it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world

one of the movies i watched recently was "it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world" from 1963. a solid comedy about a group of people who take a man's dying words and turn it into a race for the promised prize. as it was made in the early 60's, technology was not what it is today. there are some obvious shots where the camera wasn't moved, but you could tell they had to cut and restart to film the second half of some scenes. you can see slight differences in lighting here. during most of the driving scenes, it is always a wide, wide shot, followed by a medium shot of a car or two, then a close up for dialogue or reactions of the driver (or passengers) in the car. the cast is an endless list of stars from the era. the dialogue and acting in this movie are incredible. it doesn't rely on the profanity or "potty humor" of many of today's comedies. one thing that makes it difficult to watch is the length of the film, coming in at 154 minutes (it has a built-in intermission!) i feel that it is certainly worth the investment.