Zach learns about comedy and why it is so subjective – also a brief dip into aspect ratios, and a director who had something to prove. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
[podcast]http://traffic.libsyn.com/majorspoilers/zofmad_wolrd.mp3[/podcast]Spencer Tracy heads a hilariously zany cast that stars Hollywood’s greatest comedians (Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas and Jonathan Winters) and features cameo appearances by every joker and jester in the business, from Don Knotts and Jerry Lewis to The Three Stooges. Nominated* for six Oscarsr, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is “an explosive motion picture experience” (Variety). On a winding desert highway, eight vacation-bound motorists share an experience that alters their plans – and their lives! After a mysterious stranger divulges the location of a stolen fortune, they each speed off in a mind-bending, car-bashing race for the loot – and the most sidesplitting laughfest in history.
- Direct Download
- Subscribe via iTunes
- RSS Feed
- Subscribe to the Major Spoilers Podcast Network Master Feed!
- Major Spoilers Podcast Network Master Feed RSS Feed
- Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by making a $5.00 per month recurring donation. It will help ensure Zach on Film continues far into the future!
Stephen mentioned a great video on the history of the aspect ratio. Here it is.
A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site and forums.
1 Comment
In case you’re interested on why none of the characters end up with the money at the end of the film,
I know Caper films from the 60s, where the protagonists commit plenty of crimes, never end up profiting from their crimes. I could name two major films that even young Zach would recognize, mainly because they have been re-made. I can’t say why film makers were afraid of showing criminal profiting from their crimes, but I suspect it has something to do with sending a bad message, or setting a bad example. I don’t believe someone going to rob a casino, or anybody else, just because they saw it in a movie. Even though I disagree with the sentiment, it did produce movies with rather interesting endings.
Movies that are too long happen all the time. It can easily be said that the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie was 40 minutes too long, and the second one was 151 minutes too long.