MovieChat Forums > It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) Discussion > Awesome movie but to be fair it could us...

Awesome movie but to be fair it could use a little trimming .

posted 11 years ago by aac7294
20 replies | jump to latest

Purists will no doubt disagree but there are a few things that could use some trimming down to get the film at a more managable run time.
My picks would be.

Sylvester and his girlfriends dance routine could be easily shortened.
As funny as the garage destruction scene was it could lose a couple minutes.
Cut maybe one of the attempts of the Krumps to get out of the locked room.
Rooney and Hackett in the airplane could stand to lose a few scenes.
Culpepper's wife and daughter on the phone could be shortened.
Cut some of the digging under the Big W....but save Milton Berle getting the sand thrown in his face...that was the biggest laugh out loud moment!

Any other suggestions?

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] fang123horn 11 years ago

BOO! I'm sick of that tired "this shouldn't have been three hours" argument, I maybe the only one but I'm glad, do you hear me, glad that this is three hours and its still hilarious!! I want to see the five hour cut if it was still available!!

[–] DrEinstein 11 years ago

I am fine with the length of the movie, however I agree with your choices. Like another poster, I only disagree about the digging. I think that is cut well. The audience should see the reactions of all the characters.

Some of the people who watch the movie with me like it, but say it's too long. I wouldn't mind a shortened version to watch with them, and 171-minute version for me--which is coming in January, 2014. Yea!

[–] turtletommy 11 years ago

Culpepper wife and daughter on the phone- yes, should have originally been shortened considerably, and the Krumps in the locked room a bit too, but the others you mention, no. The garage destruction routine and Rooney & Hackett in the plane ( as well as the control tower part of it) are hilarious and comedy classics!

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] turtletommy 11 years ago

Well yeah it's called GREED. The whole crew of greedsters were going to great lengths throughout this tome on ...greed...to get money they had convinced themselves they were somehow entitled to- by hook or crook.

[–] fang123horn 11 years ago

Yeah why anyone want that part trimmed that's what the movie built it up for, for that moment and its building up anticipation to that moment.

[–] Randy-144 11 years ago

I agree. I am watching this now on Christmas Evening on TV and I think the scenes of: 1) The four vehicles driving up the winding Palms to Pines Highway west of Palm Springs, and 2) The various scenes of some of the main characters hitching rides in the desert, could have been shortened. A half hour of this movie could have been edited out and the audience wouldn't have missed much.

[–] fang123horn 11 years ago

After watching again for the 16th time I sort of agree what everyone else is saying...but I reluctantly feel like these adds something to the overall tone to the movie.

[–] movies789 11 years ago

True - like a lot of great movies, it could be even better with some prudent editing. Either way, though, it's one of the funniest movies ever made.

[–] fang123horn 11 years ago

I'm sorry I cannot see this movie trimmed down to a 90 minute run time or even a 120 minute run time it would just ruin it.

[–] movies789 11 years ago

To be fair, no one has suggested either 90 min. or 120 min. But 3 1/4 hours? There's padding that could stand trimming; it could stand being tightened-up - down to, say, 2 1/2 hours. It would transform it from ONE of the funniest to, possibly, THE funniest movie of all time.

[–] fang123horn 11 years ago

That 160 minute version is just good but I don't think its great like the 3 hour version. I've seen padding before (The Hobbit films come to mind) and IAMMMMW just does not fit the bill to me. So no I disagree with your sentiment, movies789.

[–] doug65oh 11 years ago

The irony is that by the time all’s said and done there should be enough cuts floating around to please almost everyone – from 159 to 197 minutes long!

[–] fang123horn 11 years ago

That I will agree with! :)

[–] RustyNail80 11 years ago

Hard to say what - but the times that I find myself going to get a drink, grab some popcorn, etc. are:

1. The basement scenes.
2. Culpepper and his wife and daughter.
3. The credits
4. Russell's wife talking to Culpepper.

Pretty hard to cut anything without cutting an entire character out.

[–] hammer4 10 years ago

The movie did incur considerable criticism for its length (approximately 200 minutes) when it was first released. It was subsequently cut to about 154 minutes.

Now I guess the questions are is the edited down version still too long, is it okay, or is the longer version preferable?

[–] catdaddyd 9 years ago

Watching it now 6/21/15, on Cinemax and it's the 154 min version. They didn't show the three stooges after the plane crash. Going from memory, from the past, the basement scene seemed to be dragged out.

[–] Doghouse-6 9 years ago

The shot of The Three Stooges isn't among the footage cut from the roadshow version. It's in the 154 minute one, but not after the Beech comes down; it's shortly after the fireworks sequence in the basement and just before Carl Reiner's first appearance (in the tower).

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] snelling 8 years ago

All right, all right, we all agree on that. Now look, let's be sensible about this thing. There's funny in this for all of us, right? There's enough for you, there's enough for you, and for me, and for you, and there's enough for...

"'Extremely High Voltage.' Well, I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer SimpsoZZZZZZZZ--" - Frank Grimes