New Lost Films Box Set

[Enciclopedia]

I received the info in a personal email from Agee. I expect that he will let me know where he will put up the Paypal link.

Please, thank him for all the work he did!

Ency

[sambda]

Well, somewhat predictably, the site for the new box set that was going up in "a week or so" still hasn't materialised a month later.

So much for the special price for advance orders - the actual set is supposed to be out in two weeks' time! (Though I strongly suspect it won't be).

[Find Hats Off]

Well, somewhat predictably, the site for the new box set that was going up in "a week or so" still hasn't materialised a month later.

So much for the special price for advance orders - the actual set is supposed to be out in two weeks' time! (Though I strongly suspect it won't be).

It would be nice if he would rethink his original plan and come out instead with a DVD devoted to Laurel and Hardy exclusively. They deserve a proper box set release, and I don't think that Stan and Babe's films should used as a device to sell a load of other stuff that a lot of people wouldn't buy otherwise.

[Jeff]

Most of the extras seemed uninteresting to me as well. The one exception was the Hal Roach Studios Vitual Tour. According to Wikipedia, there were 55 buildings on the lot of fun. They also mention that Hal Roach appeared on the David Letterman show in 1982. Has anyone seen this interview?

[René Riva]

Most of the extras seemed uninteresting to me as well. The one exception was the Hal Roach Studios Vitual Tour. According to Wikipedia, there were 55 buildings on the lot of fun. They also mention that Hal Roach appeared on the David Letterman show in 1982. Has anyone seen this interview?

This appearance is metioned here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Roach

Don't know where to see it though. It isn't on youtube, unfortunately.

[bryanharwell]

I was just wondering. Who is this Michael Agee? And how come he's in charge of the Laurel & Hardy films? Does he work for a major corporation or does he work for himself? If the set is coming out on DVD-R's, are they an official release? Also, if the set is legit, why won't it be available on Amazon?

I know this is a lot of questions, but I'd like to know.

[Find Hats Off]

I was just wondering. Who is this Michael Agee? And how come he's in charge of the Laurel & Hardy films? Does he work for a major corporation or does he work for himself? If the set is coming out on DVD-R's, are they an official release? Also, if the set is legit, why won't it be available on Amazon?

I know this is a lot of questions, but I'd like to know.

Me, too. Those are good questions. The little I know is that he's been involved with film preservation, which is a good thing, and that there was some sort of court proceedings about his access to the Hal Roach films. Here's a link to the official Supreme Court decision:

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/el ... h-agee.pdf

Sorry, but I haven't read it all myself- I just skimmed through it sometime last year (or was it the year before?). The overall decision, if I understood it correctly, was that he did indeed have legal right to access to the silent films. Maybe someone here with a faster internet connection and more patience can read some more of this and tell us what it means.

[Mr. Hall]

Ok, as best as l can see, there's a thing
called the Sonny Bono Copyright Term
Extension Act (CTEA) that automatically
extentends copyrights for 20 years, in
some cases retroactively... this is what
Mr. Agee and the Roach Studios were
fighting... The CTEA is designed to keep
the films away from the public and
restorationalists in the name (ironically)
of film preservation... The Court decided
the CTEA is not within the rules of
copyright law, nor will it stand up to a
First Amendment review...

This reads as a legal brief as opposed
to a binding legal decision, but it seems
to open the door for the box set to be
completed and distributed...


As for Mr. Agee, he has been involved in
restoration for quite some time and is
fully capable and sympathetic to handle
the Boys. The only 'knock' l have (it's just
my perpective) is that he'll spend too much
time (and resources) tinkering and "making perfect"
... This box set was announced and ready some
time ago, but still the tinkering goes on... l enjoy
work done well, but l also believe you lose
focus and purpose when the tinkering is
open ended....

[Jeff]

I'm not well versed on any of the legalities or politics involved concerning this issue. But from what I understand, Mr. Agee has done some very good work finding and restoring many L&H films. Here are some examples. Please correct me, if any of this information is incorrect.

a) finding & releasing many of the original credit openings for L&H silent films.

b) rescuing Bacon Grabbers which was rapidly deteriorating. We might not have this film today if it were not for Mr. Agee's efforts.

c) finding the extended English language version of Pardon Us.

[bryanharwell]

Thanks for clearing that up. I was wondering what the deal was. Now, has he only got access to the silent shorts? I was wondering about that. If the feature films can be released through TCM, and the silent shorts through Michael Agee, then who owns the rights to the sound (talkie) shorts?

[Mr. Hall]

Now, has he only got access to the silent shorts? ... then who owns the rights to the sound (talkie) shorts?

Hal Roach Studios has the rights to the pre-1931
films, with Mr. Agee in charge of restoration...
Turner has the broadcast rights for the Roach
and MGM's afterwards... Fox owns theirs....
l'm not sure if the United Artist releases belong
to a seperate agreement....

[mrocker]

Mr. Agee talked about his film preservation efforts when we interviewed him in 1986.
You can hear that at the link below - when the page at RapidShare opens, click on the "Free" button on the bottom of the page, and wait until downloaded. Then make a choice in the download programs, type in the code for "No premium user" and click the download button.

http://rapidshare.com/files/80759249/_8 ... w.mp3.html

Mr. Agee gave a more detailed account in a talk that's available here:

http://laurelandhardyforum.com/forum/vi ... php?t=4632

[heer_bommel]

I received the info in a personal email from Agee. I expect that he will let me know where he will put up the Paypal link.

Have you heard back yet from mr. Agee about the Lost Films box set?

[moustachio]

I emailed him again, but he hasn't responded as of yet.

[sambda]

I have been digging about for news of the box set, and found the following at the HomeTheaterForum, dated 25/6/08:

I spoke with a member of SONS OF THE DESERT that knows Mr. Agee and it appears from his response that nothing is happening with this proposed set anytime soon. He did say he didn't recommend upfronting any money to Agee for pre-orders as Agee was wanting people to do. In fairness, Mr. Agee's health is poor which affects his ability to work on it.

However, I can't imagine Mr. Agee is the ONLY person interested in seeing this come out. Does he refuse all offers of assistance, does he want too much money from a distributor, or is his ego so big that he wants to control all this personally? Apparently his deal with Image fell throught due to money squabbles. Surely there are other people who have the necessary expertise and interest to enable this to come to retail as something other than a garage mail order business.

Mr. Agee seemingly makes virtually no effort to keep potential consumers updated as to the status of these projects (website down, doesn't post anywhere, etc.) which adds an air of suspicion to the whole project.

Further down, another post says:

The Agee Project should be considered dead at this point.. the set has been put on indefinate hiatus, so who the hell knows.