Rating: 
Summary: Fabulously Funny!
Review: This movie is a comedy classic. It's rare to find a movie in which each scene is funnier than the last one throughout its entirety. The cast of stars is unbelievable, all top name actors and comedians. The talent of the cast is what makes this movie so entertaining and hilarious. And of course you wouldn't get this much talent in one place if it wasn't a great movie in the first place. Definitely a favorite to enjoy over and over again. Highly recommended!! One of the best comedies ever!!
Rating:
Summary: A godsend DVD...almost
Review: I'm not going to go into a review of the 1963 film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.'' This is one of those films that's almost beyond reviewing--you either love it or you hate it. I love it, and have loved it for more than 30 years, ever since my Mom took me to see it in its 1970 theatrical re-release. It's a classic.What I want to talk about here is the new DVD version of the movie. Is it good? "Yes emphatically" and "yes kinda" at the same time. The main drawback for the dvd is the aspect ratio-strange for a widescreen 16x9 enhanced dvd, yes? Let me explain. For decades since I saw it on the big screen, the only version I was able to see of "Mad4World" was the pan-and-scan version-which meant for years I was seeing only about half the picture. I thought myself lucky when I recently caught a "widescreen" version of the movie on cable TV (either Turner Classic or American Movie Classics, I forget which-probably TCM since my tape has no damn commercials stuck in the middle of it). Unfortunately, this version was only a small bit "wider" than the pan and scan; but it was better than what I'd seen on TV previously. You see, "M4World" started its life as a ultra widescreen Cinerama movie. That means its picture was not only super-wide, having been shot in 70mm SuperPanavision, but that it was also projected onto a curved screen that wrapped around the audience, taking up almost all your peripheral vision if you sat in the front part of the auditorium. An anamorphic lens was used in the projector which distorted the picture at the edges in order for them to look normal when projected on the huge curved screen. The original aspect ratio was 2.55:1. So the point I'm trying to make is that this was a VERY widescreen movie. And now we have a very widescreen transfer on DVD. Now we can see more of the film than we have been able to in years, right? Good, right? Well, yes and no. You see, for some reason, MGM has put "Mad4World" out not at a 2:55 aspect ratio, but at a slightly narrower 2:35 aspect ratio. This might not seem like such a bad thing, but the surprising result is that there are many things I can see on my old vhs tape of the pan-and scan version that I cannot see on this widescreen DVD! The reason is this: as I said, this widescreen version is slightly less wide than the original, and often characters on either the far left or far right sides of the screen are cut off a bit. In my old P&S version, the person who had done the panning and scanning simply panned all the way to the right or left side of the picture if the action was on that side, showing that character fully (but of course showing the characters on the other side not at all). In this new dvd (not-quite) wide (enough) screen version there is, of course, no panning and scanning; the 2:35 picture is simply shown. Unfortunately it is a slightly smaller picture than what was originally there, and often the result is characters cut off at the shoulder. Of course, this is MUCH better than anything we've had on home video before. And MGM should be praised for releasing the DVD at such a reasonable price, and with some decent extras. I just wonder why they didn't go ahead and transfer the film at its original aspect ratio.
If I have to look at Phil Silvers, I wanna see BOTH his shoulders, dammnit!
Rating: 
Summary: Want a good movie for Friday night?
Review: A really cool movie. Who have thought? Different people, Different cars and have them search for a lost treasure? A very twisted Treasure Island theme. The ending was kinda sad, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent movie, but the DVD could be better
Review: The movie is good, although the technique of substituting an all-star cast for a plot is pretty transparent. (Of course I loved Cannonball Run when I was a kid, so I don't have an excuse for knocking said technique.) The documentary is a nice addition, as is the inclusion of the cinemascope scenes, but a glaring omission is a commentary. You can't tell me that none of those actors in the documentary weren't available to watch the movie again and throw in some on-set or behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Still, it's unlikely they'd come out with a "Special Edition", so if you like the movie get this dvd. For me, the facts that Edie Adams is gorgeous and the dvd carries a cheap price convinced me to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Im MAD MAD MAD MAD for this movie!
Review: Well I watched it as a kid on the holiday specials and always thought HOW LONG IS THIS MOVIE on a Saturday afternoon with commercials in it!!! WOW - the DVD is great BUT I was hoping for a little more with the effects of DVD...but it's about the movie after all and with this ALL STAR CAST you can't go wrong --- here's a game to play when watching - name all the CAMEO appearances to ADD to the all star lineup and don't forget the three FIREMEN at the airport!!! Loved it as a kid, loved it as a teen, love it as an adult - pass this one down to your kids!!! Let them see WHO REALLY HAD TALENT IN ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY!!! After all - "What can happen to an old fashion?!"
