The Cocoanuts (1929) Blu-ray Review

The Marx Brothers are one of the best comedy teams in cinema history. The characters they played are so unique they are known by everyone all over the world. The quick-witted Groucho with that painted mustache. Chico with his horrendous accent. Harpo who never spoke a word, but connected to the audiences and Zeppo who was a great straight man. 

Now Universal Pictures Home Entertainment have released some of the Marx Brothers early films on Blu-ray. Today we start a look at these releases with The Marx Brothers film debut, 1929's The Cocoanuts.

The Cocoanuts was adapted from their Broadway play. Groucho portrays the owner of the Hotel de Cocoanut who tries to fleece everyone from innocent bellboys and bellgirls to wealthy society matron Mrs. Potter (Margaret Dumont). Chico and Harpo play resort hotel con men who arrive with empty suitcases they plan to fill by robbing guests.

Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo are at their best in this their first film. Their breakneck comedy speed is mind-blowing. In addition to their hilarious comedy this film features amazing musical numbers that features the music of Academy Award winner® Irving Berlin.

Universal Picture Home Entertainment has released this film on Blu-ray. The Cocoanuts have been transferred in 1080p the aspect ratio is the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Finally, there is English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Now I must be honest here the transfer is not perfect. There are some scenes in this film transfer where the picture quality dips a bit. While there is an imbalance in picture quality it is not so bad that you can enjoy this film. To me it is still great seeing The Cocoanuts in HD. 

In addition to seeing this Marx Brothers classic on Blu-ray. This release has a very interesting audio commentary by film scholar Anthony Slide. And then there is a full length 2016 documentary entitled "Marx Brothers: Hollywood's Kings of Chaos." This documentary is so good it is worth the price of the Blu-ray alone.

Even with the flaws I still think this Blu-ray is a must own. It is a comedy classic and to see it in HD is a must for classic comedy fans or fans of the Marx Brothers. And if you have never seen the bonus documentary. That is an absolute must!

So if you love the Marx Brothers as much as I do The Cocoanuts Blu-ray is a must for your collection. Head over to MovieZyng and order your copy today.



Out of 4 Film Reels (4 being the best) The Cocoanuts Blu-ray receives...