A Few Words About A few words about...™ It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Ray Faiola]

I can only imagine that someone mixed up Howard da Silva with Howard St. John or Howard MacNear, both of whom would have been likely candidates for such a role.
Brown and Carney did, of course, reunite in Disney's THE ABSENT MINDED PROFESSOR.

 

[lark144]

Bruce, thanks so much of those photos of the revered Capitol theatre, where I used to go in the afternoons in the late 60's instead of high school. I was not able to attend the screening of IAMMMMW at the Walter Reade, but I did see MY FAIR LADY the next day. Yes, some reel changeovers were out of focus for a second or two, but this was corrected quickly. At one point the sound cut out of the far left surround speaker for less than a minute, but again, this was quickly corrected. Every other reel was warped, so the projectionists were continually riding focus, and although the image did occasionally go soft, this was usually corrected in a few seconds, except for one instance during the scene where Elsa is repeating vowels where there was a bad patch of the film continually going soft over and over for about a minute. However, it was clear that the projectionists were doing everything they could to fix this problem. During the intermission, the manager made an announcement about the warped reels, and apologized, saying that the projections were aware of the problem and were riding focus. They waited until everyone was in their seats before beginning the Entre'acte music, which was shown with the screen dark and the house lights on dim. I also noticed that during the screening the manager and also an assistant would walk through every ten minutes or so checking on the film and also being available for any customer complaints. At the changeover to the last reel, the film caught in the projector gate and began to burn. Again, this was handled very professionally, with an announcement, and the film was back up and running in less than two minutes.
Watching MY FAIR LADY in 70MM was for me a revelation. I used to think that as far as George Cukor's personal cinematic signature was concerned, MY FAIR LADY was decidedly minor, being more of a Jack Warner production. I have now completely changed my mind. Audrey Hepburn's incarnation of Eliza Doolittle is of a piece with other women in Cukor's films, such as Sylvia Scarlett or Linda Seton (in HOLIDAY), a dreamer who occupies a shadowy thin line between two inhospitable worlds. This is made very clear in the way Ms. Hepburn is shot and directed, especially in the last half hour of the film, where she stands in the shadow beside an art nouveau lamp after the ball, and then walks across a plank covering a trench near Convent Garden -- Cukor frames her in the center of the frame surrounded by fog that makes the other people and buildings in the shot shadows -- when she attempts to return to her former way of living. (Please excuse me for writing about MY FAIR LADY in a thread dedicated to IAMMMMW, but since the projection in 70mm at the Walter Reade was in question, and a number of members asked what the other screenings were like, I thought this was the best place to post.)
This is the third time I have seen MY FAIR LADY in 70mm, but this particular screening really hit home. I personally think that may be due to the intimacy of the Walter Reade theatre. The audience, also, was very enthusiastic, applauding at the end of the first half and also after the Entre'acte, in addition to a loud burst of applause when Mr. Harris' name appeared at the end. The print, which was from the Academy in LA, was fantastic-looking, the sound system in the theatre was excellent, and except for those instances that I have noted above, I though the presentation was great. (By the way, I was a manager of a cinema on the East Side of Manhattan for more than a decade, and I am very picky when it comes to projection and showmanship.)
I also saw RYAN'S DAUGHTER in 70mm the next day, and that, projection wise, was perfect. Although I did see RYAN'S DAUGHTER in 70mm in its initial run at the Ziegfeld, this screening at the Walter Reade was also a revelation. I now think this may be one of David Lean's best films, certainly his most personal, using a technique of stream-of-consciousness, which is very unusual for David Lean, through an enhancement and exaggeration of image and detail, depending on which character's viewpoint the film is taking. Right now, to my great surprise, I'm thinking that RYAN'S DAUGHTER may be a masterpiece. In any case, RYAN'S DAUGHTER is a film that desperately needs to be re-evaluated and re-seen.
Anyway, that was my experience of seeing two of the 70mm series at the Walter Reade!

 

[widescreenforever]

Seeing a movie that has been restored at your local cinema is never a great experience.. I went in 1999 to see the new improved 60th print of Wizard of Oz and thoroughly disgusted with the print .. in all the areas .. sound / tinted and technicolor ... But when I received the DVD of the same print later in the same year it was very Good to excellent .. and of course you can't go wrong with the new blurays with 4K transfers on the market .,
bottom line to me..is home theater is where it's at..

