criterionforum.org

ando wrote:Can't remember if Merman sings.. be a casting waste otherwise!

I will never have the sun in the morning and the moon at night.

Again.

Almost 5 years since the last post, I just wanted to share Mickey Rooney's opinion on the film: I was listening to Rooney on the Indicator disc for Drive a Crooked Road and he had this to say about It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World: he considers it one of the worst comedies ever made and one of the many duds he was in, and though he liked Kramer he says the man had no sense for comedy. He also takes credit for plot elements like the amount of money that was being searched for, though one thing I've learned through the years is that Rooney took credit for A LOT of things, so not sure how true it is.

cdnchris wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 6:35 pm Almost 5 years since the last post, I just wanted to share Mickey Rooney's opinion on the film: I was listening to Rooney on the Indicator disc for Drive a Crooked Road and he had this to say about It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World: he considers it one of the worst comedies ever made.

Fact Check: Why, yes it is.

This is to me, uncontestably the worst film Criterion has ever released in the main line. Tone deaf hysterical shouting does not compensate for a lack of jokes, witticisms, and charming or at least entertaining characters. I was numbed to the point of utter exhaustion within half an hour, but the film simply refuses to end. I gave up with half hour left and certainly don't regret abandoning it. No comedy should feel longer than Evolution of a Filipino Family.

RitrovataBlue wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:02 am This is to me, uncontestably the worst film Criterion has ever released in the main line.

I must admit that upon rewatching this film it hasn’t held up to what my childhood remembers. But saying it is the worst in the main line when we have films like Border Radio is a bit of a stretch. There are scenes that drag on endlessly, especially the elongated sequence of Sid Caesar and Edie Adams locked in the basement, and Milton Berle/Terry-Thomas mishaps. I can see what Kramer was trying to achieve, which is both an epic comedy film and a celebration of the history of comedy from the silent era to today. But moments of that film feel painfully unfunny, such as the whole bit of Spencer Tracy’s dysfunctional family.
I do, however, feel indebted to this film. This was my first Criterion purchase which led me here today. So I give this release that credit, but as a film I can’t say the same.

I am not a fan. Never cared for this. Yet I love all those old time comics. This just didn't work. It was unfunny and tedious to get through. This may have worked if Stanley Kramer was not the director. As far as the worst CC release, maybe for the pomp and circumstance that CC gave it but I can name other lesser titles that I rank as worse.

Blutarsky wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:41 am I must admit that upon rewatching this film it hasn’t held up to what my childhood remembers.

Whereas I saw the film in elementary school and have traumatic memories from the experience of being forced to sit through the entire thing on a Saturday morning by my friend's dad, for what seemed like a lifetime. It's very possible that it's better than my childhood memory, but this thread gives a nice thumbs up to my cinematic impressions at age eight, and I have no reason to mess with that.

Eh, it made a good gift for my dad one year, so I can't complain

Mirthless, witless, bombastic, anti-sensual, commodity-fetishistic, manically destructive, obsessively repetitive, and obscenely expensive, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World perhaps better epitomizes American culture than any other film. Personally, I hate American culture and I hated this film.

Knives, I specified the main line for a reason. That said, I haven't seen the Mailer pictures, nor, having once made the mistake of reading The Gospel According to the Son, do I ever intend to.

As for other contenders for Criterion's worst main line release, I'd include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Sanders of the River, Armageddon, The Great Beauty, Jellyfish Eyes, Valley of the Dolls, The Naked Prey, Kicking and Screaming, and The Rock in my bottom 10.

Blutarsky wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:41 am There are scenes that drag on endlessly, especially the elongated sequence of Sid Caesar and Edie Adams locked in the basement

I think that, in that particular case, that problem is made significantly worse by the way most people watch on video at home - as opposed to in its theatrical release. The intermission happens while they're in that basement. If you do the equivalent of house lights coming up, going out to the bathroom or back to the concession stand, chatting with your companion(s), and having the lights go back down and the movie start back up ........ the time that they spend in the basement gets split into two separate episodes and doesn't feel as long.

To a lesser extent, that may apply to the movie as a whole. It may benefit from taking a break in the middle - as it originally was intended to be seen.

I think the movie would benefit from actually having some jokes in it, but that’s just me.

Movies that (have) constituted child abuse would be an interesting thread.

PillowRock wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 4:42 am To a lesser extent, that may apply to the movie as a whole. It may benefit from taking a break in the middle - as it originally was intended to be seen.

I think the film would definitely be improved by taking a break in the middle - and never going back to it.

The break doesn't have to be in the middle.

I'm kind of surprised that Mickey Rooney hated it, not that I know him well but, I wonder who else that worked on it ended up hating it too (or loved it)? IMO It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World must be popular with kids who like loud and annoying stuff and I've seen it too late for that, all I enjoyed was seeing what was eventually referenced or parodied elsewhere, which of course isn't much to take from such a long film.

( Criterion's worst release is Blue is the Warmest Colour but anyway )

I saw it three years ago in 70mm with a large, enthusiastic crowd. A great time was had by all. In fact, it was probably the most enjoyable movie theater experience I had that year. I've never seen it on video, but no, it's hard to imagine it being as funny that way. Some films, like Laurence of Arabia, 2001, and this one, need size.

Upcoming making-of book:
https://www.jamescurtis.net/

I remember this film getting picked for AFI's greatest comedies list, and when you look at the voters who were interviewed for its segment in the accompanying TV special and the incredibly uneven work they've done, it explained a lot.

FWIW, it was #40 out of 100, right behind Sullivan's Travels and City Lights.