It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

There can never be a true remake of this classic comedy. A few have tried claiming they were "inspired by" but have failed anyway. Stanley Kramer's epic "Comedy to end all comedies" had an amazing cast of comic actors old and (at that time) new which could never be recreated. It is a snapshot of a particular moment in time when comedians stretching back to the borscht belt and vaudeville met up with a new generation of comics working in clubs and on television. In fact many who had had small careers in films had found a much larger audience in the relatively new medium of TV. It may not be the funniest film ever made - that is every person's own opinion - but it is funny and succeeds in the impossible task of keeping up an atmosphere of comic mayhem for over a 2 1/2 hour running time. Enormously popular in its day (it was the third highest grossing film of 1963 taking in over 45 million) it has become a greatly beloved classic even now, over fifty years later.It was written by British screenwriter William Rose, who had written the Alec Guiness comedy, The Ladykillers. It was written originally as a madcap chase through Scotland. He sent an outline to director Stanley Kramer. I'd love to know why, because Kramer was a director of big, serious films with important social messages like The Defiant Ones (racism), On the Beach (atomic war), Inherit the Wind (freedom of speech) and Judgement at Nuremberg (the aftermath of World War II). He would seem like the worst possible choice to pitch a comedy to, but maybe the word was out that Kramer was interested in making a comedy, perhaps to not be typecast. Once things got going, the production, much like the film itself, took on a momentum of its own and soon practically every comedian in town was calling Kramer asking to be in it.There are so many great actors in roles big, small and in cameos that it would take up too much space to name them all. It was great to see some of the older cast members like Jimmy Durante, Ethel Merman and Milton Berle go out with a big film that would be remembered. Actors in smaller roles often put in hilarious performances doing their usual schitck. Paul Ford as the bumbling Colonel Wilberforce (he had been the bumbling Colonel Hall on the Phil Silvers Show); Jim Backus as rich alcoholic Tyler Fitzgerald (it adds an extra laugh to know he was the well-known spokesman for Western Airlines whose tagline was "It's the only way to fly"); and Don Knotts in his nervous man routine. British comedian Terry-Thomas got roles in major pictures for years afterwards. Some faces, like Jesse White (TV's Maytag repair man) were only known from television exposure, which is probably missed by aOne would have wanted to see the cameo actors a little longer and some were underused (Stan Freberg, Edward Everett Horton) but the movie was originally over three hours as it was. The Three Stooges are only on for a few seconds and don't actually do anything but stand there but I can attest that they got a huge laugh from the audience just for being there.All of the principals were at their best. Even when they didn't have a line, just watching their faces is hilarious. But it was Jonathan Winters in his first film role who is most remembered. His eight minutes of total mayhem in Ray & Irwin's Garage is one of the great comic scenes in any movie. Again I can attest that in its first run in late '63 the audience was in a state of total sustained pandemonium almost literally rolling in the aisles as this scene played out. I've never again experienced an audience in so complete a state of hysteria.The film also has great support from the entire production team. There is one of the great comic scores of all time by Ernest Gold, a mad carousel-out-of control theme that wildly creates the right mood during legendary animator Saul Bass's creative title sequences. Despite its assertive character the music doesn't try to dominate the film but drops in now and then to enliven a driving scene that would look dull if silent or to accent brief moments of pandemonium. The film was beautifully shot in Super Panovision 70, which simulated a Cinerama effect without the "seams" created by the old three-camera process. And the scenery is spectacular with the Southern California desert, coastal towns and aerial footage. The editing, sound effects people and stuntmen were all major contributors to the film's success.Not everyone liked it and this is still true. A number of the critics of the day dismissed it as too dumb for words. But you have to understand that many critics of that era and before were very high toned and felt only films of great intellectual depth were worth seeing. Bergman, yes, but not something like this. It took until the early 80's for film critics to loosen up a bit and admit they could like both types of films. Others found it too long and too slapstick. Both accusations are true in their way but this was meant to be gargantuan and its excess is part of its nature. Also, a big film made with a big budget had to be pitched to a large general audience and so it needed to have lots of broad humor and not be a witty comedy of manners or something like that. Besides, it's kind of an homage to the whole history of film comedy and actually uses a lot of classic silent comedy bits. All in all the film knows exactly what it is doing, building on its momentum to its conclusion. And it's still a Stanley Kramer film and does contain a deep, cynical observation that totally nice, everyday people can go entirely insane over money as can the entire culture. The movie ends nicely with what could be a nod to Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels, illustrating the value of laughter on the simplest level with the oldest joke in the world.Amazon's streamed film looks beautiful. I saw a streamed version a few years ago in the early days of streaming and it looked terrible because it had that over-sampling problem that made it look like daytime television, like it had been shot on somebody's video camera. I'm happy to say there's no trace of that. There are some great tributes, interviews and clips etc. on YouTube and I'd like to point out two really good ones. One posted by The Criterion Collection as "Location Comparison" shows many of the main locations then and now. There are others like this but this one is professionally shot at the exact camera angle as the film. The second is a "Cast Guide" that posts the name and dates of virtually everyone who appeared in the film while showing you a scene they're in.EXTRA NOTE: A few major comics wanted to be in the film but couldn't for one reason or another. Bob Hope's studio wouldn't lend him out even for a cameo. Lucille Ball was too tied up with her TV show being taped for the coming season. Red Skelton's manager wanted him to be paid the same as the primary cast even for a cameo. Stan Laurel sent regrets but said he had sworn never to appear in a film again after Oliver Hardy's death and could not break his word.

