“MAD, MAD WORLD” screening at Cinerama Dome

Cutting 30 whole minutes out of an epic/classic movie?!? That’s an atrocity in itself! What a bummer!

Anyway, hope everybody who attends the screening of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad,l Mad World” enjoys themselves! I saw it when it first came out. It’s a neat film!

I’m glad this cinema had the decency of restoring classic films. I agree with the previous comment,why cut 30 whole minutes out of an epic movie? What an atrocity! A disgrace!

If you’re going to see the movie,see it the way it was MEANT to be seen…in a large theatre complete with a huge auditorium and a widescreen capable of showing films that were presented in full 70MM Ultra Panavision/Cinerama!

Before passing judgement on the cuts made to IMMMMW, it would be fitting to figure out how much of them were approved by Stanley Kramer. I understand that he cut the film from 210 to around 196 minutes. Then UA cut the remainder balance of the 30 min. Then the question has to be asked: “How big was the loss to the film’s narrative due to the cuts?”. My take is that not much. Personally, I like the 161 min version on DVD. As it is, the movie has enough yelling and car crashes to last a lifetime…

As for “2001”, Kubrick himself made the cuts.

jwr: 3-Strip Cinerama may return this September to the Dome. Stay tuned!

raysson: This version of IMMMMW is not “restored”. A proper restoration is still years away. We can only hope that Rober Harris will get the opportunity to work on this film.

JSA

Here’s a (work-in-progress) list of the original roadshow runs of IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD that I’ve been working on for some time and I thought some readers might find it fascinating given the news item and discussion. Note the number of great “Cinema Treasures” in which the classic film played and how even in the smaller markets the film played for several months. As for the running time, the film, as previously mentioned, was cut on multiple occasions; the earlier in the run the film opened in a given market, the longer the running time. (The general-release version was even shorter than the roadshow version(s).)

Month.Day.Year … City —– Cinema (Duration of engagement)

11.07.1963 … Los Angeles, CA, USA —– Cinerama Dome (67 weeks)
11.17.1963 … New York, NY, USA —– Warner (52 weeks)
11.19.1963 … Boston, MA, USA —– Boston (31 weeks)
11.19.1963 … Chicago, IL, USA —– McVickers (33 weeks)
12.02.1963 … London, England, UK —– Coliseum (32 weeks)
12.16.1963 … Berlin, West Germany —– Capitol
12.17.1963 … Paris, France —– Empire (19 weeks)
12.18.1963 … Atlanta, GA, USA —– Martin Cinerama (23 weeks)
12.18.1963 … Cleveland, OH, USA —– Palace (27 weeks)
12.18.1963 … Montreal, QC, Canada —– Imperial (58 weeks)
12.18.1963 … Pittsburgh, PA, USA —– Warner (28 weeks)
12.18.1963 … San Francisco, CA, USA —– Orpheum (52 weeks)
12.18.1963 … Tokyo, Japan —– Shochiku Central
12.19.1963 … Brussels, Belgium —– Varietes
12.19.1963 … Cincinnati, OH, USA —– Capitol (28 weeks)
12.19.1963 … Hamburg, West Germany —– Grindel
12.19.1963 … Houston, TX, USA —– Windsor (19 weeks)
12.19.1963 … Kansas City, MO, USA —– Empire (51 weeks)
12.19.1963 … Miami Beach, FL, USA —– Sheridan (23 weeks)
12.19.1963 … New Orleans, LA, USA —– Martin Cinerama (27 weeks)
12.19.1963 … Philadelphia, PA, USA —– Boyd (27 weeks)
12.19.1963 … Portland, OR, USA —– Hollywood (44 weeks)
12.19.1963 … Vienna, Austria —– Gartenbau
12.20.1963 … Dallas, TX, USA —– Capri (23 weeks)
12.20.1963 … Honolulu, HI, USA —– Cinerama
12.20.1963 … Louisville, KY, USA —– Rialto (26 weeks)
12.20.1963 … Milwaukee, WI, USA —– Cinema 1 (32 weeks)
12.20.1963 … Toronto, ON, Canada —– Carlton (18 weeks)
12.21.1963 … Copenhagen, Denmark —– Kinopalaeet
12.26.1963 … Birmingham, England, UK —– Gaumont
01.31.1964 … Nice, France —– Rialto
02.11.1964 … Detroit, MI, USA —– Music Hall (55 weeks)
02.12.1964 … Manila, Philippines —– Roman Super Cinerama
02.18.1964 … Columbus, OH, USA —– Grand (25 weeks)
02.19.1964 … Salt Lake City, UT, USA —– Villa (36 weeks)
02.19.1964 … Washington, DC, USA —– Uptown (36 weeks)
02.19.1964 … Wichita, KS, USA —– Uptown
02.20.1964 … Baltimore, MD, USA —– Town (18 weeks)
02.20.1964 … St. Louis, MO, USA —– Martin Cinerama (37 weeks)
03.25.1964 … Buffalo, NY, USA —– Teck (24 weeks)
03.25.1964 … Dayton, OH, USA —– Dabel
03.25.1964 … Hartford, CT, USA —– Cinerama (30 weeks)
03.25.1964 … Omaha, NE, USA —– Indian Hills (37 weeks)
03.25.1964 … Providence, RI, USA —– Cinerama
03.26.1964 … Lyon, France —– Palais de Congress
04.17.1964 … Madrid, Spain —– Proyecciones
04.21.1964 … Montclair, NJ, USA —– Clairidge (34 weeks)
04.22.1964 … San Diego, CA, USA —– Cinerama (50 weeks)
04.22.1964 … Seattle, WA, USA —– Martin Cinerama (48 weeks)
05.07.1964 … Toledo, OH, USA —– Valentine (25 weeks)
05.15.1964 … Scottsdale, AZ, USA —– Kachina
05.27.1964 … Fresno, CA, USA —– Warner (18 weeks)
05.27.1964 … Syosset, NY, USA —– Syosset (30 weeks)
05.27.1964 … Tampa, FL, USA —– Palace (12 weeks)
05.31.1964 … Strasbourg, France —– Broglie
06.03.1964 … Chattanooga, TN, USA —– Brainerd
06.10.1964 … Indianapolis, IN, USA —– Indiana (27 weeks)
06.13.1964 … Munich, West Germany —– City
06.23.1964 … Sacramento, CA, USA —– Esquire
06.24.1964 … Albuquerque, NM, USA —– Fox Winrock (13 weeks)
07.08.1964 … Norfolk, VA, USA —– Rosna
07.22.1964 … Charlotte, NC, USA —– Charlottetown
08.05.1964 … Vancouver, BC, Canada —– Strand (20 weeks)
09.04.1964 … Helsinki, Finland —– Savoy
09.05.1964 … Zuerich, Switzerland —– Apollo
09.10.1964 … Johannesburg, South Africa —– Cinerama
09.11.1964 … Milan, Italy —– Manzoni
09.24.1964 … Manchester, England, UK —– Theatre Royal
10.05.1964 … Newcastle, England, UK —– Queens
10.29.1964 … Denver, CO, USA —– Cooper (51 weeks)
10.29.1964 … Glasgow, Scotland, UK —– Coliseum
11.11.1964 … Stockholm, Sweden —– Vinterpalatset
11.19.1964 … St. Louis Park, MN, USA —– Cooper (47 weeks)
11.24.1964 … San Jose, CA, USA —– Century 21 (35 weeks)
11.27.1964 … Rome, Italy —– Royal
12.03.1964 … Auckland, New Zealand —– Cinerama
12.03.1964 … Sydney, Australia —– Plaza (70 weeks)
12.11.1964 … Barcelona, Spain —– Florida
12.17.1964 … Rotterdam, Netherlands —– Scala
04.15.1965 … Liverpool, England, UK —– Abbey
05.28.1965 … Dublin, Ireland —– Cinerama
06.03.1965 … Melbourne, Australia —– Plaza (60 weeks)
06.09.1965 … Caracas, Venezuela —– Canaima
12.25.1965 … San Juan, Puerto Rico —– Cinerama
03.03.1966 … Mexico City, Mexico —– Cine Diana
05.06.1966 … Oklahoma City, OK, USA —– Cooper (4 weeks)
08.19.1966 … Wellington, New Zealand —– Cinerama (17 weeks)
09.30.1966 … Tel Aviv, Israel —– Cinerama

