“MAD, MAD WORLD” screening at Cinerama Dome

posted by JSittig1 on August 7, 2009 at 3:51 pm

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Stanley Kramer’s “IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD MAD, WORLD” is scheduled for a single performance Monday August 24, 2009 at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood in the historic Cinerama Dome. “MAD WORLD” will be presented in 70mm Ultra-Panavision with the original sound configuration of 5 stage channels and mono surround.

Starring a virtual who’s funny in Hollywood, “MAD WORLD” played a record 66 weeks at the Cinerama Dome.This print, struck in 2003 runs 176 minutes including the police radio calls during intermission. This is the most complete print of “MAD WORLD” available.

When the film premiered on November 7, 1963 at the Cinerama Dome, the running time was over 200 minutes. 2 weeks into the run editors from United Artists came to The Dome and Warners Cinerama in NYC and cut almost 30 minutes out of the prints. Then back at the studio, they cut the negative to reflect the cuts made at the two theatres. Although extensive searches have be made throughout the years, the cut footage has never been found. This was actually a common practice in the 1960’s with films including “LAWRENCE OF ARABIA,” “CLEOPATRA” “2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.”

Tickets are available on line at http://www.arclightcinemas.com or at the theatre boxoffice.

Comments (23)

MPol
MPol on August 7, 2009 at 6:24 pm

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!

ChasSmith
ChasSmith on August 7, 2009 at 8:38 pm

How I’d love to be there for this!

I was about 14 when my folks took us to the road show engagement in Miami Beach, and of all the footage later to be cut, for some reason I always remembered the scene in which Spencer Tracy goes out for his ice cream and telephones the police station from the ice cream parlor. Later, I used to wonder why I never saw this scene again, till a few years back when I got around to acquiring the deluxe laserdisc set which I believe contains this same “most complete print”. (This cut has yet to see the light of day on DVD.)

Enjoy, you lucky ones!

raysson
raysson on August 7, 2009 at 8:39 pm

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!

JohnRice
JohnRice on August 7, 2009 at 11:56 pm

Now if the Arclight would only give us another chance to see some three strip Cinerama films. A week long revival of “How the West Was Won” would suit me just just fine. Maybe add a couple of showings of “This is Cinerama” during that week or even better have a three strip Cinerama Festival which was rumored to be in the works a couple of years ago. This is one of only about three theatres in the world equipped to play three strip Cinerama I believe. It’s a shame they don’t have more frequent showings in that format.

As for “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” there are those who love the film and those who hate it. I’m somewhere in between. I love seeing all those stars in cameo roles, it’s entertaining most of the time but I just have never thought it was all that funny, certainly nowhere near the greatest comedy ever made which I think it tried to be. And yet if I lived anywhere near Hollywood I’d be at the Arclight that night to see it on that big curved screen in 70mm.

JSA
JSA on August 8, 2009 at 12:46 am

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

neeb
neeb on August 8, 2009 at 4:43 am

If only this were not on a Monday…

Coate
Coate on August 8, 2009 at 8:00 am

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
MPol on August 8, 2009 at 12:53 pm

I saw the film “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” in the now-demolished VINTAGE Embassy Theatre in Waltham, MA., back in 1963, when it first came out, and loved it. Not sure how I’d feel about it if I saw it today, however.

Coate
Coate on August 8, 2009 at 7:30 pm

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! :–)

MPol
MPol on August 9, 2009 at 1:25 pm

What you’re saying is possible, Michael Coates.

Giles
Giles on August 10, 2009 at 7:22 pm

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?

Giles
Giles on August 10, 2009 at 7:28 pm

AFI Silver more than likely had the wrong running time listed in it’s Dec 12-Jan 22, 2003 film schedule guide (Vol. 1, issue 7)at 183 minutes, but seeing this in 70mm then was a ton of fun.

KJB2012
KJB2012 on August 10, 2009 at 11:06 pm

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.

William
William on August 10, 2009 at 11:30 pm

Check the Deluxe laser disc edition. The scenes were cut in and in the 2.35 scope ratio.

JSA
JSA on August 11, 2009 at 4:15 am

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

JSA
JSA on August 11, 2009 at 2:26 pm

The DVD version that we have at home has a 2.55 aspect ratio, coming a little closer to Ultra-Panavision’s 2.76:1.

JSA

Dramatrauma
Dramatrauma on August 14, 2009 at 7:40 am

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.

JSA
JSA on August 14, 2009 at 3:24 pm

It’s not sold out. Plenty of seats avaialable. You will find it scrolling down on “August at Arclight” under “California Dreamin”.

View link

JSA

GaryCohen
GaryCohen on January 7, 2010 at 1:22 am

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.

haineshisway
haineshisway on January 8, 2010 at 4:14 am

“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.”

Since no one bothers to ever clarify this sort of misinformation, I’m happy to. This 210 minute version never played anywhere. It was not the film as released in any engagement, therefore is completely irrelevant to any discussion. It was a version he showed to some friends, after which he cut the film not to 196 minutes, but to approximately 192 minutes, and that 192 minute running time included the overture, intermission police calls, entr'acte and exit music. The actual running time of the film proper at that point was 177 minutes if you removed all but the film itself. At the end of the day, if one does the math with what was cut during the road show engagement and then what was further cut for general release, it really comes out to about twenty-four minutes of actual film that was cut.

Bill Huelbig
Bill Huelbig on January 13, 2010 at 4:43 am

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.

Cinerama
Cinerama on February 5, 2010 at 5:42 pm

It was 210 minutes, 197 minutes plus intermission. Here is a review from the November 11, 1963 issue of Boxoffice magazine – http://cineramahistory.com/1963iammmmwreview.jpg . The movie program says 210 minutes. Robert Harris who has done restorations of a number of films says it was 195 minutes – View link

JSA
JSA on February 24, 2010 at 4:14 am

Roland,thanks for posting the links!

JSA

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