Marx Brothers in a Nutshell

Buy This Item Marx Brothers in a Nutshell by Lions Gate/Vestron  Available from Amazon  $19.98  on 11-17-2008     Anyone who may not know the Marx Brothers but would like to would be advised to watch Marx Brothers in a Nutshell. It contains some classic scenes from their movies and great interviews. It shows you their still utterly unique comedy, why it took their early audiences by storm and why it still endures. Must see 'Marxism' . . . Reader Reviews The Marx Brothers In A Nutshell is a solid documentary about the greatest comedy team in history although it is not without one or two flaws. The film shows us the best of The Marx Brothers on the silver screen; and we get great interviews with family members but not with the brothers themselves. The quality of the footage is excellent and the sound is very good as well. The documentary covers quite a bit of ground in just 98 minutes. We get still photos of the young brothers when they were doing the vaudeville circuit and Broadway plays. The bulk of the motion picture archival footage comes from their films which they made at Paramount Studios and MGM Studios. We get good insight from directors who worked with them and the children of the Marx Brothers about what made each brother tick and how they created characters that were, in essence, extensions of what they were actually like when the cameras weren't rolling. I found the personality insights to be fascinating. We see Groucho who wasn't always quite so pleasant; Chico who was warm, friendly and very much able to pick up any girl he wanted; and Harpo who was relatively quiet and a great father even though he had children late in life. In addition, look for some great commentary by Woody Allen, Dick Cavett and others who actually worked with the comedy team all those years ago. There is also some very good coverage of the influence of their relatives upon the brothers when they were just breaking into show business. The documentary also tells us much about their excellent rapport with Irving Thalberg at MGM Studios; and we see the ups and downs of their careers. There is some footage of the brothers after the comedy team split up and they each went their separate ways; but it wasn't quite enough footage to satisfy me personally. The DVD has no extras; the 98 minute documentary is what you get. Therefore, if you like this you might want another Marx Brothers retrospective documentary to flesh out your understanding of these greatly talented men. Overall, I highly recommend The Marx Brothers In A Nutshell; my only complaint is that we get little, if any, interview footage directly with the brothers. If you like this DVD then you should strongly consider other Marx Brothers documentaries.

Marx Brothers in a Nutshell Available from Amazon Price: $19.98 Updated on 11-17-2008.

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