The mailman was kind to me and delivered Vol 5 to me last Tuesday, a week ahead of schedule! (remind me to be extra generous to him this Christmas)
So far I've seen Panama and Murder Cruise and both look exceptional! The snippets I've seen of the other 5 films show equally good prints were used. In the case of DEAD MEN TELL, it appears the original camera negative still exists; that DVD will blow the viewer away.
The documentary is quite interesting. I was particularly pleased to see mention made of the late Lester Ziffren via his daughter who was interviewed.
All 7 films have their original trailers!! I've never seen most of these and this was a real pleasant surprise. On the downside, it appears that Fox was unable to secure the recently discovered CC Carries On trailer for inclusion in this box.
I've been trying to watch one film per night which has led to some late nights as my schedule doesn't "free up" until about 9 or 10 pm :) Well worth it for ole Charlie though.
Not to sound corny, but it does almost bring a tear to my eye knowing that, despite the dark days of several years ago when we all thought Charlie was going to be buried as a Hollywood footnote, all 25 non-missing Fox Chan films (12 Oland, 11 Toler, 1 Park, and 1 Arbo)are available for ready viewing in high quality and high class DVDs.
The fact that our gracious host, along with several other members of our Chan family, actively participated in these releases makes them all the more special and gives me even more reason to treasure them. Well done, Sir!
Two of the most prominent review sites (DVD Beaver and DVD Talk) have weighed in on Vol 5 and both gave it very high marks and each notes the strong picture quality of each film.
I started watching MURDER OVER NEW YORK earlier today; it is amazing at all the details that are visible in these restored prints. I think it was MURDER CRUISE where I noticed Toler's clear reflection in a glass picture frame in one scene that I never noticed before.
Thank you for the reviews of the "Charlie Chan Collection, Volume 5." I am very pleased to learn that the trailers for all seven films have been included. Nice treat! Yes, it is sad, though, that the trailer for "Charlie Chan Carries On" was not a part of this set. That alone, in my humble opinion, whould have made this set a "must buy!"
