge shorts:
All the World's a Stooge is an excellent DVD that contains several classic shorts. The DVD contains seven shorts, several of which are true classics. "Grips, Grunts, and Groans" follows the Stooges as they must replace a drunken wrestler, and while funny, not a great short. "All the World's a Stooge" is about a husband who adopts the Stooges to convince his wife not to adopt other children. "Three Dumb Clucks" has the Stooges trying to break up the engagement of their father which contains some very funny shots of Curly in a double role. "Three Little Pirates" has the classic "maha, aha" routine but the condition of the film is pretty bad. "Uncivil War Birds" has Moe and Larry joining the Union and Curly joining the Confederacy which is my favorite short on the DVD. The Three Stooges have a great rendition of "Dixie" in the short that is truly funny. "Back to the Woods" has the Stooges as prisoners sent to the colonies to help fight the Indians containing several good routines. "Violent is the Word for Curly" contains the famous Alphabet Song as well as "Super Service. This is a very good DVD that looks very good with the exception of "Three Little Pirates." A must have for Three Stooges fans!

5 good shorts, 2 weak shorts:
This one a good DVD. "Grips, Grunts, And Groans" is in my top 5 favorite stooge shorts because it is fast-paced, manic, and Curly going crazy is hilarious! "All The World's A Stooge", "3 Dumb Clucks", "Three Little Pirates", and "Uncivil Warbirds" are great shorts too. "Back To The Woods" and "Violent Is The Word For Curly" are on the weak side. This is still a good DVD for any stooge fan. The quality on "Three Little Pirates" is not so good.