692 It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

[Jeff]

Thanks for the writeup, Moe. I'm not crazy about the film, but the copious supplements have actually made me look forward to picking it up. Congrats to all the fanatics who are surely getting a dream package of this movie.

[Yaanu]

About 6 weeks ago I was invited by Mr. Harris to come visit him at FotoKem where the work was being done on this new reconstruction. Criterion has had this in the works for quite some time and I believe it's a personal favorite of Peter Becker's.

[...]

All in all the run time of 197:40 with music means that only about 3 minutes of the full cut are missing from this reconstruction. Even now they are still finishing it up, adding frames of audio and such so that it is going to be the closest we will ever come to a full version and something most of us had given up all hope of ever seeing.

Jeebus crow, that sounds beautiful.
I hope they release a restoration demonstration one day. I love restoration demonstrations, especially the one for The Gold Rush.

[Moe Dickstein]

Hopefully they will be able to find a way to get something into the package about the really amazing work that was done on this. I know even with the delay the schedule on this is very very very very tight

[kingofthejungle]

Never seen it but I remember hearing that it was the primary inspiration for the climax of the Simpsons episode "Homer The Vigilante".

If you've seen that Simpsons episode, you've essentially seen the film, but in a version that's three hours shorter and actually funny.

[Stefan Andersson]

The missing footage we know the script for and I don't know what if anything will be done. The majority of that 3 minutes is an extension of Culpepper talking to the group as he's telling them to go turn themselves in. Merman has a classic line at the end of it "But what about those of us who are just passengers?"

Hi Moe Dickstein!

Thank you very much for the valuable insights you post here and on HTF! I follow both threads every day.

Re: the missing footage (see quote above) -- thanks for mentioning this. Adding the missing dialogue as subtitles, over still photos of the appropriate characters, would be one way of adding this material to the film, I suppose. I assume the dialogue is available in the script I have (second draft, I think).

On a personal note, I would have liked to see featurettes on the contributions of screenwriters William and Tania Rose and Jack Davis. Mr. Rose wrote Genevieve, The Maggie and The Smallest Show on Earth, three respected English comedies; and perhaps there are cartoons by Mr. Davis that could be used in a cartoon stills gallery. A bit like the character portraits the drew for 1941 (reproduced on the LP cover). Perhaps there will be stories about the screenwriters and Mr. Davis on the commentary.

Can you comment about the cameos by Allen Jenkins, Howard da Silva and Barbara Pepper? Were they included in the roadshow?
I believe Barbara Pepper played a woman talking on a pay phone that the Don Knotts character wants to use after escaping from Meyer (Phil Silvers).

[Moe Dickstein]

Interesting blog post from another fan

I have no info on the specific scenes and characters added. I was there to observe the methods not the contents... Looking forward to seeing the specifics in January!

[Kirkinson]

The secret is in technology developed to convert films to 3D. The computer program takes dozens of points across the identical frame in both versions, and then warps them together into perfect alignment. This also accounts for any unusual shrinkage in either element, and because the eye doesn't see color at the same resolution, having them combined gives a result that would have been impossible only a couple years ago. The only hitch is that the 480 material didn't cover the entire frame, so you will know those shots by a small fringe of black and white all around the borders. This is great from a reference standpoint though as you can really see the different amounts of frame exposed in different transfers. At FotoKem we could see the sprocket holes on the film, so you knew that was EVERYTHING in those scans. The most evident scenes are those with the Japanese subs, where only about 60% of the image will have color due to the zoom in done 20 years ago.

Thanks a lot for the write-up, Moe. I'm among those who don't really have any interest in this film, but this description was downright fascinating.

[Moe Dickstein]

Thanks everyone for the appreciation. I've been very excited since I learned the scope of the project, and I figure that for fans of restoration/reconstruction this will be fascinating even if the film isn't a favorite for them.

I'd say that this is one of the biggest projects that Criterion has ever taken on themselves.

I've gotten more word from Mr. Harris, the sections of film with missing audio will have subtitles.

[Moe Dickstein]

Some words direct from RAH about his methodology with this project, reprinted from HTF:

Mark Booth, on 17 Oct 2013 - 4:47 PM, said:
Robert,

In general terms, how does the image quality of the extended roadshow release compare to the image quality of the new 4K transfer of the general release? Or, am I misunderstanding and both versions will have 4K transfers?

Thanks!

Mark

I've not done a comparison. My perspective from day one, was to achieve an image, and then raise the quality of that image as high as possible. Initially, my feeling was that we would be able to create a burlap purse from a sow's ear. That quality was eclipsed quite a while ago.

My general feeling was to make the extant film elements transparent to the reconstruction and restoration. Freeze frames are used where necessary, and I've chosen to expose perforations in a shot or two that was too shrunken to allow doing otherwise without unnecessarily cropping the image. I prefer to allow that as opposed to bringing in black bars to the side. A true cinephile is fine with sprocket holes.

This is a reconstruction that allows viewers to become a part of the process. Nothing is hidden, and no excuses are made.

Bottom line. I'm thrilled with the final result, and Criterion has been amazing in supplying everything needed to create the best possible experience.

RAH

[giovannii84]

I love this film and it is definitely one of my all time favorite comedies.

Do I think it deserves to be in the Criterion Collection? Probably not, but I don't think any other distributor could put together such a comprehensive & impressive package, so definitely no complaints here.

