Our pal Bruce Westbrook has a review…
Over at DVDVerdict, Judge Erich Asperschlager calls it “tons of fun”…
Kevin Pytle at wtf-film.com calls the set’s arrival “one of the more phenomenal home video developments of the year.”
Noel Murray of The AV Club says “These Gamera shows hold up.”
“They find a way to keep the laughs coming” says an unsigned Popculturereport.info review.
“This is a stellar set” says James McCormick at Criterioncast.com.
John Sinnot at DVD Talk says “These episodes are some of the best TV ever.”
An unsigned review at geeksofdoom.com says this set “emerges as the best collection of the show Shout! has issued to date.”
Rod Lott at the Oklahoma Gazette calls it “another great set from Shout! Factory.”
R.L. Shaffer at dvd.ign.com says the set is “well worth a spin.”
An unsigned review at Schlockmania.com calls it: “a winner for MST3K fanatics and kaiju eiga enthusiasts alike.’
The set came in as number 6 on Entertainment Weekly’s “must list.”
Andrea Speed at cxpulp.com (?) calls it “a stellar set.”
New: Nick Lyons at DVDCorner calls it “a fantastic DVD set that is a must own.”
I will update this post with more reviews as they come in.
Oh, and while we’re on the subject of reviews, Nick Lyons at DVD Corner has a review of the “Hamlet” re-release–and he likes it!
Also new: In addition, Nick Lyons has reviewed “Shorts To-Go” and “Old Tyme Shorts Roundup.”
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I would have my review up if the website folks that I write for werent at Comic Con :(
Now when does Volume XXII come out?
Hamlet could get the best review out of all the MST movies and I still would’nt buy it. That was crap.
On an unrelated note, the rifftrax Reefer Madness blu-ray has been delayed another month. What’s up with that?
“No extras on this disc.”
That sure is tempting! Snap it up now. It’ll be a poor seller and a perverse collector’s item later.
I can’t wait…I need to do a Gamera five episode marathon!
I did my marathon last weekened…great DVD set…:D
I just watched all my recorded off cable Gameras a few months ago. Damnit! I’m on season 5 now. But I’m going to have a ball with those extras. I love Killer Klowns. Can’t wait to see what that is all about.
I was watching Secret Agent Super Dragon last night and could not stay awake. I couldn’t imagine a worse episode. Hamlet MUST be better.
oh no Radioman970, you just must have been tired. Give Secret Agent Super Dragon another, fully awake go!
Secret Agent!
*doot doot doo doo*
Super Dragon!
I watched HAMLET ’bout a year ago for the first since 2003. I was in a good mood and fully awake. I did like it better than any previous viewings. Maybe after some time it grows on ya? :silly:
I too have stayed away from my Season 3 GAMERA’s since the box set news dropped last Thanksgiving. I’m so looking forward to Aug. 2!
# 8 – The Chiodo Brothers just talk about monsters, monster suits , various movies, the good, the bad and the obscure and Gamera has a little something to do with it :)
Youll like it Im sure
Grow up, Hamlet haters.
Bill Gibron from DVDTalk raved about the “MST3K: Hamlet” release last month (didn’t see it mentioned here): http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/50898/mystery-science-theater-3000-hamlet-1961/.
Hamlet is a bad episode. Changing the subject to the big, meanie “haters” isn’t going to make it any better.
Reminds me of the Onion article “Comic Book Fans Hate Comic Books.” The more you obsess over something you love, the more you bitch about it when it’s not perfect. Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean it’s bad or crap. I don’t call the Godfather a bad movie even though I don’t enjoy it at all.
I just wish it wasnt so difficult to get Mike involved in these productions. It feels weird without his input…to me anyway.
It’s oddly comforting to see I’m not the only weirdo who runs his own mst3k/rifftrax/filmcrew/cinematic titanic marathons on weekends.
Manny: Weekends? I run marathons every day!
loran1958@hotmail.com
@9 “chuck” I didn’t admit before, but I was very very tired. Some episodes it don’t matter, they’re like a few slaps in the face with all those funnies. Super Dragon just mixed in like a decaf cup of hot tea. :( And I always mix Super Dragon on up with Double 007. So there was some disappointment there too when I realized my booboo. I hate to pull it out again. Magic voyage of Sinbad is next on my view list and it’s a most fav.
