The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection

Product Description ------------------- The hunt for those seemingly countless Little Rascals releases is over. For the first time ever, all 80 of Hal Roach's original 1929-1938 classic shorts featuring Buckwheat, Spanky, Alphalpha, and the rest of Our Gang-from the era before Roach sold the rights to MGM-are available here in one package. Included among this complete collection of uncut, remastered, and restored episodes are numerous contributions of various types from noted film historians, an additional 10 silent shorts from Hal Roach's personal library, several documentaries including a look at racism as it pertains to the show, a special where are they now update featuring some of the surviving cast members, and much more.... .com ---- Children, with their fusion of innocence and mischief, can be natural comedians, and The Little Rascals plunders youthful exuberance for all it's worth. This series of short films (a.k.a. Our Gang) is most famous for a handful of glorious imps: Spanky, the scheming ringleader; Alfalfa, the softhearted second-in-command; and Buckwheat, with his skeptical sideways looks and big smiles. But over the years there were dozens of Rascals, and The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection features just about all of them, spanning 80 talkie shorts (with three silent shorts included in the extra features). Historians and nostalgists speak fondly about how natural the kids were, but that's nonsense--the kids that stand out are the ones who act like little adults, such as when Jackie and Chubby compete for their pretty schoolteacher's affections, or when Spanky and Alfalfa conduct the He-Man Woman Haters Club like middle-aged Shriners, or when the kids all put on a show (the Our Gang Follies in 1936 and 1938 are pretty impressive theatrical spectacles). The earlier years were rougher in structure and more improvisational, but as the series went along it became more scripted and shaped. Contemporary audiences are likely to prefer these later productions. The Little Rascals can also righteously cl to be a racial groundbreaker, with its depiction of African-American and white kids playing together, with black kids--particularly Matthew "Stymie" Beard--frequently taking the lead in the shenanigans. Nonetheless, viewers should be prepared for stereotypes, all common to the era and without any real malice, but hardly pleasant. This painful element gets addressed in several of the bonus features; in one of four interviews with surviving Rascals, Dickie Moore reflects acutely on the racism of the time and tells some powerful anecdotes. All of these interviews are fascinating and among the best reasons for any fan of The Little Rascals to own this set--though this incredible abundance of Little Rascals material seems pretty must-have for anyone with fond memories of watching these kids, either on TV or the big screen. --Bret Fetzer

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