On this blog, we talk a lot about one of my favorite movies…It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. I wrote a post about it that I'll be putting up here tomorrow but I realized I had something I should say first, especially to anyone who's been thinking of buying a copy of it or watching it via home video.
What I have to say to them is: Don't do that. Not unless you've seen this movie the right way.
Don't, I implore you, watch it for the first time on home video. Don't watch it on TCM or stream it or see it in any way on a small screen at home. Do not watch it alone. Do not watch it with just a few friends over. Wait until some theater near you shows it (a) on a big screen and (b) with a packed, hip audience. It's a very different film that way. You may not love it in that situation but you will love it a lot less on a small screen with a small group…and it will probably cause you to not ever go see it the way it was meant to be seen.
Once you have seen it that way then your small (or smaller) screen at home without a big audience is okay. I watch it that way all the time…but I fell in love with it on a big screen with a big audience.
Several companies have put it out on DVD and Blu-ray…and I even have copies of it on LaserDisc, VHS and Beta. By far, the best version anyone has released — and it might be the best we will ever have — is the version put out by the Criterion Collection. And actually, I should make that plural: versions.
Originally, they put it out as a multi-format set that contained both DVDs and Blu-rays. The set contained two different copies of the movie and all sorts of extras and you got all of that in both formats. You can buy that set from Amazon here and as I write this, the price is $40.81. I have plugged this multi-format set here before.
But what I haven't plugged is that they have since issued a set with all the material only on DVDs and another set with it only on Blu-rays. At the moment, you can order the DVD set here for $15.87 and you can order the Blu-ray set here for $39.99.
These prices may fluctuate from time to time but the point is that if you only need it in DVD format, you can save a lot of money. And if you only need it on Blu-ray, you can save — at the moment — less than a buck. Again, these prices may fluctuate.
So I call your attention to that and I call your attention to the fact that Amazon also offers a cheaper DVD version and a cheaper Blu-ray version, both from other companies, but the transfers aren't nearly as good and you don't get all those nifty bonus features. One of them is a commentary track by three Mad World experts, one of whom writes this blog. Be careful you order the version you want.
As I said, the Criterion version includes two copies of the movie. Let me explain why there are two. When this film was first released, it was very long. Four to six weeks later, various folks decided to trim it a lot and they created what we usually refer to as the "General Release Version." It was later trimmed further for some exhibitors but when you see it today, what you generally see is that General Release Version and it's fine. In fact, it's more than fine. It's wonderful. The producer-director of the film, Stanley Kramer, often said he preferred it. I think most lovers of this movie do.
The original, uncut version no longer exists. There are film buffs who insist there are copies around and some of them claim they know someone who has one…but they're starting to sound like Mike Lindell, claiming he has proof he never seems to be able to produce. Folks working with Criterion did an exhaustive search and found as many of the cut scenes as possible. Some of that footage was not in pristine condition and they did as much reconstruction and enhancement as was technically possible. The "extras" on all the Criterion sets include a documentary about this restoration and as you'll see in it, what they were able to do was amazing.
But this longer version is not perfect. Some of the video could not be brought up to the standard of the rest and in a few spots, there's audio but no picture or picture but not audio. It's fun because some of that restored footage is delightful and it's interesting to see what they chose to cut, and also our commentary track can only be heard on an alternate audio track of this version of the movie. But Criterion's restoration of the General Release Version is a better viewing experience.
(The one thing that is not on the Criterion set which some people wish it included is a documentary on the making of the film that was done back in 1999 for the LaserDisc release. A lot of the cast and crew members were still alive to be interviewed and you just might be able to find it on YouTube.)
Obviously, I love this movie. Obviously, not everyone does. There are some people in this world who have chosen this as the hill they're willing to die on: The premise that the movie is not funny and that all of us who laugh at it, even the umpteen-millionth time we see it, are wrong. I don't think there's anything more pointless than arguing that something isn't funny, especially when you're arguing with someone who's laughing. Nowhere here am I saying you'll love it as much as I do or even one bit. I'm just telling you what I think is the best way to watch it if you do watch it.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World debuted at the Cinerama Dome here in Hollywood in November of 1963. That's where and when I first saw it — the longer version! — in a theater that was more or less built to run it. I have since seen it several times in that building which was recently the subject of many news items saying it was closing down, going away, never showing movies again. Rumors abound lately that that's not true. We're hearing — though not yet officially — that it will reopen and resume showing mostly classic films.
I hope that's so…and I hope that if it is, they show Mad World soon, like maybe in November for its anniversary. If they do, I'll go and it might just be the first time I've ventured inside a theater for more than a year and a half. That would be a nice way to break my fast. More on It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World tomorrow.