@11 “dsman71” Oh… :( I guess I was hoping for some special effects laden tribute to the big turtle. But still.. them talking about inspirations will still be great. …slightly OT, I was wondering why Joel, Mike, etc have never done a commentary for one of their episodes. The Gamera set would have been a perfect opp for that.
Hey guys! Great review! Happy to see everyone is enjoying the GAMERA set, so far. Here’s a link to some freeze frames of the GAMERA VS. THE CHIODO BROTHERS featurette I produced/directed for the set. There’s also more information on the upcoming JAM HANDY documentary short, as well as a hint of what’s to come. Follow BALLYHOO on facebook to stay up-to-date on the latest productions! Enjoy!
LINK: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.185093164877369.52011.165125776874108&type=1
^ OT: “Making of Stanley” That’s one I remember from way back on Shock Theater (that played in GA) back in the late 70s and early 80s. The snakes. I have it on a multi-movie PD set now but have yet to watch it after all these years. A shame the BCI edition is out of print. I don’t have $200 for a copy. hee! Can you watch your feature somewhere?
So, does Best Buy typically carry new MST3K releases these days? I haven’t purchased one in store since the 20th Anniversary. But, I’m thinking about getting XXI in store. Their website has it listed at $40.99, same as Amazon. If I can actually walk in and buy, I would prefer that over Amazon, any day.
Thoughts?
Hey RADIOMAN970! I just made a deal with CODE RED to re-release the BCI edition… so, save your $200 bucks! It should street in October.
Regarding Hamlet, DVDTalk has a “Highly Recommended” review, too…
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/50898/mystery-science-theater-3000-hamlet-1961/
Ever see the new (80s) Twilight Zone episode where James Coco plays a failed playwright who wishes to be partner to the greatest playwright ever — and finds himself working for Shakespeare before he wrote all his plays. Coco suddenly realizes that he will never get credit for coming up with Shakespeare’s plays.
And Shakespeare keeps referring to HamNET in the episode.
In case you were wondering how the German monstrosity got made…
:-)
#22.. yes best buy’s had every vol. since twenty. I always check. they may not keep them in stock but they do shelve them upon release
Sharktopus I’m with you … Yeah Hamlet is not the best show but it has merit. Every show has merit and personally I would never trash the show. I rather watched Hamlet than a lot of real crap on tv today.
@12, 14 – Just watched it again (for lack of any other unwatched discoveries on Instant Netflix), and yeah, it was a mistake.
Admit it, we all thought “the German Hamlet” would be good for a snicker, until the dubbers cheated and used the real Shakespeare, which took the joke out of it. Spoilsports.
So, M&tB had to rescue the episode by being “Mike & the Locker-Room Boys vs. Shakespeare” (“Huh, yeah, great play, Shakespeare.” “Shuddup, Claudi- ass!”), and frankly…M&tB Vs. Intellectualism isn’t exactly bringing anything new to the table. Particularly as we’ve already had five seasons of it by this point.
(And the odd herring joke, of course, ’cause they’re Danish, you see…Can’t keep a good Season 9 “Foreigners eat funny food” trope down, even AFTER cancellation!)
So, back to the Shout topic, what’s all this TVShowsonDVD fuss about Box XXII, then, Sampo? What dark secrets have you been hiding from us, anyway?
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Serious Business.
Can’t wait for this boxset to come out. At long last, we’ll get to see Gamera being made fun of on DVD. ;P
I haven’t seen Hamlet in a long time so I can’t say, but The Unearthly always manages to make me nod off, and I’m not sure why ’cause it’s a good episode. Something about the pace/aesthetic of the movie itself does it to me, even when I’m wide awake when I start watching.
Also, I agree, give Secret Agent Super Dragon another chance!
Secret Agent Super Rude, if you ask me
The A.V. Club has posted a review as well: http://www.avclub.com/articles/mst3k-vs-gamera,59531/
I dunno if I’d call Gamera Vs Guiron a Top Ten episode, but it’s easily my favorite Gamera experiment.
Amazon still hasn’t shipped my copy, and when I did a brief check of big box stores yesterday (Best Buy, Barnes & Noble), I couldn’t find it. Guess I should have ordered from Shout?
They haven’t shipped it because it won’t officially be “released” until August 2. Patience!
@15 HE JUST SAID THE GODFATHER IS A TERRIBLE MOOBIE OMFG?!?!
Seriously though, can’t wait for Gamera.
