Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World

This is topic It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 11-06-2004, 07:30 PM:

Today I watched our favorite classic on Turner Classic Movies, so I was able to compare it to the MGM/UA video I have...and purchased new through a major video store.

Anyhow, there is a lot of footage edited out of the video throughout the film. Some footage more extensive than others, but occuring in just about every scene. A lot of what has been cut from the video (what was on TCM today) helps explain the story line in some areas, while also adding some more excellent comedy. It also seems that what I saw on TCM today (print and sound quality) was vastly superior to the video.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-06-2004, 10:28 PM:

Whats in it depends on what verion you have. The last laserdisk version has alot of footage put back in it, some of the footage is squeezed at the sides and came from a corrected Cinerama 70mm print. Far as I know that is the most complete version available but there may be even more complete versions that are not available on DVD yet. I thought Bob Harris was trying to put the film back together.... probably an almost impossible task of gigantic proportions, literally a bigger task than the making of the film ever was.

Mark

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 11-07-2004, 03:21 AM:

Let's be honest here, guys. The movie may be interesting for film technology history reasons, but the movie as such sucks enormously [sleep]

When I watched it (yes, in 70mm) at the Eqyptian Theatre in Hollywood a few months ago, I really couldn't wait for the ending. It's just a fifth rate stupid comedy which happens to have been shot in an interesting format.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-07-2004, 05:56 AM:

Michael,
Since you didn't grow up over here with all those comedians I would doubt that you would appreciate it.... forced humor... yes... Overly long... yes, Sappy... Yes, but a great and beloved cast of characters all in one film together. The gas station destruction sequence and the plane landing IMHO are two of the funnyist things that exists on film! Turn the tables and had a similar film been made in Germany I proably wouldn't apreciate it not having grown up with the German cast of characters....

Really, the film is more of a National Treasure than not....

Mark

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 11-07-2004, 11:33 AM:

Jonathan Winters at that gas station... That sequence had me in tears the first time I saw it as a kid in the late '60s, and has remained a best memory of the film for me ever since. That and Spencer Tracy laughing his ass off at the end--what a wonderful image to remember someone by.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-07-2004, 10:10 PM:

Boy, I'm with ya on that Paul. I've sometimes burst out laughing just when I think of some of the scenes of that film....

Then there's Jonathan Winters tip toeing to and then peeking around the bend only to find everyone waiting for him just out of sight.... And no one but Jimmy Durante could have kicked the bucket....

Mark

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 11-07-2004, 10:33 PM:

My favorite scenes are when Sid Caesar is in the hardware store trying to dynamite his way out of being locked in... great sequence!

And! I agree with Paul, the final scene when Spencer Tracy was laughing his ass off in the hospital bed was THE best! TOO COOL!

Those scenes are burned in my mind!

I still cannot believe some of the stunts... I'm surprised no one got killed!

ALL of the actors were well cast for their parts!

>>> Phil

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 11-08-2004, 12:20 AM:

If you thought that it was boring, you might enjoy the much faster paced remake, "Rat Race".

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 11-09-2004, 01:01 AM:

The longer version on laserdisc was also released on VHS at the time.

I'll watch the VHS version because getting up to swap those discs every few minutes wrecks the flow of the movie.

Robert Harris mentioned somewhere that the long version put together on video was never one seen in theaters, not even the roadshow version. The extra material was assembled from bits still extant from a roadshow cut, some trims, outtakes, whatever they could find to fit the score, continuity, etc. I think it works great. It's a better movie with the additional character development & exposition, much of it brilliantly made just in the way the characters drive. You're not just impressed but you learn a lot at that left turn at Valley Center!

"Mad World" is one of my favorite movies. I love every inch of it. I think it's brilliant, hilarious, as well as excellent spectacle & a really insightful examination of commonplace selfish, self-destructive behavior, & how even "rational" people will deteriorate. If it had dirty jokes, it would be a classical greek comedy with a gasoline dependency.

People used to really drive like that. They weren't all in Mopars like in the movie, or else more of them would have lived.

A lot of people think the movie's not funny, but just mean. They can't get far enough back from it.

"ALL WE WANT IS A PICK AND A SHOVEL! "

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 11-11-2004, 06:30 AM:

What a small mad ,mad world it is. I had a crappy copy of the movie on an old Betamax tape , and just recently bought a new copy on DVD , my 9 year old watched it , I expected a terrible review , however he loved it !! , it was a great show from the past , not without forgetting "Blazing saddles" and "The Great Race". Some of the oldies may have aged but still they have a laugh or two left in them. A recent purchase of "the early Bird" from Amazon proved that. One of Norman Wisdom best.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 11-11-2004, 02:32 PM:

The late Linwood G. Dunn, who did the photographic effects for MMMMW, had a wonderful presentation on effects work that he presented at SMPTE meetings. The quality of VFX was amazing, well before the "age of digital".

