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Click above to purchase "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad,
Mad World" at amazon.com
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
review by Zach B. and Anthony D.
Rated G
Studio: MGM
Running Time: 161 minutes
Starring Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Ceaser,
Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil
Silvers, Terry Thomas, Jonathan Winters... and a cast of
thousands!
Story and Screenplay by William and Tania Rose
Directed by Stanley Kramer
Retail Price: $19.98
Features: "Something A Little Less Serious"
Documentary, Extended Scenes, Theatrical Trailer, Reissue
Trailer
Specs: 2.55:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround,
English Closed Captions, English Subtitles, French
Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles, Scene Selections
Even when cinema was silent, "Greed" has been
thematically explored on celluloid. Erich von Strohiem's
MEGA-masterpiece of the silent age, before drastic studio
editing, was to have been an EIGHT HOUR (!) endeavor (based
on a best selling novel by Frank Norris) called,
appropriately enough: "Greed." Though "Greed" now only
exists in a reconstructed 242 minute, the film features one
of the finest performances ever captured on film; that of
ZaSu Pitts as a wife who drives her husband mad with her
obsession for money.
In nearly every decade following the 1925 release of
"Greed" one can find films, major and minor, with avarice as
its main theme. Think of all of the heist films, the
gangster epics, even screwball comedies such as "My Man
Godfrey" concern the rise from rags to riches. As the
popular song goes, "the rich get rich, and the poor get
poorer," so greed comes in all shapes and sizes, but no film
has been bigger than Stanley Kramer's splashy 1963 comedy of
epic proportions "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World." (Hereafter
"4 x Mad World"). Harkening back to Stroheim's former glory,
"4 x Mad World" initially ran for a buttocks-trying three
hour plus length of time. Not only was its timing big, but
it was scheduled to be shown on Cine-a-Rama screens, with a
possibility for a 2.8:1 aspect ratio! Ultimately, however,
"4 x Mad World" was screened in Ultra Panavision 70, a 70mm
process usually screened at 2.76:1 - - still, an awesome
aspect ratio! As befitting its screen size, Kramer chose to
populate the Tania and William Rose screenplay with
virtually every living comedic talent from Broadway and
Hollywood; and in a sublime tribute to von Stroheim's
"Greed," the still-feisty ZaSu Pitts!
Unfortunately, the cast is far better than the material.
If the thought of someone literally kicking the bucket as
they die (as Jimmy Durante's Smiler Grogan does) doesn't
make you laugh, then read no further, " 4 x Mad World" is
not gonna be your kind of movie. The material calls for
broadly played slapstick, no subtlety whatsoever and
anything for a laugh; very extreme, if not downright
subversive comedy. One's appreciation of "4 x Mad World"
depends entirely on one's tolerance level for the likes, or
the unlikely pairings, of Ethel Merman at her braying best,
Buddy Hackett at his most obnoxious, Milton Berle mugging
helplessly, Sid Caesar somehow proving that less is more,
Dick Shawn showing more than he should, Mickey Rooney (whom,
even when paired with Judy Garland, I personally had no
tolerance for), a befuddled Phil Silvers and a very much
out-of-place Spencer Tracy.
Setting out to make a supercomedy to end all comedies,
Kramer indulges in overkill, proving once and for all that
"bigger isn't better." One really wants to like "4 x Mad
World," honestly, one does, but more often than not, it
manages to become a true test of the patience and the
nerves. The film has a brilliant set-up: four vehicles
traveling the same highway, witness the fiery crash of a
fifth vehicle. Five passengers rush to the aid of the
injured driver, who before kicking the bucket, reveals the
location of seemingly lost bank loot ($350,000) to be under
a "big W" somewhere in Los Angeles. Trying first to reason
things out logically, greed gets the better of the witnesses
who now must race each other to claim the loot as their own.
Their exploits are being carefully monitored by an
about-to-retire police captain, with a personal stake in the
recovery of the loot. Okay, the set-up is great, the actors
are all game, but somewhere along the circuitous route to
that "big W," someone forgot to add real comedy. Comedy
isn't pretty, and it is the most difficult genre to make
work, since nearly everyone has a very different perspective
on what is funny. Yes, there are a few chuckles, even a few
guffaws, but when faced with a steady stream of gags which
more often than not miss the mark, "4 x Mad World" comes off
more as a laborious experiment than a true labor of love.
