692 It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

[zedz]

Actually, considering that this film is already available in R1 on a much cheaper and by all accounts very good BluRay, you'd be hard pressed to find a forthcoming Criterion title that's less urgent. That's about as redundant as their releases get.

[Gregory]

I am on the other side of 50. I never want to be in the category of "nostalgia and movie geekery." (I think the word "film" is too high brow for them). The image I have for that description scares me.
I too enjoyed many of those comedians in their different incarnations but as a whole I found the movie to be very so-so, a novelty. Nothing more. If you want a good laugh watch Duck Soup or a few other Marx Bros. films. Now that is brilliant comedy on celluloid. But I guess to each their own.

Oh yeah, and one more thing. I would guarantee that everyone posting on that HTF thread still has a VHS copy of the Mad World. Geekery indeed.

I can't help but think of the documentary Cinemania, in particular the scene where Harvey is sort of showing off his collection of soundtrack LPs. Including It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. His friend says something like, "And you don't even have a record player anymore, right?"

[htom]

Actually, considering that this film is already available in R1 on a much cheaper and by all accounts very good BluRay, you'd be hard pressed to find a forthcoming Criterion title that's less urgent. That's about as redundant as their releases get.

What is driving the interest in that thread is the speculation that this release will feature a restoration or reconstruction of the original roadshow release, which may have been available for only a few weeks before being cut by some 25-30 minutes. Otherwise, there seems little reason for Criterion to be bothering with this title.

[Matt]

Also, did I misread the thread or is there expectation that there will be a 3D version as well?

[vsski]

It's precisely the roadshow version the HTF folks are getting excited about, since even they admit that a repressing of the current BD version makes little sense.
MGM did publish laserdisc of this in the old days, and that version had other scenes included that weren't even in the roadshow version, so the speculation is about what version is going to come out and what the extras will be.

What I can't fathom is this unmitigated adoration of a movie that at best can be considered a interesting, but utterly flawed attempt of bringing an all star cast together.

If this would be a movie at the level of The Magnificent Ambersons or Greed, I could understand the excitement over the longest possible version seeing the light of day, but we are talking of another half hours of stale jokes in an already overlong and boring attempt at humor (and I'm trying to be kind). ](*,)

Edited to attribute the LD to the correct company (I erroneously thought it was CC)!

[EddieLarkin]

Also, did I misread the thread or is there expectation that there will be a 3D version as well?

I'm sure that was tongue in cheek.

[manicsounds]

Considering that there was some rumor of working on a "Boxset release", I'm pretty sure "Mad World" will not be available on its own and be part of a Stanley Kramer boxset exclusively (Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, etc). For those who want it on its own, they'll have to just pick up the existing MGM disc, same pattern as the "Easy Rider" disc.

[swo17]

Don't even joke about that. [-X

[bamwc2]

8-[ Am I the only one around here that loves Inherit the Wind?

[FrauBlucher]

Considering that there was some rumor of working on a "Boxset release", I'm pretty sure "Mad World" will not be available on its own and be part of a Stanley Kramer boxset exclusively (Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, etc). For those who want it on its own, they'll have to just pick up the existing MGM disc, same pattern as the "Easy Rider" disc.

Those folks would be miserable if they had to pick up a box set to get Mad World.

[Mathew2468]

They'd do it though. Epstein has a shrinkwrapped MGM blu on his shelf just because.

[domino harvey]

Considering that there was some rumor of working on a "Boxset release", I'm pretty sure "Mad World" will not be available on its own and be part of a Stanley Kramer boxset exclusively (Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, etc). For those who want it on its own, they'll have to just pick up the existing MGM disc, same pattern as the "Easy Rider" disc.

Those folks would be miserable if they had to pick up a box set to get Mad World.

Only because most prob couldn't pick up a box that heavy

[dustybooks]

8-[ Am I the only one around here that loves Inherit the Wind?

It was the first Spencer Tracy film I ever saw so I feel some warmth for it, and I really don't think it's a bad film (although it's been many years). It does boast Kramer's usual, unmistakable sledgehammer sensibility, though.

[Moe Dickstein]

I can void your guarantee right now - I've only owned the Laserdisc and Blu...

[Moe Dickstein]

Vsski - the LD release was MGM, not Criterion

[colinr0380]

Also, did I misread the thread or is there expectation that there will be a 3D version as well?

I'm sure that was tongue in cheek.

Mind you, could it be possible that Criterion will possibly do a How The West Was Won/This Is Cinerama, and produce an optional SmileBox version of the film for posterity?

I don't think I have seen the film in years so cannot comment on its quality (though it would also be nice to see some of the other madcap 1960s action movies such as The Great Race, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines or Monte Carlo Or Bust! that can out in the wake of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World get Blu upgrades), but presumably the big advantage of a Criterion edition of the film is the care that they will take with presentation and the amount of contextual extra features that they could add to the current extended scenes and documentary on the Blu of the film.

Although let's hope Criterion does not put a Something Wild-amount of extras onto their edition!

[Moe Dickstein]

There would be no reason to do Smilebox formatting for this film, because the point of that process is to correct distortion in 3-camera Cinerama films when shown on a flat screen like a TV. Mad World was the first Ultra Panavision film, and therefore being one strip (70mm with anamorphic squeeze) doesn't need any geometry correction.

[EddieLarkin]

I don't think I have seen the film in years so cannot comment on its quality (though it would also be nice to see some of the other madcap 1960s action movies such as The Great Race, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines or Monte Carlo Or Bust! that can out in the wake of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World get Blu upgrades)

Twilight Time already put it out. I personally found it quite a bit more enjoyable than Mad World.

[vsski]

Vsski - the LD release was MGM, not Criterion

Thanks for correcting me, I knew the LD existed, but because CC is now bringing it out on BD I automatically assumed that they would do so because it had been published by them on LD and I never checked who actually did.

Have to admit this now makes me even sadder that CC touches it, at least if they had published the LD, I could have somewhat understood why they wanted to release it again. What a waste of resources when they are sitting on a goldmine of unreleased titles.

[Moe Dickstein]

I've heard rumors that it's one of Becker's favorite films - so that's pretty much all the reason you need right there.

[The Narrator Returns]

So, he thinks it's major Kramer, I take it?

[Moe Dickstein]

At least Lieutenant Kramer.

[swo17]

There doesn't seem to be a sport of cutting things down there.

The downside to this of course being that this fosters exactly the kind of environment wherein perplexing, unnatural opinions like "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a good movie" are able to flourish.

[jedgeco]

The downside to this of course being that this fosters exactly the kind of environment wherein perplexing, unnatural opinions like "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a good movie" are able to flourish.

While I get the sense you're (at least half) kidding, I think the background is that the HTF founder, Ron Epstein, is the uber-Mad, Mad World fan, and he built the site up in part around his own fandom.

[Moe Dickstein]

There doesn't seem to be a sport of cutting things down there.

The downside to this of course being that this fosters exactly the kind of environment wherein perplexing, unnatural opinions like "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a good movie" are able to flourish.

Right, people are allowed to have opinions that others disagree with without being mocked. Not a downslide IMO.