Here is a list of Mr. Dunn's credits:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242670/

Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 11-11-2004, 03:47 PM:

I don't have a particular favorite scene, as they are all great!

I love it when Jonathan Winters rear-ends Ethel Merman! Rooney, Backus and Hackett in the Beach 18! Dick Shawn goin to save MOMMA! Jonathan Winters, Arnold Stang (Topcat and Jughead from Archie Andrews) and Marvin Kaplan at the gas station! Sid Ceasar blowing up the hardware store!

I always loved the "recap" scene right after the intermission!

Phil Silvers going for a "swim"!

I just wish they'd have found a bigger part for Jack Benny....Too bad Phil Harris was not in the film.

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 12-08-2004, 08:05 AM:

The problem with the "long" version, is that it is not really the lost road show version. While adding a few scenes, mostly it consists of alternate takes and trims that were rightly edited out.

While it would be interesting to see the real "road show" version, the short theatrical version is the best of what now exists.

Posted by Thomas Jonsson (Member # 1902) on 12-08-2004, 02:53 PM:

Mad mad world is my all-time favorite movie. I´ve seen it
at least 40 times in different theaters. The LaserDisc version
is far better than the DVD. For some strange reason the overture
for Act 1 is missing. Why did they do that?

Two other favorites of mine were mentioned - The great race
and Blazing saddles. I would like to add Those magnificent men
in their flying machines, recently released on DVD. The cast
is almost as impressive as in Mad world. And both films had
one great comedian in common - Terry-Thomas. Boy,was he funny!!!

Thomas

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 12-09-2004, 07:07 AM:

I never saw MAD growing up. Never saw it in the theater, or on TV, until I got the recent DVD release.

What a cast! Loved the film! Sure, its long, but how often to you get to see these people working together?

I think the only German film I have seen that I liked was "Das Boot," and maybe a German cartoon.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-10-2004, 03:56 AM:

Apparently a lot of people here really like the movie for its content, not just the historical value. That surprises me, but if it makes you happy, that's all that is needed!
My lack of appreciation doesn't have much to do with "cultural" differences. It's just me. But many people in Germany love that kind of forced humor. I wasn't around back then, but I can imagine it was a big hit there.
Bruce - I like to say that "Das Boot" (which is BTW not pronounced like the sturdy footwear but simply with a long o) is the only German movie made after the 20s really worth watching. While that is a little over the top, it is true that German movies as a whole have never reached again the innovativeness and high standard they had in the 20s. After 1933, the evil Nazis took over the film industry and made it into a streamlined propaganda machine, driving most talents away (like Lang, Lubitsch, Lorre, Dietrich, and many others). The industry has never recovered from that bloodletting.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-10-2004, 08:15 AM:

Actually I've always thought of MMW as a historical film for the fact that its the only time al those people worked together. Its also I believe the last time several of them worled at all.... Buster Keaton comes to mind. Had it been shot in any other film format wouldn't have mattered to me. I first saw it in 35mm and a number of years later ran it in 70mm in my basement. The 70mm sound track was nice......

I also like Das Boot and submarine films in general.... its very easy for me to become submerged in the plot of them [Big Grin]

.
Dive.... Dive.... Dive.....

Mark

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-17-2004, 07:29 PM:

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-18-2004, 12:43 PM:

quote: Michael Schaffer
While that is a little over the top, it is true that German movies as a whole have never reached again the innovativeness and high standard they had in the 20s.

I've got a lot of time for some of the German films from the immediate post-WWII period dealing with reconstruction issues: e.g. Die Mörder sind unter uns and Der Verlorene. But most of the New Wave stuff from the '60s and '70s - Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his ilk - is pretentious and boring, IMHO.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-18-2004, 02:10 PM:

Just watched this for the first time all the way thru on DVD. (Used to just catch the middle or end on TV) What "version" is the DVD version? Seemed kind of short to me even at 2:40. I was expecting something over 3 hours.

I've always wondered if you can keep people interested and laughing for that long. I've always envisioned a 4+ hour comedy! [Smile]

=TMP=

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 12-20-2004, 03:02 AM:

quote: Thomas Procyk
What "version" is the DVD version?

The DVD version is the "short" version; the only release version extant. The DVD has got some problems of its own, screwed up title sequence, missing music, etc.

For the longer one, watch on Amazon for the laserdisc or better yet the VHS in the covers posted earlier. The footage they were able to put back in from a work print, a bit of a found longer 70mm cut, etc. to try to put some of the flesh back makes the movie like night & day. It flows better, the character development is more smooth & plausible, there are some tiny gems of very short bits. I could never watch the (still long) short version on TV - shortened already as much as possible for length, & I think it's the reason a lot of people don't latch on to it - it's just a matter of getting from plot point to plot point & the next big stunt.