It's obvious that Kramer loves the comedians, but it's
painfully evident that he does not love "comedy." The best
things about "4 x Mad World" are its cameo performances, and
spotting the actors in those cameos. With the possible
exception of the best known comedian of the time (that would
be Lucille Ball), anyone who had ever earned a laugh on the
stage, screen or television is readily identifiable from a
list that goes from Edie Adams to Doodles Weaver. (And if
you have to ask WHO they are/were, then this really is NOT
gonna be a movie you love)! With at the very least,
sixty-five recognizable faces, "4 x Mad World" bombards the
viewer at every turn. In the end, with it's slap-dash,
slapstick fire-truck and ladder scene, "4 x Mad World" is
very much ado about nothing. The characters haven't grown,
and the director has chosen only to present that which his
characters will do for money; there's no pay-off, so to
speak, and no real comeuppance.
I know that there are some strong supporters out there of
this so-called classic comedy, and that my words may be
fighting words, but I'd rather have the introspective,
star-laden Kramer film of "Judgement at Nuremberg," also
featuring the great Spencer Tracy, than the too loud, too
noisy and just plain too, too everything antics of "It's a
Mad Mad Mad Mad World."
Presented in the wide glory of 2.55:1 widescreen, this
new anamorphic widescreem is the best I've seen the film in.
While it's the best shape I've seen the film in, it's really
far from perfect. While there's a limited amount of
blemishes, pieces of dirt and scratches, that are never
distracting, contrast on the image is way too high.
Shimmering and noise is present, and the effect is overall
annoying making it look too digital. Add in some digital
artifacting and this can be almost disturbing at some
points. It looks unnatural. Black levels and detail are
good, but the oversaturation can also be quite annoying.
Hues and fleshtones look off, and the reds become too
oranges. The bleeding here is not good. While the print is
cleaned up and that is appreciated, more careful care into
the transfer could have make this something extradoinary and
probably the best restoration for a live-action film I would
see. Alas, it is not.
Despite the old age of the film, MGM has sevrved up 5.1
Dolby Digital mixes in English and French. There's a lot of
sounds in this movie... being a an action film of sorts,
cars zooming and all sorts of crazy action and crashes bring
good activity, but not good surround use. Dialogue is clear
and easy to hear, and no other sounds overpower it. Fidelity
is good, but surrounds really could have been better and
pack more of a punch here. It's really disappointing. The
memorable Ernest Gold music could have been mixed better
too, while .1 LFE extension is decent. Still, it could have
been worse. It's more or less mono against all the channels.
And there is no mono option either. English subtitles,
French subtiles, Spanish subtitles and English closed
captions are included.
No special edition, but there is some worthwhile features
here on the other side of the disc. "Something A Little
Less Serious" is a documentary in full frame with clips
and stills from the film. This "tribute" to the movie has a
promotional feel of sorts, but in all, really interesting
and entertaining, considering the amount of perspective you
get from the writing and the film. Milton Berle, Stanley
Kramer, Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, Arnold Stang and all
sorts of cast and crew from the film talk about it all. It
seems to be archival footage plus some new interviews, but
this one hour feature is quite a fun watch and really has a
great amount of thoughts and information to absorb. A great
look back, and while it's no commentary, it does the film
justice and fans will love it.
This is where things get interesting... the Extended
Scenes section is a valuable addition but downright
annoying as far as interface. A great text into explains
cuts the film faced and that the scenes put together from
surviving film footage. Some of it looks good, other parts
of it looks shoddy. In either case, what makes this annoying
is not the fact they are in non-anamorphic widescreen (okay
that isn't cool with me), but how the scenes are not in
order as far as the film. They are just randomly put
together. While you can advance through chapters, you can
only play all and not jump right to a certain extended
scene. This is tedious, consdering there are fifty-six
chapters to experience. They last fifty-nine minutes and
twenty-four seconds in total. Still, a nice addition.
Finally, we get the Theatrical Trailer and
Reissue Trailer from 1970. The original is in
anamorphic widescreen, the reissue is not anamorphic. And
once again, MGM has no provided a keep case insert, but the
back of the box provides another fun fact!
A classic film comedy caper who's influence, acting and
hijinks still stand today, "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
has finally made its way to DVD. While more extras would
have been appreciated, and a better transfer and mix, fans
of the movie should pick this up, especially since the price
is low!
 (4/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (3/5)
 (2.5/5)
 (2/5)
(3/5,
NOT an average)
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