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: What happens when you get some of the best comedic talent of the time (in this case, the early 60's) and put them in a mad chase scene in which every type of slapstick device known is thrown in? Perhaps, the greatest comedy bomb in history.
Frankly, I could not wait to get my hands on this movie, not to laugh but to be spell-bound and amazed by its perversity. The total ineptitude of the writers and director is truly stunning to see. I cannot believe that such talents as Jonathon Winters, Phil Silvers, Ethel Merman and SPENCER TRACY in one of his final appearances could be brought into this depressing mess.
The problem is, there is absolutely nothing funny going on here. The movie starts with Jimmy Durante literally 'kicking the bucket' and goes endlessly downhill from there. And goes. And goes. And goes. And goes.
I consider myself cynical but I am not even in the same league as Kramer. The characters degrade themselves endlessly for the sake of avarice and do not care who they hurt along the way. The only stars that came out of this movie with their dignity intact were the Three Stooges.
See this moviel like you would take a flu shot. Once you see this, I doubt if you could be disappointed with any film that you will ever see again.
Rating:
Summary: "Regular" Vs. "Restored" - The Debate Rages On!
Review: I was a little disappointed that the latest DVD release of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" didn't start out with the overture music that was included on the VHS "restored" version of the movie. My disappointment soon disappeared as the movie started. The car chases and crashes, the airplane acrobatics, the sight gags, the pratfalls and - most importantly - the laughs never let up from start to finish. Adding a quiet dignity to all the insanity is Spencer Tracy. You can feel the close friendship between him and the police chief, played by William Demarest. You can empathize with his frustration at being an honest detective nearing retirement, whose pension hasn't increased in years. You root for him to get away with the money in the end, although you know he won't. And you forgive him for not arresting Jonathan Winters for stealing the movie! As I mentioned, I have the VHS "restored" version of this movie. In that, I found the insertion of previously deleted footage throughout the film to be jarring. In some cases, the quality of the footage was noticeably inferior and created a choppy feeling to the flow of the film. I much prefer the DVD's regular version of the movie, presented in the widescreen format. I like that the extra footage is included on the flip side of the disc, although I wish the scenes were in chronological order. I also enjoyed the interviews with the director, Stanley Kramer, and many of the comedians. In fact, the commentaries of Jerry Lewis lasted longer than his cameo in the movie! Maybe they'll reissue the "restored" movie on DVD for those who prefer that version. As for me, I'll keep the current DVD version of this timeless classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Uh oh! This Movie Has Been Sliced & Diced!
Review: "Mad World" is one of my all-time favorite comedies...but this DVD left me somewhat dissapointed. I have been watching a VHS copy of this movie for years, and know every line by heart. But when I first watched this DVD, I quickly noticed that lines of dialogue, and even entire scenes are MISSING! When the movie was over, I discovered that all of these "missing pieces" are now located in the Out-takes section of the DVD. So...I guess the "Whole Movie" IS on the DVD...but not in one continuous piece. If you're not already familiar with the movie, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this DVD version. But it distracts me greatly when scenes I know by heart are now truncated or absent. I would not have bought this DVD if I had known that it was sliced up like this. On the brighter side, the bonus materials are quite interesting, especially the interviews with the surviving cast members.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not as good as Laserdisc version
Review: It's nice to have this DVD version of Mad World, which looks great on my 15-inch laptop, high resolution compter screen (since you sit closer to the laptop screen than to a TV screen, the movie actually looks "bigger" and fills more our your field of vision, and in this respect, the widescreen edition is great). I miss the entry music, though, that's on the Laserdisc. Will they ever release an enhanced DVD version with all the missing scenes and all the music and use the original 65mm print?
Rating:
Summary: It's an Overrated World
Review: Overrated. A farce. A bunch of people scrambling to find some $$$ under a big "W". This is a 1960's attempt at revisiting Comedy's Greatest Era. I'm sorry, its just doesn't work. Milton Berle is pretty good. As is Spencer Tracy. It is worth watching to see all the "stars". Otherwise don't bother. This is a very LONG movie. Many of the jokes are not funny. A few are very good. Buster Keaton is in it near the end. Don't blink or you'll miss him. Peter Faulk has some good lines. Cartoon gags at the end. YAWN.
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