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Criterion Press Release: It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Dual Format) (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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Moe Dickstein said:
Right. 4k isn't possible, the color record is only 480 SD
Even though the color info was upscaled to HD, which helps a bit, there is also no more than 2k info on the print trims.Not a great deal with which to work. This is a situation in which I'm pleased that we were able to make a burlap purse from a sows's ear.RAH
 

darkrock17

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rmw650 said:
I'm just happy a lot of care and hard work were put into this film to make it the very best release and most extensive release of the film possible, as we all waited and were patient with the process and in just two months time, we'll have our hands on it and enjoy the roadshow version in the comforts of our own domiciles. So RAH, just curious, there was never a 210 minute version of this film whatsoever, am I correct in saying this?
210 mins. was what Stanley and the editors got the original rough cut down to, the film was then edited again right before the Nov. 7 permiere to the length of 192 mins. after about the first or second week of December 1963 the film was yet again edited down to 161 mins. 161 min. cut is the 70mm print where as the 35mm print is 154 mins.
 

Doug Bull

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I managed to trace the source of the 70mm film clip I displayed on page 29 of this thread.

It came from a well known Australian Film Collector who is no longer with us.
Amongst his huge collection of silents and very rare sound prints he is said to have had a complete or almost complete 70mm original Australian release print of IAMMMMW.
This is the print that my frames have come from.

When he died his vast and rare film collection was passed onto the Australian Film Archives in Canberra, Australia. ( a couple of items I had lent him also went along for the ride )

So is there a complete copy sitting in a warehouse or film vault in Canberra? Most unlikely, still.... ( sounds like Indiana Jones revisited ) :)
I'm sure the archives were searched in the hunt for the holly grail.


Doug.
 

Robert Harris

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Doug Bull said:
I managed to trace the source of the 70mm film clip I displayed on page 29 of this thread. It came from a well known Australian Film Collector who is no longer with us.Amongst his huge collection of silents and very rare sound prints he is said to have had a complete or almost complete 70mm original Australian release print of IAMMMMW.This is the print that my frames have come from. When he died his vast and rare film collection was passed onto the Australian Film Archives in Canberra, Australia. ( a couple of items I had lent him also went along for the ride ) So is there a complete copy sitting in a warehouse or film vault in Canberra? Most unlikely, still.... ( sounds like Indiana Jones revisited ) :)I'm sure the archives were searched in the hunt for the holly grail. Doug.
The OCN was cut before it went to London for printing Australian 70s.RAH
 

Doug Bull

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Robert Harris said:
The OCN was cut before it went to London for printing Australian 70s.RAH
Thanks for the info Robert.
I suspected that was probably the case as the 70mm roadshow version didn't arrive in Australia until 1965/66.
I'm pretty sure there were no extended police calls when I first saw it in August 66 at Melbourne's Plaza Cinerama Theatre.

It's looking more and more likely that the closest we will ever get to seeing the complete original version is the up-coming Criterion Blu-Ray.


Doug.
 

darkrock17

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Doug Bull said:
I suspected that was probably the case as the 70mm roadshow version didn't arrive in Australia until 1965/66.
Why would it take the 2/3 years later to get this film? What happened did the Kangroo that went to pick up the Ausie print get lost somewhere between 1963 and 1966?
 

Doug Bull

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darkrock17 said:
Why would it take the 2/3 years later to get this film? What happened did the Kangroo that went to pick up the Ausie print get lost somewhere between 1963 and 1966?
Ha, Ha.
Thankfully things have changed a lot since those days.

There were several reasons for delayed release dates back then.

IAMMMMW was delayed because each Australian City had only one Cinerama Theatre.
Extended big box office runs meant that other Cinerama or Ultra Panavision titles had to wait in line.
I'm pretty sure that here in Melbourne all the Cinerama Docos had long successful runs and HTWWW ran for almost 2 years, then Brothers Grimm followed with a 6 month run, so IAMMMMW credited as a Cinerama production had to wait it's turn.

It opened in Australia in June '65, one day after the 3 panel Grimm finished.
Two new 70mm projectors were installed and everything readied in less than 24 hours.

Going by my diary I waited until August '66 to see it, so it was still going strong.
I saw "The Greatest Story Ever Told" there in January '67 so IAMMMMW must have finally finished it's run not long after I saw it.

plaza_melb.jpg


My beloved Plaza Cinerama theatre in the process of being demolished. (with the seats removed)
The memories may have become distant but they will never fully fade.

Doug.
 

Mark B

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It began on a Saturday afternoon in the 70s. Why is the earth shaped like an oval? (This youngster was noticing "squashed" credits for the first time) The movie is awesome. Then came VHS rentals. One of the first to come home. Multiple views. K-Mart in the early 90s. What? A double tape of the "restored" version? Beyond anything. Internet. Searched for info all the time. Found Ron's pages. Drooled. Bought the laserdisc eventually to get the "full image." (VHS was 1.85ish) DVD. Pheh. Now this.Dream come true. This is the most anticipated, most appreciated, most amazing release in home video history for me. I am obsessed with this film. Bring it. I. Can. Not. Wait.
 

Ethan Riley

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Mark B said:
It began on a Saturday afternoon in the 70s. Why is the earth shaped like an oval? (This youngster was noticing "squashed" credits for the first time) The movie is awesome. Then came VHS rentals. One of the first to come home. Multiple views. K-Mart in the early 90s. What? A double tape of the "restored" version? Beyond anything. Internet. Searched for info all the time. Found Ron's pages. Drooled. Bought the laserdisc eventually to get the "full image." (VHS was 1.85ish) DVD. Pheh. Now this.Dream come true. This is the most anticipated, most appreciated, most amazing release in home video history for me. I am obsessed with this film. Bring it. I. Can. Not. Wait.
Awesome post!
 

Charles Smith

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Hadn't seen this one. Cool display, too. Now do it for the rest of the shots in the movie! :)
 

SS NORMANDIE

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Really looking forward to this very special release. My favorite moments in the film are those dealing with Ethel Merman's character. Could any other actress have better potrayed the cliched stereotype of the overbearing, loud-mouthed, irritating Mother-in-Law? I smile every time she is on the screen and her interactions with Milton Berle and the others are classic. Those large jangling & constantly shaking charm bracelets that her character wears in the film are the icing on a very large cake. January 2014 can't come soon enough!
 

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