It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

Having been born in 1965, it's safe to say that the first time I ever saw "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was on network television. Every other user comment already reveals enough about the movie, so I'll just stick with my own experiences regarding the film.

If you must know, yes I do believe this film is a well-deserved comedy classic, but it's also loaded with breathtaking scenery (natural and contemporary) that's often overlooked by most critics. Many a fan wants to know where that mountain road is. Since I'm also a fan of big cars of the post-WW2 era I can easily spot every one. Mickey Rooney's Volkswagen must be worth a fortune if it's still around. And I don't care if this movie is over 3 hours long. As one commenter put it it has been edited to pieces. I envy those who saw the original 1963 version of this movie, but even they didn't see everything. The versions I've seen include the original television edit, the director's cut on 2 VHS tapes which contain some "lost scenes" and people I never even knew were in the movie, the DVD, and even a version on TV where some scenes were shown out of order. The director's cut VHS tapes is the best, partially because of those scenes such as additional police observations, as well as having the sense to keep the original overture, entr'acte, and exit music title cards. Unfortunately, the DVD removes those lost scenes and mixes them with a section of other deleted scenes, like a louder version of Buddy Hackett's "17 ways of figuring it" speech, and some riskier ordeals in Santa Rosita Park.

I've come to the conclusion that there's only one solution to this problem -- unless all footage is found and re-installed into the original version, the screenplay must be released into a book and sold to the public.

I never planned to write a review for this movie, until I took a stroll through the user comments, and was shocked at all the people who think it is.... God help us... overrated. No way. If anything, it is UNDERrated. I see people complaining about the endless shouting, the over the top slapstick, the brashness, the loudness, the length. I can only conclude that these people are a bunch of humorless dorks.

First of all, you can't just sit down to watch a three hour movie without knowing what you're in for. This is not your typical comedy--this is an EPIC comedy, the first of its kind, that inspired other such epics as "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" and "The Great Race" (which happens to be my favorite comedy--in fact, I'd like to say it's the better movie, but props go to this one for inventing the genre). And I can't speak for everyone else, but this movie leaves me laughing from start to finish.

Yes, it is very long, but it NEVER has a dull moment. Even if the amazing car stunts aren't particularly funny, you can't tell me they aren't wildly entertaining. I have yet to see an action movie with better car chases than these. And yes, the slapstick is ridiculously over the top, although I can't see how that's a problem (the gas station scene is one of the funniest in movie history, in my opinion). But underneath all the slapstick and shouting, holding the whole movie together, is that incredibly cynical message. It is a movie about kind, decent folks turning into law-breaking lunatics and ruining their lives for the sake of money. The subplot with Spencer Tracey realizing his entire life has been a waste, and then ruining what life he has left, is one of the most tragic story lines I have seen. But it's also pretty darn funny.

All the critics need to lighten up and see this for the absurd, delirious, hysterical farce it is.

10/10 stars.

Well, if I named all the famous comedians who were in this film it would a long, long review. Just check the credits - it's unbelievable! Suffice to say, it was an "all-star" cast of everybody you could think of who was a big-name comedian in 1963 including some old-timers like Mickey Rooney, Milton Berle, etc. Add a famous dramatic actor, Spencer Tracy, to the mix,, too, and you have one of the most famous comedies ever put on film.

When I saw this in the theater, and even in the '80s on tape, I liked it immensely, but now it's just a bit loud and too much for me in spots. I'm either getting too old or this film is getting to look dated and corny.....probably both. However, if you want three hours of pure lunacy and escapist fare, you could do a whole lot worse.

Despite all the shouting, this film has some of the all-time most memorable comedy scenes ever put on film. Plus, unlike today's comedies, there is no profanity, no sex, no blood....just silliness and one wild scene after another, with an unbelievable slapstick ending atop a building.

For anyone who collects movies, or enjoys a good laugh, this a "must" for your collection, and I don't say that very often. However, as I get older, all that yelling and screaming has made me downgrade my rating from 10 to 9 to 8 and now 7.

What can I say? It's an epic adventure and comedy rolled into one! It's been my #1 all-time favorite film since childhood, which says a lot. I was surprised to find out how underrated it is. Critics always talk about how it stars so many famous comedians. The novelty overshadows the movie itself. Like I said, I saw this at a very young age, and didn't know who all these actors were. This is the movie that introduced me to them.

It also gets downplayed, being labeled as "slapstick." But that's cutting it short. There's a lot of subtleness in there too. The performances are outstanding. I've never seen a movie that has so many memorable characters all in one.

Each of them go on their own adventure, inter-cutting along the way, as they each have to overcome their own obstacles and meet other characters on their journey. It's like several movies all intertwined together, and most of it happens in real time. The 2 1/2 hour run time feels appropriate and passes like nothing. Every second is entertaining, which is the greatest accomplishment for a motion picture to achieve.

The film resonates with me on a deeper level. All these characters met on the side of the road. They were just ordinary hard working people who had nothing in common, except for one dream. That unreachable fantasy. They all wanted the money so bad. They weren't happy with their lives. They wanted a change, and they would do anything to beat each other. They're overcome by greed which becomes their overlying problem.

Fantastic movie! Full of hilarious moments, and a great story!

I saw this film for the first time when I was seven or eight -I don´t remember it exactly. What I do remember is that it made me spend one of the funniest whiles in my life. At that time I didn´t know very much about the actors: except for Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney and possibly Peter Falk (who had already come into my heart as Lt. Columbo), I didn´t associate their faces with their names. Now I have a much better information about each and every one of them: Berle, Caesar, Hackett, Merman, Shawn, Thomas, Winters and all the rest. What I´ve always regretted is that I´ve never got to see the unabridged version of the movie: it lasts more than three hours and the prints that I´ve always watched last only two and a half hours. Nevertheless, I think this is one of the most amusing films I´ve ever seen. It seems obvious that the traces left by the greatest comedians of the silent period or the early talkies -Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers or Buster Keaton (who makes a cameo appearance in the film)- are present here in this picture. From the moment you see the amazing credits created by Saul Bass and hear Ernest Gold´s tremendous score, you know there´s something great coming in. Everything is perfection into the genre it belongs to: all that happens with the cars, the destruction of the service station by Winters (who looks like a raging bull in an antique dealer shop), the plight of Caesar and Adams in the basement of the hardware store, the scene of the pilot-less plane, Shawn´s attack against Berle´s and Thomas´s rented car...and oh, yes, the pursuit of Tracy! Well, in short, this film goes to show that in this mad, mad, mad, mad world there are many people who would do ANYTHING for money. I hope that someday I can see the integral version of this movie: I´ve seen it a hundred times in video, I know it by heart and I never get tired. The big W stands for WONDERFUL!