IT's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World Restoration (2 Viewers)

[Ronald Epstein]

While there is presently no additional news about any restoration efforts, we are proud to
have recovered and reposted the original coverage we did with Robert Harris back in 2004.
It was lost 3 years ago in a hard drive crash.
It is now permanently back on HTF rather than on an archived site.
Click Here

 

[Mark B]

I'm glad to see this has been recovered, Ron. It was one of my favorite bits of MAD WORLD history, and I was crestfallen when it disappeared.

 

[Ed Moroughan]

Awesome Ron! I'd only ever been able to read it on the archive site without images. Now, with the images I'm even more depressed over the films condition! :frowning: I don't have a copy of "Mad World" but I borrowed one from a library recently, since this is the only DVD available, is the quality "good enough" to own or should I wait?

 

[widescreenforever]

For $10 bucks you Can/should buy it for sure for these few reasons..

1. The extra footage was removed (from 188 down to 161 min ) - all three intermissons left in place ( -before/during and after movie (music) )

2. the extra footage does not work and looks out of place and the color timing/correction was never performed therefore you can tell by the color where the extra pieces come in., Plus the pieces themselves are dumb and I'm glad Kramer pulled them , after the 1963 Roadshow version.

3. The 71 min Documentary "A Little Less Serious" , and the 15 trailers and TV spots are also included on this anamorphic 2.55:1 flipper disc..

(not 2.35:1 as other versions are).

to get all of this mentioned make sure the upc code is 027616865915 .

( sept 18 2001 release date . )

If you ever want to see these missing pieces look for:

1. TCM cable presentation of the film with no commercial breaks coming in a total of 3 hrs 10 min. (If the time running is 2 hours 41 min then you know you have the regular DVD version., If you see a 154 min version it is the same without front-end and post-ending music., but Intermission music is still in place . )

2. The 1990 3 disc ( 5 sides) laserdisc box set is the same as the DVD but not 5.1 surround only dolby surround ., as is the cable TCM version .

 

[Ed Moroughan]

Ok, I'll add it to my list. BTW, if I'm not mistaken, the picture of the color coded reel is missing. Great article though.
EDIT: Ugh! Wish I could read at a 5th grade level like I'm supposed to, but it's not the color-coded reel pic it's the comparison of the different aspect ratios on three different reels that's missing.

 

[george kaplan]

I would disagree on buying the dvd. Not only is it a cut-down version, but the framing is off (you don't see the whole picture). Plus the opening titles are not the right color.

 

[Mark B]

I would disagree on buying the dvd. Not only is it a cut-down version, but the framing is off (you don't see the whole picture). Plus the opening titles are not the right color.

...and the Overture is missing.

 

[TonyD]

i bought the dvd years ago on release but havent opened it.
i bought only with the hope for show of support for the movie.
guess it didnt help.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Plus the pieces themselves are dumb and I'm glad Kramer pulled them , after the 1963 Roadshow version.

I just want to take exception to this. I didn't find any of the restored pieces "dumb." They all told us more about the characters and the situations. Many of the restored parts made the police part of the story more clear.
Also, some of the motivations of the characters were somewhat mysterious, but restoration clarified things -- for instance, why the Phil Silvers character (the meanest of them all) went out of his way to help the man bring medicine to his sick wife.
It was very exciting to me to see all these things restored to my second-favorite movie of all time after having seen only the cut version (about 20 times). My Number One Movie Wish is to see "Mad World" as it was shown when it first opened at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles and the Warner in New York City in November of 1963.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

the extra footage does not work and looks out of place and the color timing/correction was never performed therefore you can tell by the color where the extra pieces come in., Plus the pieces themselves are dumb and I'm glad Kramer pulled them , after the 1963 Roadshow version.

Let me also add my disagreement to this, and really, it's just
a matter of opinion.
I think ever scene that was added to that laserdisc version, whether
part of the original roadshow version or not, was pure gold! The
unfortunate reality is that Mr. Harris has already stated that not all
of that footage would be included if he were to restore the film as it
was never intended to be seen. I completely understand his point, but
argue that the footage should be included anyway, at the very least, in
supplements.

