#692: KRAMER, Stanley: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
KRAMER, Stanley (United States)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World [1963]
Spine #692
Blu-ray
Blu-ray
Stanley Kramer followed his Oscar-winning Judgment at Nuremberg with this sobering investigation of American greed. Ah, who are we kidding? It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, about a group of strangers fighting tooth and nail over buried treasure, is the most grandly harebrained movie ever made, a pileup of slapstick and borscht-belt-y one-liners performed by a nonpareil cast, including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Jonathan Winters, and a boatload of other playing-to-the-rafters comedy legends. For sheer scale of silliness, Kramer's wildly uncharacteristic film is unlike any other, an exhilarating epic of tomfoolery.
163 minutes
Color
Color
5.1 Surround
2:76:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2014
Director/Writers
Written by William and Tania Rose.
Stanley Kramer was 50 when he directed It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
The Film
The Film
Film Rating (0-60):
The Booklet
Twenty-page booklet featuring an essay by film critic Lou Lumenick and new illustrations by cartoonist Jack Davis, along with a map of the shooting locations by artist Dave Woodman.
Commentary
Featuring It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World aficionados Mark Evanier, Michael Schlesinger, and Paul Scrabo.
Documentary
On the film’s visual and sound effects, featuring interviews with visual-effects specialist Craig Barron and sound designer Ben Burtt.
Excerpt
From a 1974 talk show hosted by director Kramer and featuring Mad World actors Caesar, Hackett, and Winters.
Press interview
From 1963 featuring Kramer and cast members.
Excerpts
About the influence of the film from the 2000 AFI program 100 Years . . . 100 Laughs.
Two-part 1963 episode
Of the TV program Telescope that follows the film’s press junket and premiere.
The Last 70 mm Film Festival
A 2012 program featuring Mad World cast and crew, hosted by actor Billy Crystal.
60
The ExtrasThe Booklet
Twenty-page booklet featuring an essay by film critic Lou Lumenick and new illustrations by cartoonist Jack Davis, along with a map of the shooting locations by artist Dave Woodman.
Commentary
Featuring It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World aficionados Mark Evanier, Michael Schlesinger, and Paul Scrabo.
Documentary
On the film’s visual and sound effects, featuring interviews with visual-effects specialist Craig Barron and sound designer Ben Burtt.
Excerpt
From a 1974 talk show hosted by director Kramer and featuring Mad World actors Caesar, Hackett, and Winters.
Press interview
From 1963 featuring Kramer and cast members.
Excerpts
About the influence of the film from the 2000 AFI program 100 Years . . . 100 Laughs.
Two-part 1963 episode
Of the TV program Telescope that follows the film’s press junket and premiere.
The Last 70 mm Film Festival
A 2012 program featuring Mad World cast and crew, hosted by actor Billy Crystal.
Selection
Of humorist and voice-over artist Stan Freberg’s original TV and radio ads for the film, with a new introduction by Freberg.
Of humorist and voice-over artist Stan Freberg’s original TV and radio ads for the film, with a new introduction by Freberg.
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