I've been plugging the new Criterion DVD/Blu-ray set of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World here for a while, not because I had a very small hand in its making but because it's such a great presentation of what I suppose is my favorite movie. I don't claim it's The Greatest Movie Ever Made or even The Greatest Comedy but it's a film that always brings me joy, and I've been fascinated with its history since I first saw it in November of '63, between the time Lee Harvey Oswald shot John F. Kennedy and Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. That was a good time to escape into a funny film.
The 5-disc set, which offers all its content in both DVD and Blu-ray format, will be officially released January 21 but I received my copies yesterday. Boy, is this a terrific thing…and I say that as someone who will not make another nickel, no matter how it sells. (Well, actually, if you order a copy through this link, I'll get a tiny cut but I get a tiny cut of anything you buy from Amazon if you get there by clicking through a link on this site.)
If you like this film, you probably already own a copy on DVD, Blu-ray, Laserdisc or even VHS. I have at least one of each plus a copy in Beta. The Criterion set does not contain the documentary, "Something a Little Less Serious," which was seen on some of the past home video versions. It also does not have all the extra versions of scenes (alternate takes which the director Stanley Kramer chose not to use) which were on the Laserdisc. But apart from those, I can't imagine why anyone would ever need any of the other video versions.
This set has many special features, including an amazing documentary on the visual effects and many interviews. There are two versions of the movie on it. One is a very fine transfer of the general release version, which was cut down somewhat from the way the movie was seen at its premiere. Then there's a 197 minute "reconstruction" of that original version, restoring most but not all of the cut footage. A few scenes are picture-only or audio-only and a few have imperfect video…but this is as close to "complete" as you're likely to ever see.
You can watch the almost-completely-restored version with or without the Audio Commentary Track. Should you choose "with," you'll hear three Mad World experts — Mike Schlesinger, Paul Scrabo and me — telling you so much trivia about this movie, you'll wonder if we have actual lives. This coming Wednesday, Mike and I will be on Stu's Show, discussing It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and telling you all sorts of things that we didn't have time to get into our 3+ hour annotation.
If you've never seen this film — or haven't seen it in a long, long time — and you buy this set, I suggest you watch the General Release Version first. Then wait a while and watch the longer version with our Commentary Track. Do not watch it with the Commentary Track until you're ready to hear us give away a lot of plot points.
I don't want to oversell this movie. The worst thing you can do when you tell someone a joke is to say, "Boy, are you gonna laugh at this." I really like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and I won't be offended (or bother arguing) if you don't…but if you do like it, you're going to like what the Criterion folks have done to it.