It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

I have not seen it but early comments that I read have been positive. Has all the extras from DVD release and is presented in it's original ratio of 2.76:1 (misprinted as 2.55:1 on the back cover).

Watched my copy last night and picture quality is excellent, I think the best of the recent batch of MGM releases, and I was very impressed with The Big Country as well. DTS Master Audio is also excellent. And it is indeed 2.76:1 ratio, I had to adjust my projector to fit all of it on the 110" screen.

Aspect ratio comparison post by LimeiBook86 on Blu-ray.com forum.

Hi all. I bought my copy today and just finished watching it.
This is one of my all time favorites. At age 62, I've seen this countless times over the years.
I just finished watching the whole film, and I'm happy to post that it's terrific.
PQ is excellent. As someone who doesn't like color/contrast overdone, I found both to be just fine (I remember a line from an article I read many years ago that went "Too much color on your TV is like too much sugar in your coffee; I agree.). The contrast might handle a notch or two down, but I didn't find it to be a problem as is. It looks great, with detail galore.
I really hesitate to use the following phrase, but some scenes almost had a 3D quality.
Audio was also fine.
At $10, it's a no-brainer. If you're on the fence, don't be. IMHO, it's an excellent release.

Mr.G,
That's REALLY badd example too use here at AVS.
The LD contains MORE information that the DVD; NOT less!
However, the way the captures (that's a whole other prob) are arranged one might think the DVD has more than the LD.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Seriously it was only posted to highlight that the Blu-ray did not compromise the aspect ratio versus the other versions. The rest is your interpretation.

Where? Amazon doesn't have it except from a couple of marketplace sellers.

Aha... a Wal*Mart exclusive! Why didn't I see this when I was there yesterday? I'd better go back and take another look.

I remember my parents driving (with me) 50 miles to Cleveland to see it in its original Cinerama release.

Hi jt.
If your store doesn't have it, the one in Goose Creek had two copies out when I was there this morning.
When I left, they were down to one.
Don't know how far you are from Goose Creek. I've lived in SC since Oct. 05, and I'm STILL learning my way around.

cool!! just ordered my bd copy of 'iammmmw' from wallyworld, should be here in a few days.

Where? the DVD is the clear loser but you are getting more info on all sides on the BD

CochiseGuy, is the Overture, Intermission, Entr'acte and Exit music included on this release? It would be great to hear the overture in 5.1 for the first time.

I've always been very confused by all the different lengths of runtime for the film. Can anyone tell me what length it should be, or what would be closest to the director's intention for purists? I really would love it to be as close as possible to what the director wanted in terms of time, editing, and presentation of the original material such as intermissions.

According to IMDB the original version is 192 minutes, and this isn't anywhere near that.

The 192-minute runtime refers to the original roadshow version. The film was recut for general release and the roadshow version was subsequently lost (I believe the original roadshow prints were recut to conform to the short version). Robert Harris has been working for years to reassemble the original roadshow cut and has apparently gotten pretty far, but as I understand it, MGM has never been willing to put up the money to finish it. The laserdisc release had an extended version, but that was just done by chucking in whatever footage they had lying around, including footage that Kramer had cut before release. The actual 192-minute roadshow cut is still MIA and the Blu-ray uses the general release version.

the overture song is included with a black screen, but the intermission stuff is not present (police calls, music, etc.) or the Entr'acte. not sure about the exit music.
(haven't quite finished it yet)
the intermission comes, the screen goes black for a moment, and then the film begins again.
so from that standpoint the release is indeed a disappointment.
but in every other way it is a great release.

Yes the exit music is there with a black screen, although I don't know how long it is.

I'm about 160 miles up I-26, right where I-385 branches off for Greenville. It's kind of a long drive for a $10 disc.

I ordered a copy from the W*M web site. The $2 for home shipping is only a bit more than I'd pay for gas to drive to the nearest store, over in the next town (Laurens), which might not have it anyway.

Yeah, long ride. LOL
It's worth the $2. They did a great job on this one.
I'm considering watching it again!

Thanks Mr. G for the shots.

I got it today and just got thru watching it. Its a great transfer with nice color, detail and no image processing in sight. At 2.76:1, you see some pretty major letterboxing even on a 16x9 TV and this is the 154 general release version. But given how little it costs there's no way anyone remotely interesting in this title can pass it up. Walmart is selling it for $10 and you get a $5 Vudu credit so the film essentially ends up costing you five bucks. A great deal all around.

This transfer was broadcast 2 years on MGM-HD iirc, so it's not brand spankin new. Also there's some definite sharpening: http://images.blu-ray.com/reviews/4530_8_1080p.jpg

Wow, looks pretty nice... could use a touch less sharpening, but for the price that's a lot better than I expected.

Sharpening? I gather you haven't actually seen the blu-ray. They don't need to sharpen a 65mm transfer.

They don't need to dnr a transfer, but they do

That they may do, but they did not do it with THIS transfer. A screencap is posted and immediately everyone sees sharpening - except the people who've actually seen the disc, many of whom even in this thread have said there is no picture manipulation, which there isn't.

I am not saying anything about the disc, more about your statement that they don't need to shapen it.
Need, right, wrong, good, bad, does not come into it, if they want to shapen it they will no matter what format it was shot in.

But they didn't. That is The Point. I understand that they can do anything they want. I also understand that there are people on these forums who will see it whether it's there or not - in the case of THIS transfer, it is not, and yet you have two people on this page saying the transfer has been sharpened, both, BTW, not having actually seen the blu-ray disc.

Sharpening is harder to see in motion