I am new to this site, but it looks very onteresting.
I am interested in purchasing Charlie Chan DVDs.(specifically the 40+ collections) As there are many sites offering them at widely different prices I would like to know if anyone has experience re the quality of the DVDs, and if there are any sites to avoid.
Thanks
It appears very likely that within the next year or two all existing Charlie Chan movies will be available in authorized commercially produced DVD collections. Already available from MGM Home Entertainment is a collection of the first six Monogram Pictures Chan films: "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service," "The Chinese Cat," "The Jade Mask," "The Shanghai Cobra," "Meeting at Midnight" (a.k.a. "Black Magic"), and "The Scarlet Clue."
20th Century-Fox recently released their "Charlie Chan Collection, Volume 1: ""Charlie Chan in London," "Charlie Chan in Paris," "Charlie Chan in Egypt," and "Charlie Chan in Shanghai," with "ERan Trece," the Spanish language version of "Charlie Chan Carries On" - with subtitles - thrown in as a bonus. "Volume 2" is scheduled to come out in early December and will feature "Charlie Chan at the Circus," "Charlie Chan at the Race Track," "Charlie Chan at the Opera," and "Charlie Chan at the Olympics."
Reliable sources state that Warner Brothers, who control the rest of the Monogram Charlie Chan movies PLUS "The Black Camel" are planning to release all of these films sometime next year. So, if Fox comes through and releases the remainder of their Chan pictures, ALL existing Charlie Chan movies will be available in the best quality possible!
Now, if you would like to obtain the entire existing Charlie Chan series proper right away, the only way would be through any of the sellers you mention. My experience has been that their products vary in quality - sometimes considerably - from film to film. However, all movies would most likely be very watchable. If you go for a moderate to low-priced set, thinking that you would like to buy the commercially produced versions mentioned above at some point, anyway, then one of the "grey market" sets would certainly suit that plan.
The only thing that I can guarantee is that once you have all Chan films available to watch, you will have MANY pleasurable viewing hours to look forward to!