This is the 3-disc 2017 DVD edition.The extras were interesting, particularly those on the discs with the movies.The general release is, in a word, perfect.The restored edition is not bad. It includes the new footage in the prior special edition, which looks better here. The new new footage (so to speak) is mostly very short bits finishing up familiar sequences. There are some longer additions that use stills because only the audio is available, but there is at least one new sequence that has probably not been seen since it was shown in Cinerama toward the end. A fair number of subtitles appear because the last word of a phrase is missing from the soundtrack. At first, this was disconcerting but, by the mid-point, it was simply part of the show.If I understand the timing right, there are still about 8 minutes missing, but, if Criterion couldn't find them, I suspect they are well and truly gone.It should be understood that the restoration was intended to restore the original film to the extent possible; thus, in restoring the color, some unrestored bits remained at the edges (this is shown in the restoration featurette on the restored film DVD). One can only speculate that using CGI technology would have allowed those areas to be colored quite convincingly but one also suspects that the restorer's would have regarded that as a profanation.The explanation for the missing sound made no sense, but perhaps I did not understand it properly.Oh, and each version is one one side of its own DVD. No flipping, no swapping discs here!And, for those worried about shelf space, it all fits into a single-disc-width package. No separate cases, no cardboard case.

O.K., I know a lot of critics say this movie isn't as funny as it tries to be, although I beg to differ. Even when it isn't laugh-out-loud funny, it's still a lot of fun to watch, but I suspect viewers under a certain age won't derive as much enjoyment. One of the paramount distinctions of this film is the unbelievable cast: virtually every major comedian who was active at the time makes an appearance somewhere or other, a tour-de-force of casting that constantly impresses. However, if you aren't familiar with these people and view them simply as anonymous actors who happened to be cast in their respective roles, the final result will be far less impressive. But the fact remains this is a landmark project that still yields a lot of smiles, giggles, and, yes, laugh-out-loud moments. And one more major plus: this actually is a wholesome movie fit for the entire family; unlike virtually every comedy being made today, Kubrick never once resorts to disgusting gags about feces, vomit, or flatulence, which is what sadly passes for wit and humor in today's society.

