It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie---my least favorite DVD
Review: I was greatly disappointed when I sat down to watch this DVD release of It's A Mad ... World. Scenes that I knew should be there were missing. Then I looked at the DVD case and noticed the run time (something I should have done before I bought it). This is NOT the full 182 minute, extended scenes version! Even the overture is missing. Thankfully, I kept my 2-cassette video copy that is the full 182 minute cut. Now I'm hoping MGM releases the extended cut version on DVD.
One thing this DVD does have is the hilarious and informative documentary "Something A Little Less Serious." If MGM releases the extended version on DVD, I hope they remember the documentary, too.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Film To Watch On A Lazy Summer Day With Friends
Review: I just watched this movie on DVD. "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad World" is not the greatest comedy. It is funny. Some of the bad reviews from people who gave it 1 star are a little harsh. There is some sentimentality for this film. You get to see some by-gone actors and actresses. The 3 Stooges for one and Buster Keaton. Most of the other actors have gone too. The movie is very much slap-stick and would be funny for kids under 12. As an adult, this is a humorous film that can be viewed on a summer day when you have people over and too much attention needs to be paid in order to follow or enjoy the movie. It is a light film. It is not a brilliant film, but it still is enjoyable. It is dated, but hey, it was released in 1963. I bet movies from 2004 are going to look dated in 2040. The argument that it looks dated is the obvious. A suit or car from 1963 is going to look dated. So with that said. Just watch and enjoy as a light-hearted film on a summer day.

Rating:
Summary: Da big dubya, unnerstand?
Review: Time hasn't been very kind to this film at all, but there's still a chuckle or two left in this bloated monster. For my money, the late Dick Shawn as the lamebrained Sylvester and Ethel Merman as the mother-in-law from Hell (and Sylvester's momma, as it happens) are worth the entire two-plus hours, though watching Jonathan Winters completely demolish a gas station ranks up there as a high point, too. Just don't be surprised, if you've never seen it before, if you're left wondering why it's considered a classic comedy by some. You aren't the only one!

Rating:
Summary: IT"S A FUNNY,FUNNY.FUNNY,FUNNY MOVIE
Review: watching MAD WORLD now is like walking through a conignment shop full of curious old things that were the hight of fashion then but are a little odd now. It's like a top of the line enormous Cadilac out of place today because it is too big and too classy.
MAD WORLD was a big event when it was first released and I don't think any star studded comedy since has matched it for talent on either side of the camera. It's a big movie ( that's movie - not special effects convention ) the likes of which can never be made again because the world has junked clean humor and replaced movie stars with "Celebs".

If you know anything about the stars of the past the list of names here will astound you. The best part is that they are all on top of their game at the same time in this film. They are a vanished breed : the incredibbly seasoned pro. There are no wasted words, no flat gags and no throw away scenes. Even the shots of the cars driving from point to point are spectacular.
The plot concerns a group of motorists who witness an accident and stop to help. They learn from the crash victim that he was on the way to recoup a burried treasure of stolen loot. The race is on to be the first to locate the prize and assorted situations lead to comic results before the wild climax RAT RACE is based on the same idea if not an out and out remake so if you liked that movie you should try this one.

Now . . . none of this will work for you if you are tunnel visioned on the present. This is from an era when studios did not offend audiences. This is a movie that was made to be seen not just by you but by you and your son or daughter. There are no winks - no nods.

If you won't watch Citizen Kane because it's in black and white - see ya! If you don't like 2001/A Space Odyssey because "there aint no words" - leave now.
If you think Animal House is a classic - click on the BACK button. If you're still with me rent or purchase this disc.

Some people think old means dated but hear this - my son, age 9 at the time, saw this in my collection and asked if he could watch it. I said sure and he loved it. He puts it on by himself now and says" Want to watch it's a Mad Mad World?"

I do.

Rating:
Summary: One of the great comedies of all-time
Review: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is one of the great comedies of all-time that has a great cast full of comedians. Along a desert road, a car plows off the road into a canyon far below. Several cars stop to see if the man is all right. Right before the man dies, he tells them about $350,000 buried under a "big W" in the Santa Rosita State Park. This sends them on a mad dash south to Santa Rosita to get the money. Some go by planes, others by car, and even by bike. Along the way, they run into countless other greedy people who also want some of the money. This is a great movie that will have you laughing throughout. The excellent cast is perfectly cast as we watch their efforts to get the money. For anyone who has not seen it, I highly recommend this classic comedy.

The cast for Mad, Mad World is a who's who list of comedians that are all great. Spencer Tracy plays Captain Culpepper, the police officer with alterior motives. The people making a break for the money include Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Ethel Merman, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Edie Adams, and Dorothy Provine. There are also countless cameos throughout the movie including Jimmy Durante, Jerry Lewis, Jim Backus, Jack Benny, Buster Keaton, Don Knotts, the Three Stooges, and countless others. The DVD offers several theatrical trailers, an hour of extended scenes, a making of documentary called "Something a Little Less Serious," and the widescreen presentation. This is a can't miss comedy with plenty of laughs to go around. Check out It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!

Rating:
Summary: Funny!
Review: In the past 40 years this movie hasn't lost its humor. Although most of the characters perform their stereotypical roles, from Jack Benny to Phil Silvers, Terry Thomas to Jim Bacchus, they are very, very funny. When you're having a bad day, watch the movie, or when you feel like belly laughs, watch the movie. No untoward language or lurid scenes, it's loads of fun.

Rating:
Summary: the best ever made
Review: anyone who doesn't like this movie has very very poor taste. this is the movie that no other comedy can beat. the plot is great, the scenes are great, the acting is great, the slapstick is great, what else can you ask for. with all these funny stars in one movie YOU KNOW IT IS GREAT. this is the movie that got me to love movies. IT"S MY FAVORITE.

Rating:
Summary: A Lavish Misfire
Review: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" makes one yearn for the musical-collision antics of "The Blues Brothers." Stanley Kramer's lavish, incredibly overlong comedy strains to achieve an epic quality, but doesn't even come close. The best bit is a silent, restrained cameo by the Three Stooges. As a matter of fact, you're better off catching one of Moe, Larry and Curly's classic shorts.

Rating:
Summary: This was funny?
Review: Not once did I laugh at this movie. Perhaps I don't like situation comedy. Perhaps slap stick doesn't fly with me.

Most likely the humor doesn't strike a cord unless you were born 50 years ago and you find screaming wifes and thick headed husbands doing stupid things funny.

I loved Rat Race (same genre) and thought it was hilarious. This one I felt like chucking out the window. Maybe it is the time period, maybe it is just my sense of humor, but I am willing to be the one person on amazon that thought this movie was worthless. Who knows may you will too.

Rating:
Summary: Ah, nostalgia!
Review: "It's a Mad...World" is a film I can't judge objectively. I saw it as a child on a black and white tv in the sixties and loved it. I just saw it for the first time in probably thirty years and loved it again. Not so much for the quality of the movie which is a loud, energetic valentine to slapstick comedy but for the cast which includes stars that I loved in Disney films and variety TV. They are like long-dead relatives, come to life and in their prime. The film also captures the California of my childhood; dry hills, desserts, coastal towns and highways filled with cars proudly wearing their chrome and fins. So if you are about my age (mid-forties) rent it, put on your pajamas, get some cookies and milk and return to your childhood for a couple of glorious hours.