George Formby Collection (No Limit/Let George Do It/Turned Out Nice Again/I See Ice/Spare a Copper/It's in the Air/Come on George)[DVD]

Excellent DVD box set

Be assured that the faults detailed by other contributors concerning one film being out of sync and another cutting off before the end HAVE been corrected. In fact they were corrected within a few days of the initial release of this set. We also have a pretty good print of 'No Limit', but alas the others do leave quite a bit to be desired.I've longed for immaculate prints of these films to appear on DVD and was bitterly disappointed with much of what I found in this set. Scratches, blotches, pulsations, etc. are to be expected in pirated editions, but not in an official set from the likes of Optimum/CanalPlus, though I see that other DVD releases of vintage films on this label have come up for similar criticism.I still believe its better to have these commercial issues than none at all, but these prints are largely terribly disappointing. That said, at this price they will still serve well as a great introduction to these films for many less discerning viewers (particularly, and hopefully, the kiddies) at a time when George's films get little TV coverage any more, and I can only hope more Formby DVDs will follow. There are another four George Formby Ealing films which Optimum could bring out, as well as seven Columbia films, some of which nearly came out on another label but sadly the label folded just months before these were released.Of the films in this set, only 'No Limit' has been given an individual release, apparently to tie in with the TT centenary. Could it be that because of the individual release better attention was given to the remastering and restoration or is it just a coincidence that this happens to be the best print. If it's a coincidence then fair enough, but if not then shame on the label for a) not tracking down better prints (we know better prints are out there) and for b) not putting more effort into the restoration of the others. To tempt some buyers into buying the full set based on a nice print of the one film available to buy separately would be a little underhand.These technicalities aside, the content of these films is a joy. For this reason I'm giving this set FIVE stars - these stars are for George, his songs, his uke-playing, his co-stars and his production team and NOT for Optimum who may deserve five stars for 'No Limit' but who deserve none for the quality of the others.ADDENDUM. Now, two years on (writing in Jan 2010), I'm delighted by the progress that the remaining Formby films have made on DVD...ALL of the seven Columbia films are now available on DVD from Sony, but unfortunately only really as direct mail orders from MovieMail, though these are appearing on Amazon from private sellers.The initial single price of around 12 pounds per film was a little steep, though they have now just become available all boxed up (just the seven separate issues housed in a card slipcase and not a slimline box, so very bulky) for less than 40 pounds which is far more reasonable and more than halves the price.Five of the prints are excellent, one is OK and one is OK but a bit scratchy, but these are still better than the worst of the Optimum box set - meaning that even if there are some scratches at least they are clear and the prints are not muddy. One of these films in particular has never, ever been seen in a decent copy even on TV and is to be treasured. To think this print has been lying in the archive for all these years...I think only one of George's early Mancunian films was available on DVD when I wrote my original review and I didn't comment on it, but now the second is also available.And of the four ATP/Ealing films that were omitted from the boxset, two have now been issued singly in Optimum's "Ealing" series and the prints are pretty good, while a third is due for release later in the year, but alas, there is no sign yet of a release of the last needed to complete the Formby film canon and that is "Feather Your Nest". This has always had problems, I'm led to believe with clearances, and yet at one time these problems were held jointly for this film and "Keep Your Seats Please" and they were overcome for this so it's a mystery why FYN remains problematic, especially when the BFI hold a copy.So, that's nineteen down and just one to go. This is pretty fantastic given that only a few years ago no one would have believed that the independently made Mancunian films would ever see the light of day, badgering of the licensees of the Ealing films for DVD releases brought very negative responses and it had always been believed that Columbia were creating their own difficulties to prevent their seven films from even being seen let alone released.Incidentally, some sources say that there are 22 Formby films, but the count is really 20. Those listing 22 are probably counting the "Formby Cavalcade" film which is merely a compilation from his two Mancunian films, so not actually another film he made, and "By the Shortest of Heads", a silent film made when he was a boy, which, even if it still existed could not be counted as being "a George Formby film" as we know them, but merely as a film that a lad who was to become George Formby appeared in. Mind you, if this film ever reappeared I'd be first in the queue to get a copy...

My mum loves it

I was put off on buying this set for a while, since I had read that the films had consistent technical problems. Finally I bought it and I can say that they seem perfectly fine to me. They are all complete, and there are no problems with the soundtracks. These being fairly early films, each of them has a certain amount of post-synchronization, but that is not the same thing as the entire soundtrack being 'out of sync', which I gather was a problem with some of the films in the early editions of this set.As for as the quality of the films goes, they seem fine to me -- they are in various stages of clarity, but are certainly watchable, and the soundtracks all seem perfectly clear and without problems. Of course I am not a specialist, and the quality of the prints is a matter of taste. I also don't mind that there are no extras -- it used to be that people were happy watching movies without extras or commentaries. It would be nice if they were there, but it doesn't really matter that they are not.For twice the price I think that this set would be wonderful, and I am very happy to have so many great George Formby films to hand.

In trying to put together (as far as I could) a complete collection of Ealing Films - I reluctantly felt obliged to buy this set.Until recently, Formby had, to me, been nothing more than a cliche of everything that was about bad British films of the 30's/40s. I say a cliche, because I had nothing more to go on than heresy and the accounts of Michael Balcon's dislike - and eventual dismissal - of Formby to go on.How wrong could I be?The films - all made for ATP (Associated Talking Pictures, which later became better known as 'Ealing Studios') from 1935 onwards are all a wonderfully scripted, produced and acted.None of these films are 'musicals' in the true sense of the word - but each contain around five or so Formby songs which naturally mould themselves to the plot.Formby seems a natural working class actor who responds wonderfully to the situations he is confronted with: from situations such as a T T champion, a (reluctant) prize jockey and a hapless WWII spy.The set is by no means a complete collection of Formby's ATP/Ealing output (most of the others are available as single disks). After leaving Ealing (under a Balconesque cloud) Formby joined Columbia Studios - here he made seven further films which are available in an equally wonderful DVD set.Highly recommended.

I'm sure this film collection will appear very dated and George Formby's voice with his ukulele is not for everyone but this collection was simply bought for the film 'Come on George!'. This film contains Dirk Bogarde's screen acting debut, though it is uncredited. My wife will be pleased as she has almost all his other films.

First watched good old George when I was about 8, 44 years ago and last watched him when my son was about 7-8 and he’s 24 now!Still as funny as ever, some would say the humours dated, but you know what, I don’t care!I still enjoyed it and laughed like a drain at times, good old days and good old George.

I just love watching George formby he makes me laugh just really enjoy his films great