 

I guess I'm not as discriminating as many of the other people contributing to this thread, because I thought Mad Mad World looked beautiful at the Walter Reade. I saw the Saturday afternoon show on 12/22/12. To me it looked much more colorful than the print I saw at the Cinerama Dome last September. The only flaws in the show were the way the police calls were handled (played three times after the intermission instead of during the intermission), and the curtains not being used. They'd been used the night before at the screening of "2001" with special guest Keir Dullea. Two other great shows I attended were West Side Story and Ryan's Daughter. It was my first time seeing Ryan's in 70mm. Worth waiting 42 years for!

 

[Ray Faiola]

Bill - I guess we're just a couple of roundhaircuts!!

 

[Techman707]

Well, Bruce, I guess I'm not as discriminating as some others, nor am I any kind of an expert when it comes to 70mm. I certainly noticed the out-of-frame changeover but was so amazed that they corrected it right away (most NYC operators would leave it that way for the entire reel!!!) that I forgot about it. And, yes, there was end of reel schmutz but c'est la filme. I was just so delighted that my wife was enjoying herself so much that I was in a very forgiving mood.

Ray, when I say “not discriminating”, I’m not criticizing you. If you haven’t seen what some of these films looked like on their original run, you “think” that it's going to look the same. I now see that it's not going to happen in a theatre like the Walter Reade or with “some” of the prints available today. In the “My Fair Lady” thread there’s a post today telling of a film break that showed the frame burning on the screen at the 12/28 showing of MFL. Obviously, the print had problems (and has more now) and wasn’t inspected good enough before the showing. As you’re already aware, the saving grace is that despite what I felt was a poor performance, these films are so wonderful that the audience enjoyed the showing anyway.

 

Bill - I guess we're just a couple of roundhaircuts!!

I think you're right, Ray! In my case, I'm so happy just to be able to see a classic in 70mm, given how rare that is these days, that I ride over any flaws there may be. But I understand how someone would want a 70mm show to be the best it can possibly be, especially a projectionist who could actually make that happen. Mostly I'm very grateful to Lincoln Center for having the 70mm festival at all, and for making it possible for me to finally see Ryan's Daughter the right way.

 

[Ray Faiola]

Ray, when I say “not discriminating”, I’m not criticizing you. If you haven’t seen what some of these films looked like on their original run, you “think” that it's going to look the same. I now see that it's not going to happen in a theatre like the Walter Reade or with “some” of the prints available today. In the “My Fair Lady” thread there’s a post today telling of a film break that showed the frame burning on the screen at the 12/28 showing of MFL. Obviously, the print had problems (and has more now) and wasn’t inspected good enough before the showing. As you’re already aware, the saving grace is that despite what I felt was a poor performance, these films are so wonderful that the audience enjoyed the showing anyway.

No offense taken, I assure you. I saw MAD WORLD in '72 for the first time. Spectacular. Even in Mamaroneck. I've seen fellow collectors' 35mm IB prints and I've seen MGM's later 35mm prints (to quote Buddy Hackett - "Yeeushh, what happened to yewww!"). I was very pleased with the Reade print despite the few peccadilloes. I have a 16 IB/Scope (single rank) which, of course, is TOTALLY irrelevant in this discussion except that it contributes to what has been a pretty wide spectrum of exposure to different incarnations of the picture. I was just so happy that so many people enjoyed the screening as much as they did.

 

[Techman707]

I have a 16 IB/Scope (single rank) which, of course, is TOTALLY irrelevant in this discussion except that it contributes to what has been a pretty wide spectrum of exposure to different incarnations of the picture. I was just so happy that so many people enjoyed the screening as much as they did.

It's NOT totally irrevelant. I've had a 16mm Technicolor IB scope print since 1963 (I used Vita Film to keep it soft over the years) and had a 35mm IB print until 1989, when I moved to Florida. Since you've seen 16 & 35mm versions, then you should realize how bad that 70mm print looked. The original 35mm IB prints were VERY light and sharp, which contributed to that 70mm print being so disappointing. But hey, it just makes me feel MUCH better about only having the 16mm print or Blu-ray to watch. I'm now cured from ever wanting to see it in 70mm. If the 70mm prints of all these great films aren't going to look as good as they originally looked, then I'd rather remember them the way they were.