MPol: You could not have seen “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World” in 1963. If you would’ve looked over my list I posted just prior to your posting, you would’ve seen that there were only a handful of bookings that began in ‘63. If it was in Waltham that you saw it, then it’s doubtful you could’ve seen it any earlier than mid-1964 or maybe not even until 1965.

The thing with the roadshows is that they were exclusive engagements, and the theaters that booked roadshow product had clearances over their entire metropolitan areas and sometimes even clearances of hundreds of miles. In your case, Waltham would not have played “Mad World” until Boston’s roadshow run concluded.

I give you credit, though, for posting a comment without mentioning “West Side Story.” That had to be a first for you! :–)

wasn’t the longest cut of the fim on home video a VHS version of the film, whereas a cut version wound up on DVD with extra footage being incorporated on the disc’s supplement material section?

As to the “cuts”, I don’t think it’s as important who made them as who ordered them.
Did UA order Kramer to cut 30 minutes or did choose to cut? The same for Kubrick.

Kirk, you bring up a good point. In the case of Stanley Kramer, I don’t know if UA demanded the cuts but allowed him to trim the movie. Or, if he came in and edited out footage because of one reason or other.
In the case of Kubrick, the decision was his. He personally supervised the cuts to “2001” shortly after the premiere. The last time someone “ordered” him around was during “Spartacus”, and after that he packed his bags, left Hollywood and headed for London.

JSA

Arclight’s website is so densely packed I cant find the link to buy tix for that showing (assuming there already on sale and not sold out). Anybody have a direct link? Thanks.

Oh, how I loved this film and how I would love to see it on the big screen again. As a kid,I waited for, at least, a year for the film to trickle down from its reserved-seat engagement on Broadway to my local theater, the Biltmore, in East New York, Brooklyn.
I remember in those days that people did not worry about when the film was supposed to begin, they just came walking in while the film was already on. When my parents took me to see it on a Friday night the theater was absolutely jammed. I vaguely remember that the scene with Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett in the plane was on. What a riot. (I met Rooney a few years ago at a Twilight Zone convention in New Jersey and had him sign some lobby cards from this film, among others.) This has always been my favorite comedy and probably always will be.

GaryC’s comment reminds me that my family and I walked in on the middle of “Mad Mad World” also, at the Victoria in Times Square in late 1964. The first thing I saw was Spencer Tracy talking to his wife on the phone with his feet up on his desk, and I remember thinking how huge the feet looked up on that screen. Imagine if I’d seen it in Cinerama.

Roland,thanks for posting the links!

JSA