 

[Ed Moroughan]

Page 2, this paragraph, in the brackets:
"Robert Harris holds up (left photo) Jonathan Winter's personal 16mm print of the film. This was supplied to Mr. Harris via Karen Kramer. [I included the photo on the right in order to properly show my readers the difference in film ratio. What you see are three reels of Mad World film laid side-by-side. The top filmstrip is 70mm. The middle filmstrip is 16mm, while the bottom filmstrip is 35mm.]"
EDIT: I see others have mentioned offers of private donations so I don't need to.

 

[widescreenforever]

...and the Overture is missing.

The Overture is in three places.. How can it be missing?
and the framing is off? Maybe on the restored pieces they are off but not on the 2.55:1 release.. You must have the 2.35:1 version instead maybe.?...,, and the dumb scenes I meant, was the all the EXTRA screaming at the end of the "$350,000 divided by all the different shares scene by the side of the road" . Granted the Phil Silvers and the 'pickup to this sick wife' may be an exception.. But the rest?? ..
I'm very happy with my $10.00 DVD in 5.1 sound @161 minutes compared to that constant turning the CLV laser discs every 50 minutes broke up the movie too much in my mind.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ed,
Thank you for your assistance. I updated the article by removing
that reference.

 

[Douglas R]

The Overture is in three places.. How can it be missing?
and the framing is off? Maybe on the restored pieces they are off but not on the 2.55:1 release.. You must have the 2.35:1 version instead maybe.?...,, and the dumb scenes I meant, was the all the EXTRA screaming at the end of the "$350,000 divided by all the different shares scene by the side of the road" . Granted the Phil Silvers and the 'pickup to this sick wife' may be an exception.. But the rest?? ..
I'm very happy with my $10.00 DVD in 5.1 sound @161 minutes compared to that constant turning the CLV laser discs every 50 minutes broke up the movie too much in my mind.

What on earth do you mean by saying "The Overture is in three places"? An Overture only occurs once PRIOR to the beginning of the film and it 'aint on the DVD! The deleted scenes by the side of the road concerning dividing the money which I think add a lot to the sequence and which were on the VHS are not on the DVD extended sequence section (upc code 027616865915) either.

 

[widescreenforever]

What on earth do you mean by saying "The Overture is in three places"? An Overture only occurs once PRIOR to the beginning of the film and it 'aint on the DVD! .

OOPs you're right, ,My mistake.. I'm sooo used to seeing the long 188 min version (three times in 12 months on TCM ) I forgot what was DVD and was on Television... :frowning:

 

[MielR]

It is now permanently back on HTF rather than on an archived site.
Click Here

There must be something wrong with my browser- all I'm seeing is 6 paragraphs, with 2 photos of film reels at the bottom (and no links to any other pages).

 

[Joe Lugoff]

... and the dumb scenes I meant, was the all the EXTRA screaming at the end of the "$350,000 divided by all the different shares scene by the side of the road".

Well, again, just for the record, and it's only a matter of opinion, but oddly enough, the discussion about splitting the money is one of my very favorite scenes in the movie, and I was so glad to see it go on longer with the restored scenes!
Yet -- no matter how many times I see it, and no matter how much is restored, I still don't understand why Melville Crump gives one share to each of the eight people TWICE, unless it's only because $350,000 is evenly divisible by 25, but not by 17.

 

[Mark B]

Yet -- no matter how many times I see it, and no matter how much is restored, I still don't understand why Melville Crump gives one share to each of the eight people TWICE, unless it's only because $350,000 is evenly divisible by 25, but not by 17.

8 - each person "on the scene"
5 - people who went down to the wreck
4 - vehicles
8 - for each person in a vehicle
It stems from the fact that Benjamin and Bell aren't family or a single like the others, and they keep feeling cheated, so Krump covers it from every conceivable angle. The even split probably didn't hurt, though. lol

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Yeah, it has to be the even split, because 8 people on the scene and 8 for each person in a vehicle really says the same thing.
$350,000 divided by 17 comes to $20,588.23529 ... If after handing out the shares there'd have been a quarter left over, you just KNOW this bunch would have fought over who gets the extra quarter!

 

[Mark B]

you just KNOW this bunch would have fought over who gets the extra quarter!

HA HA HA! That's hilarious. You're so right. Perhaps it should have gone to Ethel for the phone calls.