Charlie Chaplin - 2 DVD COLLECTOR'S EMBOSSED TIN SET!

NICE TIN, but...
I found the previous reviews of this item lacking, to say the least, so hopefully this one will help any potential buyers out there.

If you're a collector, as I am, you will be pleased with the embossed tin that this 2-DVD set comes in. It is made of good quality metal and will be a nice addition to your DVD collection.

Inside the tin are 2 DVDs in regular-size keep cases that are housed in a cardboard slip case that matches the design of the tin.

Disc one contains "Shoulder Arms" (45 mins), "The Champion" (20 mins) and "The Kid" (60 mins). Video quality is actually very decent, although I'm sure no remastering was done. As for the audio... well, it sounds like someone put an old vinyl album of ragtime piano on a turntable and let it play along as the videos were being transferred. The music is not bad at all (Scott Joplin maybe? I'm not sure.), but it is complete with the pops and scratches inherent to vinyl. And if the music follows the action...

Lousy.
When the selling point of a set of films is the box they come in, that's not a good sign. These prints are lousy, and often simply copied from official sources, meaning this is basically a pirated set. Speng the money to get the real thing - you won't be disappointed. (Kino company for the Keystone, Essanay, and Mutual Films, and the Chaplin Family Trust for the rest.)

Buyer beware
A comment that was left following my review of The Kid (2 Disc Special Edition) reminded readers what set I was reviewing, because Amazon has reviews for certain films showing up with unrelated editions. This eight DVD box set is an example of a collection that includes a poor quality edition of The Kid, and an uneven collection of other material. Many of the reviews appearing with this collection at the time I wrote this were for a completely different collection of 57 films, and with the rest of the reviews, I can't tell what collection they are reviewing.

With over 50 titles, it's hard to be an expert on which ones are presented in the best way in which set, but if you are looking to build a Chaplin collection, start off with his better known feature films. This particular collection includes only two films that were well known enough that the compilers chose to list them on the front cover. The rest...

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