It's an epic comedy, & epics have action, close observations about people & society, & huge scale. I thought it was funny when I was a kid, but when I got older, I realized how *really* funny it is, & how subversive. Folks coming to it thinking that it's going to be a big Mack Sennett comedy with prattfalls & stunts are impatient with it, & put off by a lot of what advances it. It's a social drama in hilarious comedy drag.

It was *incredibly* sly when released because in American movies of the time, nice middle class Americans were standardized types. Usually bad things happened to bad people, people with good middle class virtues did well, what comes around goes around, you get what's coming to you. In Mad World, a bunch of average people of all types slowly deteriorate following their own self interests, wrecking their lives, & very significantly, causing incredible damage to the rest of people in society who are just unfortunate enough to be there to be affected by them. Air traffic controllers who just show up for work, people eating dinner in a restaurant, a guy who just runs a hardware store, some guys open a gas station, etc. - all doomed by these people who've deteriorated.

I used to think the Jack Benny bit was just gratuitous to get him in the picture, but now I see how it really belongs there. Not just big, horrible things happen to folks who are affected by the characters in the movie, but little assaults, too. The scale is terrific.

Upstanding, iconic middle class social types deteriorate horribly: a well-adjusted dentist who works out a complicated, fair & useful manner of sharing found wealth deteriorates to a point where he can't straighten out "You go the way you came, we'll go the way you came." Good solutions become unworkable, just because of the way things are that day - who you meet, other things that happen. The unsupported, hopeful cliche' of "things will work out" is disproved - as it happens in real life, things sometimes just get worse.

The audience's faith in "normal" mature folks is worked on, & even "innoncence" - a cute, happy little kid who offers help turns out only to be interested in a joyride & watching something funny happen to a grownup. I never thought of it before, but parents certainly couldn't realize it because of the length & plausibility of development, for kids taken to this movie, it's a very significant eye-opening point for maturation of their view way of the world: Adults aren't stable, godlike beings, they 're folks who fall apart, become infantile, animalistic, & laughable.

As far as the comedians in the picture go, none of them are really doing their usual bits (except Phil Silvers & some bit players). The rest are showing what EXCELLENT actors they are - you don't have to do character development in almost any comedy. Milton Berle plays straight so beautifully; he's holding up almost every scene he's in. When he gets to do a team spot with Terry-Thomas, the two of them are a MACHINE. (That's another point about the sort of theme of 'things don't have to work out for the best' - for the 1st time in his life, Berle's character finally gets some decent support in life from meeting Terry-Thomas, but that relationship goes in the dumper & it's all over.)

As far as the historical aspect, the only 'historical' aspect I like about the movie is the cars. Those MOPARS (Dodge, Chrysler, & Plymouth autos) were just otherworldly, outstanding, unbelievable in their agility, speed, & HUGE tonnage! Look at those multi-ton things flying unbelievably - like the dancing hippos in Fantasia, it's just visually so unlikely, but in Mad World, proof that it's all true. Those things had torsion bar front suspensions (like Jaguar!), & were smack on the beam. Those drivers in the movies just tightened the torsion bars down, & slung those cars into any seemingly physically impossible situation of inertia & stress, & peeled at the top of those monster MOPAR motors. I have liked NO big cars & preferred 2 seater British sports cars, but the exception is all those big MOPARS, & I loved them all. Check one of the very few 'car' scenes in which they didn't use a MOPAR - Dick Shawn in a Dodge Dart convertible chasing Berle & Terry-Thomas in a Chevrolet. They run the Chevrolet on the shoulder & it's funny because it's banging & swaying & looks like it's just hanging on, but the Dart goes across an unpaved, unmowed lot at top speed with the inexorability, inevitablilty, & unmutability of a thought from the mind of Zeus or something.

PLEASE OH NO don't hit that TR-3 while you're chasing Spencer Tracy!

Even the cars have character development. They're maneuvering around each other slyly & semi-socially at the beginning of the movie, at the end those old Plymouth Belvedere cabs are circling, snarling, & attacking like dogs.

There's spectacle, and all the gags are funny. I love the movie. There's a lot in it, on so many levels. The short version doesn't work very well, it's like someone who tells you a joke but they blow the setup.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-20-2004, 08:04 PM:

Its burried under a big doubleu... a big doubleu I tell ya, ya can't miss it!

Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 12-26-2004, 05:25 PM:

Michael Schaffer wrote:

quote: Michael Schaffer
I like to say that "Das Boot" (which is BTW not pronounced like the sturdy footwear but simply with a long o) is the only German movie made after the 20s really worth watching.

Come on, Michael, show some respect for SCHTONK! (1991) [Smile]