Anybody that is critical of the Martin & Lewis schtick of pratfalls, slapstick, camp, jokes & gags, straight man -vs- monkey, just doesn't get it. Dean sings and Jerry goes nuts. It's Martin & Lewis! And this movie is truly a comedy classic. When originally released, it was a box office smash. "At War With the Army" was M&L's first starring vehicle. It's correct that they previously appeared in "My Friend Irma" and "My Friend Irma Goes West", but in supporting roles. It was "At War With The Army" that established Martin & Lewis as box office mega-stars and for the next 6 years they ruled the Paramount lot.
I've seen this movie at least 10 times, and now with this Film Chest restored version I'll be watching it for years to come.
A previous version I owned I sold at a yard sale because it wasn't any better than the grainy versions you'll see on late night TV or the other DVDs out there. In fact, this film has been so extensively bootlegged that Paramount opted not to include a restored copy in its recent DVD collection of Martin and Lewis' films. This movie was long overdue for a restoration and Film Chest did an excellent job. Whenever I show a movie for friends and family, it's always via my projector onto a screen. If you got a poor transfer DVD or blu-ray and show it on a very big screen, it looks so much worse than watching it on a small TV. This DVD looked great on my 9' screen and we had a ball watching it. I was very happy that the original aspect ratio of 4x3 was maintained and it wasn't stretched. Keep in mind there has never been an HD quality version of this film on DVD previously. But, there is now.
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