A fatally wounded car crash victim, (Jimmy Durante) knowing he's about to literally kick the bucket, informs a skeptical bunch of onlookers that there is an enormous stash of cash buried some two hundred miles away in a famous park “under a big W, a big W I tell ya”. As the onlookers continue their journeys they all decide to go take a look. And so starts a truly madcap race to be first to dig it up.Stanley Kramer's tremendously entertaining and lavish comedy of errors has just about every great name in comedy from the 50's and 60's chasing that cash. Essentially a race/road film from the off, we follow Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Micky Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Terry Thomas, and a host of other big name stars on the maddest race ever put to film to find that buried loot. Along the way there are so many laughs the 159 or 197 minute version just flies by.Any film made in the sixties inevitably looks a bit dated today, the fashions, the cars, the language, the sexual and race politics, the jokes, however great visual comedy never seems to age, a prat-fall today is no different to one over 50 years ago and it's just as funny or unfunny as is the case. Lots of physical film funny business is wonderfully choreographed into all that motorized mayhem and compliments the pitch perfect performances from all concerned. For me however Jonathan Winters slightly unhinged truck driver and Phil Silvers sleazy conman stole the show even with all that talent competing for screen-time. If you can accept it for what it is, a product of it's time, and not impose more recent enlightened ideas about gender, race, age etc you will find so much to enjoy.You may not recognise all the actors on show but you will recognise many of their voices, Mr Magoo, Top Cat and many other voice over actors made small appearances, as Does Jerry Lewis and The Three Stooges, but blink and you will miss them.A massive hit worldwide, it took over 6 times it's budget and proved that big budget comedies can work. There was talk of a remake a few years ago with Robert DeNero and Ben Stiller but it seems to have stalled or been shelved. If they make one I will be first in line, although I doubt that the original magic could be replicated.My US import Blu Ray has a very nice 60 minute documentary about the film that although not exactly earth shattering has many of the cast and crew talking about their experiences.Great entertainment all round.

Great edition with an awesome picture/sound quality (only on the original version) and good extras too. And besides that you have an art book with some cool drawings and some explanations about the history/production of the movie, wich is great for collectors like me... Altough in my opinion it was a bit expensive, it costed me 26€. I rather prefered only the normal version for half the price. And on the director's cut version some of the deleted scenes are photos taken during the production... In my opinion there is no logic adding photos as deleted scenes in a movie... And on the normal deleted scenes also included on the director's cut version the image is really bad, and honestly those deleted scenes didn't add nothing interesting to the movie... For a criterion version expensive as this one they should have treated the deleted scenes way better, so that they could fit perfectly in the movie, but unfortunately they didn't... And besides that there are no subtitles of any kind in the director's cut version... But this was the only available version so i bought it anyway. In general i'm happy with this purchase, and this blu ray version was saved by the awesome work done on the original version (4K image resolution and great sound). This is one of my favourite classics of all time and now i finally have it on my collection. But like i said half the price for only the cd of the original version would be a way better purchase in my opinion... Altough i recommend this to all collectors that love good old comedies like me. This is one of the best, If not the best comedy off all time, it's a must have in my opinion. I only rated it 3* because of the price and the poor work done on the director's cut version. So dont think twice and get this while you can, it's worth it because of the great job done on the original version... It's a jewel in the movies history. :)

Yes, this is more expensive than your average blu-ray. But if you're a fan of classic comedy it's well worth the outlay. Because you're very unlikely to find this at your local charity shop. And although this film still gets the occasional airing on the schedules and streaming services in the UK it's always in its shortened format. Here the restored original is presented. It's the ultimate rainy Sunday afternoon film.There are some genuine laugh out loud moments: especially Jonathan Winter's scenes and the aerial sequences. The slapstick is well done and, unlike some US comedy films, not overdone. Mind you the cast is as close to perfect as you could get at the time. It has dated, but that adds to its charm - just leave your woke/PC head off when you watch it! And anything with Terry Thomas in it is normally worth a watch - he's on good form here along with the rest of the cast.There are some great bonuses too.

After many years of reading and hearing about the full 192 minute version I finally have it and boy it doesn't disappoint. It's not all video as a lot has been lost over the decades but what is there is amazing. If your a fan then this is most definitely for you. Well worth the money and it'll be a keeper forever. Great extras....Basically this is a perfect Mad World set,trust me when I say you'll be MAD to miss out on it.

All star cast in this excellent film. Shot in Ultra Panavision 70mm. So quality of image will never be an issue. Transfared in 4K. Fantastic 5.1 Surround Sound DTS HD makes the sound perfect. Criterion release finally lands in UK. Region B for UK.Great extras to.