It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Restoration discussion thread (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

There are major differnces between the actual approx. 192 minute November 1963 Road Show version of Mad World, and the laserdisc.

The film was cut in several ways:

1. Trims to the heads and / or tails of specific shots. There were no close-ups of Arnold Stang hanging in the rafters of the gas station.

2. Lifts of entire shots or sequences of shots, ie. stealing the red dodge or a scene immediately after Mr. Winters runs into the rear of the Imperial, during which Ethel Merman threatens to sue.

3. Entire sequences were lifted and placed elsewhere in the film in either trimmed or complete form. The shower sequence was originally in a different reel.

While the generic version is tighter, information is lost. The 192 seems to be better balanced overall.

As an example, I'll attempt to post a continuity of a reconstructed reel in the very near future.

RAH

 

[Robert Harris]

REEL 2C / 6 - PAGE ONEFINAL

0-0 8-9 8-9 1LS-Car

8-10 22-1214-3 2MCU-Adams, Caesar

33-1542-3 8-5 4MS-Hackett/Rooney VW in dust

42-4 81-7 39-4 5MLS/MS Winters’ truck & Imperial

81-8 164-983-2 6MS-Adams, Caesar, Ben Blue

164-10166-101-14 6ATail trim to 5

166-11185-718-136MS-Winters opens truck door

185-8234-148-107MS-Group, rear of truck-Pan w/Winters

234-2321-287-1 7ARooney / Hackett pass Berle Merman

Picture missing for A-C7BCop on car radio to Devine

7CWinters on bike

321-3358-837-6 8MS-Berle, Merman, Jeep from bg

358-9493-14135-69MCU-Thomas / Merman, others Jeep

493-15497-13-3 9AHead trim to 10

497-2504-77-6 10LS-Winters on bike to camera

504-8513-159-8 11MCS-Berle, Provine, Thomas

514-0516-122-3 12MLS-Jeep passes Winters

516-13525-38-7 13MS-Winters

516-13526-101-7 13ATail trim to 13(13A-D

526-11545-1519-5 13BMLS Winters on bike

546-0592-1446-1513CMS/MLS (zoom out) Caesar, Blue–biplane

592-15613-820-1013DMS Caesar, Blue – biplane

88-5 (88-3)Totals for 13 A - D

613-9667-153-9 14Berle, Merman, Provine

667-2669-82-7 14ATail trim to 14

669-9703-1034-2 15MS Ext. Gas station - Kaplan, Thomas

TOTAL FOOTAGE703-10 (616-9)

 

[ArthurMy]

All I want is what was shown in the theater at the roadshow. I don't want trims, I don't want shots or scenes Mr. Kramer removed from the film prior to the roadshow premiere - those are fine as extras, but if they weren't in the filmas released for the roadshow engagement then they don't belong in the body of the film.

 

[george kaplan]

OK, we get it. You don't want them. Many of us do. I'd prefer a Robert Harris restored roadshow myself. But lots and lots of us who have seen both the ld cut and the current dvd cut prefer the ld cut.

Stanley Kramer was alive and well in 1991 when the ld was produced, and participated in supplements for the ld. I am unaware of Kramer not being happy with or not approving of the ld cut, and until we get the roadshow restored, I will gladly watch this over the dvd cut. You prefer the dvd cut, fine. But unless you can provide me with a quote and a reference where Kramer said he didn't want the ld cut the way it is, I'm not going to assume it isn't what he wanted.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

There are always going to be opposing opinions

on this subject.

As I stated, I think what was done on the laserdisc

was outstanding.

Whether those trims belonged in that version or not,

it really opened up the film for fans who were seeing

this new cut for the very first time. I can still

remember watching the laserdisc and being blown away

that this stuff had been unearthed. It was like

revisiting old friends and finding out something new

about them.

The added trims worked. If I remember correctly,

we aren't talking about huge minutes of material here.

In my opinion, it was just enough material that didn't

interfere with the pacing.

While I respect Mr. Harris' vision for creating

the definitive roadshow version, I would also hope

that this set would do a little something extra for

the fans that have waited forever for this project

to materialize....

Really, if it could be accomplished, I would vote

to have BOTH roadshow and laserdisc versions presented

on the DVD. It would be up to the viewer to select

which version he/she would like to watch.

 

[Robert Harris]

Ron,

The problem of porting over an old analogue master to DVD is that the quality would not be anywhere up to snuff. Complaints would be rampant.

The resultant image would be non-anamorphic and non-digital.

RAH

 

[ArthurMy]

Mr. Kaplan, I did not say I prefered the cut DVD. What I would prefer is the roadshow version of the film, which is not what the LD is. No need to put words in my mouth, really.

 

[george kaplan]

I apologize if I misunderstood or misrepresented you. I didn't mean to say that you prefered the dvd cut to the roadshow version, but I did say, and thought you had indicated, that you prefered to dvd cut to the ld cut. If that's not correct, then sorry.

 

[ArthurMy]

No problem. I don't like the DVD cut, and I don't like the LD cut. I liked what I saw when I saw the film in its original roadshow release. Oddly, I've never loved the film. I enjoy the film, but find much of it not terribly amusing. However, any film that has Jack Benny, Phil Silvers, and The Three Stooges, in addition to the voice of Selma Diamond, is okay by me.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Perhaps when and if the restored roadshow version hits DVD, all the surviving material not re-instated in the roadshow cut could simply be re-transferred and included as a "trims" supplement. Plus, each could have an intro on why it was cut and how it played out in the preview version. Each of the scenes/shots could have parts of the final restored version bordering it, showing where it would have been.

Or, if the movie is split onto two discs (which would probably be fine since there's an intermission, anyways) there could be a seamless branching feature allowing you to see extended versions of scenes as the movie plays out (as well as being on a menu without having to go through the movie).

"It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World 1.5"

You know, this would be a model 2-disc SE under Columbia when they finally own MGM in full.

 

[Jay Pennington]

Oddly, I've never loved the film. I enjoy the film, but find much of it not terribly amusing. However, any film that has Jack Benny, Phil Silvers, and The Three Stooges, in addition to the voice of Selma Diamond, is okay by me.

That sums up my feelings as well.