[Red Screamer]

Is this Buster Keaton's introduction to the Collection?

[manicsounds]

Is this Buster Keaton's introduction to the Collection?

Seems to be so. As well as the Three Stooges and many more.
The 1 hour of extended scenes from the MGM disc was in terrible shape, and as I remember, as VHS looking quality. I guess all that will be reinstated, as much as possible.

[kingofthejungle]

Is this Buster Keaton's introduction to the Collection?

God, what a painful thought. ](*,)

Has a greater director ever appeared in a worse film? I know Orson Welles was in some garbage, but this has to be up there.

I think Criterion owes Keaton a good Blu-Ray of *The Cameraman* and *Spite Marriage* after this.

[CSM126]

I have yet to see Mad World, but I refuse to believe it could be any worse than Butterfly, the incest drama in which Welles co-starred with The Lonely Lady herself, Pia Zadora. Blech.

[domino harvey]

I have yet to see Mad World, but I refuse to believe it could be any worse than Butterfly, the incest drama in which Welles co-starred with The Lonely Lady herself, Pia Zadora. Blech.

If only she was still with Meshulam Riklis, then we could get him to bribe Criterion into releasing The Collected Actorly Brilliances of Pia Zadora and I could prob get a kickback to let it find its way into our year-end Best Of List!

[kingofthejungle]

I have yet to see Mad World, but I refuse to believe it could be any worse than Butterfly, the incest drama in which Welles co-starred with The Lonely Lady herself, Pia Zadora. Blech.

Ha! I just watched the trailer on YouTube. This probably is (at least technically) a worse film than *Mad World*, but it looks like it crosses the line where sheer ineptitude renders it perversely enjoyable. I wish someone would compile a highlight reel of Welles doing his actorly damndest in latter career paycheck exercises like this -- there's just something wickedly funny about it.

If only she was still with Meshulam Riklis, then we could get him to bribe Criterion into releasing The Collected Actorly Brilliances of Pia Zadora and I could prob get a kickback to let it find its way into our year-end Best Of List!

Actually, this sounds like a perfect candidate for a Twilight Time limited edition. What possibilities for cover art with awful typefaces!

[Moe Dickstein]

One of the new scenes greatly increases Keaton's part in the film, though it will be audio/stillls.

[zedz]

One of the new scenes greatly increases Keaton's part in the film, though it will be audio/stillls.

Well, that should do his particular talents no disservice whatsoever!

[Jameson281]

One of the new scenes greatly increases Keaton's part in the film, though it will be audio/stillls.

I always thought that seen should remain cut; it gives away a plot twist way too early.

[Roger Ryan]

One of the new scenes greatly increases Keaton's part in the film, though it will be audio/stillls.

My chief interest in the restoration was to see more of Keaton who is almost always watchable even in the weakest films (thinking "Beach Party" movies here). There is something sadly ironic that the previously unseen Keaton material in IAMMMMW will be represented by audio and stills and not by silent footage.

[Moe Dickstein]

One of the new scenes greatly increases Keaton's part in the film, though it will be audio/stillls.

I always thought that seen should remain cut; it gives away a plot twist way too early.

It's sort of like Hitchcock cutting that scene out of Vertigo, I think it's more fun when you know what he's up to earlier, and at the least is another substantive difference between the two versions of the film. There are lots of things like that - Phil Silvers' character would never help the man by the road on his own which he does in the short cut, in the longer version we see he was threatened and had no choice.

The new Keaton scene from what I'm told involves him on a phone call in split screen, so don't worry you're not losing any genius physical stuff (I assume). His great physicality is on display in both cuts of the movie in the scene that remained with his sole line up until now.

My favorite of the really old timers was always little elderly ZaSu Pitts as the station operator saying "You're through to homicide!"

[Moe Dickstein]

First Review:

http://dvdmg.com/itsamadmadmadmadworldcriterion.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[FrauBlucher]

Oh boy, this thread is going to be a must read over the next several weeks.

[criterion10]

I'm sure I'll pick up this release at some point (haven't seen the film since I was a kid), and while I'm tempted to watch the 3+ hour reconstruction, that running time sure as hell does seem daunting.

Also, how is the quality supposed to be of the restored scenes? I initially assumed it would be equivalent to the average restored film, though it seems from reading around online that the scenes themselves were rather badly damaged over the course of time, and the quality of them is rather lacking. (To give a reference point, is watching this release going to be like watching the complete cut of Metropolis?)

[Moe Dickstein]

It should be a bit better than Metropolis. That was taken from a 16mm reduction with damage printed into it and also heavily damaged.

MW consists of added scenes that are:
1) Audio only and stills
2) Image only and subtitles
3) never before released scenes transferred from nearly totally faded 70mm prints, these lack nearly all color
4) scenes previously seen which have SD 480 line color information melded with the totally faded 70mm trims. A few trims from Japanese prints and other shots zoomed in previously to cover edits only have color over perhaps 60% of the image, otherwise color coverage is about 90%

type 4 would consist of the majority of the additional footage. It's almost a clinic in what was removed so in that sense it's quite interesting. For those who can't deal with it, the pristine General Release version is on disc one. All of the Cinerama rectification has been removed from the prints as well so they will be seen in the correct geometry for the first time as well. All in all I think it's going to be totally watchable.