 

[BrianSiano2]

I just watched the TCM version of IAMMMMW, which brought me to various web pages about the various versions, and the restoration that I believe is still in progress. One of the pages mentioned some reels of effects work from the collection of the great Linwood Dunn. Which reminded me of something that may be of interest. At some point in the late 1970s, Tom Snyder's _Tomorrow_ show did a segment on special effects. His guests included Douglas Trumbull and John Dykstra (who'd just done _Star Wars), possibly Albert Whitlock (they showed the dust storm sequence from _Bound for Glory_) and Linwood Dunn... who shows the matte paintings used in the finale of IAMMMMW. The show's not on the Web, and I dunno if this moment can be licensed for a future Blu-Ray of the film, but I figured it'd be of interest to forum readers.

 

[Steve Armbrust]

I had an OMG IAMMMMW moment when watching the Sony Open golf tournament the last couple of days. It's played at Waialea Golf Club in Honolulu, and one of the course's signature features is the W created by four palm trees. Not being an expert on the movie's locations, I had to run to the internet to check to make sure it wasn't the same place. It really sent a pleasant shock through me, because the palms on Waialea looked so much like the ones from IAMMMMW. Then a bit sad, of course, to learn that the trees in the movie have not survived the years.

 

[usrunnr]

TCM showed "IAMMMMW" last night with overture and exit music in what is I presume the longest available cut of the movie. What I don't understand is why this film and so many TCM presentations are so blurry on my 55" Samsung. "Lawrence" recent showing was also blurry, in direct contrast to the finest Blu-Ray I've ever seen. TCM's showing of "Demetrius and the Gladiators" recently was also blurry. What is it about these older wide screen movies that look good on Blu-Ray (and even DVD), but look awful on TCM?

 

[Reed Grele]

TCM showed "IAMMMMW" last night with overture and exit music in what is I presume the longest available cut of the movie. What I don't understand is why this film and so many TCM presentations are so blurry on my 55" Samsung. "Lawrence" recent showing was also blurry, in direct contrast to the finest Blu-Ray I've ever seen. TCM's showing of "Demetrius and the Gladiators" recently was also blurry. What is it about these older wide screen movies that look good on Blu-Ray (and even DVD), but look awful on TCM?

On my Cable system (Comcast) TCM is available in SD and "HD". Only problem is, the "HD" channel is all upconverted content. No true HD yet afaik. Sometimes it looks o.k., sometimes not.

 

[darkrock17]

TCM showed "IAMMMMW" last night with overture and exit music in what is I presume the longest available cut of the movie. What I don't understand is why this film and so many TCM presentations are so blurry on my 55" Samsung. "Lawrence" recent showing was also blurry, in direct contrast to the finest Blu-Ray I've ever seen. TCM's showing of "Demetrius and the Gladiators" recently was also blurry. What is it about these older wide screen movies that look good on Blu-Ray (and even DVD), but look awful on TCM?

TCM shows the 182 min. "Special Edition from 1991. I've never noticed IAMMMMW or any other movies being blurry on TCM.

 

[usrunnr]

Thank you Reed Grele for that information. I thought maybe something was wrong with my setup. Makes me not watch TCM though. Gives me a headache. We get TCM through Dish Network.

 

[widescreenforever]

TCM showed "IAMMMMW" last night with overture and exit music in what is I presume the longest available cut of the movie. What I don't understand is why this film and so many TCM presentations are so blurry on my 55" Samsung. "Lawrence" recent showing was also blurry, in direct contrast to the finest Blu-Ray I've ever seen. TCM's showing of "Demetrius and the Gladiators" recently was also blurry. What is it about these older wide screen movies that look good on Blu-Ray (and even DVD), but look awful on TCM?

In my neck of the woods up here TCM is broadcast only in digital analog .. It is not in High Defination such as blue ray dvd's are .. .. I say digital because the cable service is no longer pure analog ..

 

[Richard V]

On my Cable system (Comcast) TCM is available in SD and "HD". Only problem is, the "HD" channel is all upconverted content. No true HD yet afaik. Sometimes it looks o.k., sometimes not.

Same thing goes for my HD TCM, provided by Direct TV. Last night's showing of Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World did not look good at all, possibly not even as good as the DVD, but it did show the 180 minute version.

 

[JohnS]

For those that missed it on TCM it will play again on March 3rd at 12:15pm (ET)

 

[RolandL]

Same thing goes for my HD TCM, provided by Direct TV. Last night's showing of Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World did not look good at all, possibly not even as good as the DVD, but it did show the 180 minute version.

Of course those extra scenes were cut from the movie before it was shown at movie theatres

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by RolandL
Of course those extra scenes were cut from the movie before it was shown at movie theatres

The film originally went into distribution in the 196-7 minute cut.
Keep in mind that the "long" version on home video never existed as a film.
RAH