Criterion announces extended cut blu-ray/DVD of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!" for 1/21/14

Great film, looking forward to the extended cut!

 

$50 ? No chance.

 

This must be one of those movies people either love or hate... I love it.

Fifty bucks -- actually the regular retail price will be more like $39 -- is a steal for a restored-by-Robert-Harris exclusive, mastered by the people at Criterion, sourced from a new 4K transfer, that includes two BluRay discs and three DVDs with tons of extras and a fair amount of footage that has never before been available on home video (even on the old laserdisc/VHS extended cut). We even get the police-radio calls that played in the theater lobbies during intermission!

I don't like spending a lot of money on movies I already own in three formats -- but this one is a must!

 

I'm still going to keep my laserdisc version. I've treasured it for too long to give it up now!
And I like the cover art much more than the cover of the new Criterion BluRay!

 

Yeah, I'm curious how they're going to deal with that. What typically happens with failed movies like this is that the studio is indifferent to how all the elements are stored. Years later, archivists who are trying to put the pieces back together again inevitably find soundtracks with no picture, picture with no sound, and in some cases, incomplete versions of scenes were both picture and sound are missing. A pal of mine went through that while restoring a movie on disc some years back, and I think he wound up using storyboards and full-screen scripts (or subtitles) to try to recreate as much of the missing footage as possible, but it's frustrating to work on a project like that when the elements are so scattered.

I'd be interested in seeing the long version, but I reserve the right to use the fast-forward buttons on all the scenes with Dick Shawn and/or Ethel Merman. I like a lot of what's left.

Ooooh, I did the mastering on 1776 for Columbia, and that was a very tough transfer. Interesting film -- I liked all the segments with Ben Franklin (Howard DeSilva).

 

This movie hits a real soft spot for me. I loved it as a kid. I still remember, as a 12 year old, being in bed, trying to play the entire movie over again in my head.

 

I remember a review-probaby DVD Laser by Doug Pratt, saying that the lesser video quality of the restored scenes was actually quite interesting. You could imagine yourself as a producer who has to cut the film and wondering if this scene should stay or go.

 

Makes more sense than the $100 White Light/White Heat set.

 

"1776" producer/director Peter Hunt is working on a blu-ray of his extended director's cut using original source material at Sony/Columbia studios with Sony VP Grover Crisp...it should be available in 2014, either through Sony's direct-market channels or their licensing agreement with Twilight Time Entertainment as a 3,000-pressing limited edition.

 

Robert Harris and others are starting to talk about the work done over at the Home Theater Forum. It was noted that some of the footage used in the laserdisc came from a source with Japanese subtitles and zooms had been applied to remove those. This had an effect on how much of the frame's color could be recovered for those scenes in the extended version. I'm not that interested in this movie, but the passionate fandom and the technological process of rescuing and restoring as much of it as possible fascinate me.

 

I am very excited about this!

 

no that wasn't the roadshow version, it was outtakes inserted ,most of poor Q and it was missing footage

 

Doh! Stuff like this drives me crazy, because I bet the elements underneath the subtitles were available at some point! That's unless all they had was an optical print or intermediate element that had the subtitles permanently burned in. That's a pretty horrible compromise.

 

I havent seen this since I saw it in Cinerama during it's first run. I can barely remember the movie! Isn't Charlie Callas in it?

 

Please elaborate. What are these police radio calls?

 

In the roadshow version, police radio calls were played during the intermission. They were supposed to describe the action taking place during those 15 minutes.

 

If you grew up or spent much time in Southern California back in the 60's then "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" is like going home via time machine.
Fascinating site showing original shots and how they look today ... there's that corner at Mulholland and Valley Circle where I always hitchhiked !!

GO HERE ---> http://www.gchudleigh.com/madworld.htm

 

Likewise, I remember watching it with my little sister, both of us in pajamas. I recall yelling "The Three Stooges!!!" when they showed up and then wondering why they were never shown again. Guess I didn't quite grasp what a cameo appearance was. I'll be buying this for sure.

 

finally! I've been waiting for this for years! Cool..

 

Who's still alive?

Seeing/hearing archive interviews with almost everyone would be interesting. Have Criterion done that on this release?

 

I'm IN!!

 

Mine is stored high and dry. Was going to try and transfer it to disc, but with the box, they will be saving me a LOT of trouble.