Unrelated: I bought Rhino Vol 9 in a thrift store yesterday for $6/bragging.
>>They haven’t shipped it because it won’t officially be “released” until August 2. Patience!
Oh, God, you’re right. I’m an idiot. Never mind. :)
Patience is hard to have when it comes to this particular set….
The Godfather is cinematic history. I have to agree, the person that dislikes it is an idiot.
@23 “Daniel Griffith” I’m putting together my list of October considerations. I’ll sure add Stanley to that list. good news. I might wait until next year though so I can watch the PD version and see if I still like it. Me and my friends loved it in about 1981/2/3 or something. heh! And thanks for mentioning Code Red!! Reminds me I MUST pick up their release of Messiah of Evil in time for October viewing. I’m wondering if the clean up will take something away from the crazy look of my PD version. It looks like the post office delivered it to hell accidentally and Satan stamped it with “Return to Sender” before it got here. heh! The color is just crazy.
@30 “RupanIII” I’ve just been a humorless jerk lately. I’ll probably go back and give Secret Agent another spin.
Anyone else taking off next Tuesday to celebrate Gamera? If my boxset fails to show up, I’ll cry.
In regards to the Hamlet episode, it’s a hard one for me to get through. However, the host segments are great. Alas Poor Who? has got to be the greatest idea for a game show ever.
I wish I didn’t have to be so cranky all the time, but 5 of the most iconic episodes in MST3K history are about to be released, eps that no one thought we’d ever see commercially, and 3/4 of the discussion here is about Hamlet?!?!?
I truly must have slipped into some kind of alternate reality.
(Waiting with bated breath for my Gamera discs to come…)
Just remember this: If someone is saying something is “bad” or “crap”, or even “good” or “stupendously incredibly kookified and groovy”, for example, we should all assume, that, for the purposes of brevity or laziness, they are leaving out “I think this is…”. So, someone can think Hamlet is “crap” and, to them, it is crap.
If you do as I suggest, then you won’t be so offended when someone doesn’t like what you like. These are just personal opinions, not statements of world-wide fact that are etched in stone or written on parchment to be under glass in the museum to be honored and followed as law or truth.
Let’s try this sample exercise. Ralph says “Hamlet is not very good.” What does Ralph mean? A)Hamlet is not very good, in Ralph’s opinion; B) Hamlet is not very good and we all have to accept that as law; C)Hamlet is not very good to a cross-section of Italian men between the ages of 24 and 32; D)None of the above; E)Who cares what Ralph means.
Play along at home. Thank you… won’t you?
#22 I’ve bought the last 4 or five at Best Buy.
Despite Ralph’s learning disability regarding rating episodes, he makes a very good point about expressing personal preferences. Good on you for excelling past your handicap, Ralph. ;^)
I have no problem with people not liking a particular episode by the way. I don’t particularly enjoy some “fan favorites” myself – most of these Gamera eps, for instance. People are allowed to have opinions. It just bugs me – IT REALLY BUGS ME MAN – when people act so entitled that their favorite entertainer did something they didn’t enjoy. Dylan went electric, Lucas made the prequels MST3K did Hamlet, get over it.
I also hate it when people go on and on and on and drive their argument into the ground, so I’ll just shut up now.
Got mine today! Thanks Shout! Factory
Can anyone verify the Shout!Factory volume XXII release date of 12/6/2011????? It is listed in their 2011 catalog but cannot verify from their website or newsletters….
Just as a heads up if you were cheap like me and chose the Super Saver shipping, your Gamera set hasn’t shipped yet but I was assured by Amazon customer service last night that I would still get it in their promised time frame. I guess I thought it would still ship on the 2nd, but just ship slowly. Doh.
@Hellokittee: I canceled my preorder yesterday because it still hadn’t shipped. Bestbuy has the set for the price of $40.99 on their website. It’s listed as more expensive in store, but I just made them price match.
Best Buy loves to do that, I think everything in their store is more expensive than the website price. You would think they want to encourage people to shop in their store…
@Chuck- I am tempted to cancel, its kind of pissing me off that it hasn’t shipped, its like they are punishing me for choosing THEIR free shipping offer! If you have it, just ship it for cryin’ out loud! I guess I could just try to be more patient, but its GAMERA! :)
i got mine from best buy today got it home and the tin wont stay closed makes me a little sad anyone else get one like mine