IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoration - Page 8

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Don't hold your breath!

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Actually....

I am not sure exactly what the Fox/MGM deal is....

However if by chance, Fox would be put in charge of restoration
on MGM fare, I think that the title now sits with the best studio
of them all as far as chances for anything to be done.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

With the exception of Warner Bros.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

I saw a 35mm print of this at the Paramount Theatre in Austin yesterday. It was my first time viewing the film and I absolutely loved it. I would love to see a restoration done and a proper DVD released.
As a strange sidenote, Quentin Tarantino was sitting 3 rows in front of me...

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Vincent-P,

What was the film quality when you saw it last month?

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

It's hard to say since I'd never seen it before and was paying more attention to the plot and acting and jokes. The way I remember it, it was simply passable. There were a lot of shots that I assume are from the additions that were overexposed and drained of color. I also feel like a remember a lot of scratches and such. It really needs more work done on it, but maybe the 70mm version (which the Paramount was supposed to show, but didn't receive) looks better.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Well 2007 is approaching us. Anyone at Fox can you bring this up with MGM to look into pursuing the full restoration?

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

I've given up hope on this.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

I just hope something is left of the film elements. Is something better than nothing at all?

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

There was a 70mm Ultra Panavision print of the film shown at the Cinerama Dome a few years ago. It was not the complete roadshow version but it did have the intermission police calls.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Latest update I have received is that it ain't happenin' folks!

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Another film (well, a version of the film) lost to the ages.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

what a horrible shame

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

It is a shame, and it shows how movie companies think of these things as commercial products and not works of art. When Stanley Kramer decided to cut this movie in late 1963 (because even the critics who liked it said it went on too long), instead of carefully keeping the original version, what did he do, just throw it away? He thought it had no value whatsoever? After all the time and money he had put into it? I don't get it.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

It was a different mindset back then without any vision of home video. As far as art versus commercial product, when companies are run by beancounters this is what you get.

As far as the film, I thought it has its moments, but I'm not a big fan of it so I have a couple of questions to those that are fans of it. How does the longer cut actually improve the film? Does this longer cut have stills in place of actual lost footage like "A Star is Born"? If so, doesn't it take you out of the film because it does me whenever I watch that longer cut of "A Star is Born"?




Crawdaddy

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Hi Robert and all IMMMW fans. After having seen the cut and restored versions several times I believe the LD restoration is quite the better movie. Restored are a considerable amount of scenes featuring byplay and character moments between major and minor characters, all of which give variety of tone and incident to the movie. Many players get to show a bit more of their repertoire. Most importantly, these additions show the know-how of the director, who recognized the value of all this to his first cut, and the screenwriters, who, reportedly, planned pause moments to fit in between the big slapstick gags. So, when they finally come, they are all the more effective. A bit like the relationship between the highs and lows you experience on a rollercoaster. (Useful comparison: long and short versions of 1941). But it´s really Comedy 101.

The restoration does not contain stills. Some sequences are alternate takes (look for squeeze effect left and right in the image). One or two continuity errors occur.

I sincerely believe IAMMMW deserves as full a restoration as possible. The LD and DVD look good. Change the main title color background back to the original one, restore all other available A/V incl. police calls, add necessary stills, audio-only segments and/or subtitles for lost audio (all to clarify lost segments) plus the LD docu, scans of the full screenplay and a Robert A. Harris (+ cast members) commentary and you´ll have a fine DVD-based restoration/documentation. I´ll buy it. Branching could be used for the stills sequences. A Robert A. Harris-quality 65mm film restoration is a different matter.

I believe the film is a quite vicious satire on greed with a lot of silent movie-style slapstick along with satirical caricatures of people and trends of the day. This openly satirical bent is quite possibly the reason many people dislike the film, especially if you´ve read the usual stuff about "gargantuan silent comedy homage" beforehand and then being disappointed because the movie is not an uncomplicated farce. But Kramer was a director of socially conscious, issue-driven melodramas, so a satire on greed fits in.

Can any IAMMW fan tell me where the scenes with Howard Da Silva, silent star Minta Durfee and Phil Arnold (who´s he?) would have fit in the movie? My guess is Phil Arnold played Barrie Chase´s husband (Dick Shawn steals his car to save mama?). If i remember correctly the Phil Arnold scene was found by the Save IAMMMW campaigners in the late 90s. Ms. Chase was once listed as playing one Mrs. Haliburton but that´s changed on the ImdB listing. Makes sense in a satire that beachboy Dick Shawn would be frugging with a married woman!

S Andersson
SWEDEN

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

I agree that the longer (real) version helps us understand the characters better.

One example: The Phil Silvers character is perhaps the most selfish and greedy person in the movie. In the cut version, he's shown going out of his way to help a guy bring medicine to his wife. It didn't make a lot of sense.

A restored scene shows us that he did, indeed, tell the guy "No way, get out of here!" (or words to that effect), but the guy threatened him with violence and more or less forced him to do his "good deed."

And that's just one of many examples.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Can anyone else name other films which star many of our great comedians or comedy acts in it besides Rat Race? Cannonball Run is the only other film that featured various comedians in it and comes to my mind at the moment!

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

1941
This is Spinal Tap
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Great Race
The Princess Bride
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes

Thats all that come to mind right off the top of my head.

Doug

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Scavenger hunt

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

The laserdisc version was a real eye-opener. I think it was
the very first time, for me, that I had ever thought that there
was a wealth of lost material excluded from a classic film such
as this. Of course nowadays, Directors are adding all sorts of
throwaway material onto Special Director Editions of their films.

Did the added material in the laserdisc release of IAMMMW work?
Yes, it did. As has been stated here previously, it really fleshed
out a lot of characters.

I still disagree with Robert Harris over his decision not to include
all the laserdisc footage into a restored version, but also at the
same time understand the vision of making this as close to what
the original Roadshow version actually was.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

I have just two words about the tragic state of A Mad, Mad World still rotting away, and most likely never getting done right:

Bah, Humbug

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

I understand, from reading various threads througout the years, that the LD "restored" footage consisted of alternate and/or unused takes that were either not inserted in the correct place in the film, or were never in the roadshow version to begin with. However, since it looks as though the original roadshow cut is lost forever, I would like to see a new DVD (or preferably an HD/BR) version of IAMMMMW that utilizes whatever "lost" footage is still available, restored as best as can possibly be done, inserted into the film is as close to the correct sequence as possible, and let the viewer decide through branching technology which version to watch.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Douglas,

Thanks for the list of films. There were a few more films that slipped my mind!

Well it really is a "crying shame" on this matter of IAMMMMW. It would be nice if MGM released a HD transfer at some point.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

SCAVENGER HUNT
THE LOVED ONE
CASINO ROYALE
WE'RE NOT MARRIED
STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM
THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938
VARIETY GIRL

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Perhaps the greatest assembly of comedians of my formative years ever to appear in one film was YELLOWBEARD.

It's also one of the worst films ever made considering the talent involved.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

From: January 06, 2003



Mr. Harris,

What do we do? What translates to MGM or Fox to let the film survive till they can budget a restoration.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

The problem would be less budgetary, and more simply flying way below any corporate radar. The entire budget of a reconstruction / restoration could be made back via cable sales.

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Mr. Harris,

Thank you for the response today. Who is a contact at MGM or Fox that could carry the ball and get it far enough to see the potential to earn back the costs of reconstruction/restoration via cable sales?

Re: IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoratiion

Let me break in here for a minute, but I doubt Mr. Harris will share that information with you for obvious reasons like a flood of unwanted emails to that individual.





Crawdaddy