DJANGO THE BASTARD (1969) (Synapse Films Blu-ray Review)

DJANGO THE BASTARD (1969) 

Label: Synapse Films
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: PG
Duration: 99 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1) 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Director: Sergio Garrone
Cast: Anthony Steffen, Rada Rassimov, Paolo Gozlino, Luciano Rossi

Django the Bastard (1969) a.k.a. The Strangers Gundown is a solid if somewhat slow-burning spaghetti western that adds some minor Gothic/horror touches to the usual 'mythical stranger in town for a bit of revenge' dust-up. The film stars Anthony Steffen (The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave) as one in a long-line of onscreen Djangos through the years. This Django is a former Confederate soldier who arrives in a generic looking western town and sets about having his revenge against a trio of former commanding Confederate officers who years earlier set their troops up to be massacred after joining the Union, highlighted by the unhinged Hugh played by the Kinski-esque Luciano Rossi (Contraband). 

Django as played by Anthony Steffen is a mysterious man of few words, the sort of man who prefers to let his six-shooters do the talking, slipping in and out of the shadows like a ghostly apparition, which further lends to the from-beyond-the-grave revenge elements peppered throughout the film. The story here is not at all that original, we've seen a lot of these elements in Sergio Leone's The Man With No name Trilogy, and this film itself seems to have informed Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter which came a few years later, but the films executes all these elements well with solid direction from Sergio Garrone (SS Camp Women's Hell). 

Adding to the atmosphere are flashbacks to the Civil War that inform the character's backgrounds and vengeful motives, but some might find the lack of the red stuff a bit of a disappointment. I also didn't think that the film itself was shot all that stylish, but it does a decent enough job capturing the grit of the spaghetti western and the gun-slinging mayhem with just a tiny bit of creativity behind the camera. 

Audio/Video: Django The Bastard (1969) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Synapse filmed, presenting the film on 1080p HD framed in 2.40:1 widescreen. This is a new 2K scan sourced from a 35mm negative element, and it looks terrific. it's pleasingly free of blemishes aside from a tiny bit of white speckling, carrying a strong natural looking grain presence with solid colors and black levels throughout. Fine detail is also strong with clothing and facial close-ups offering plenty of texture throughout. The dubbed English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono audio is solid, it's expectedly boxy sounding, which is par for the course for these 60's Italian westerns, with newly translated optional English subtitles. The score from Vasili Kojucharov and Elsio Mancuso gets some nice life in the mix as well. 

The only extra on this release is a solid audio commentary from Film Historian and Author Troy Howarth who walks us through the Italian and U.S. versions of the film, touching on the cast and crew, and speaking of the unusual horror elements. The single-disc release arrives in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a  one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated Italian artwork which is also featured on the disc.  

Special Features
- All-New 2K Scan Created from a Beautiful Original 35mm Negative Element
- Audio Commentary from Film Historian and Author Troy Howarth
- Newly Translated Removable English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

Django The Bastard (1969) is a solid spaghetti western with some interesting touches that set it apart. While I think it's a bit of a minor entry among the Italian westerns the dusty revenger offers plenty of violence by way of the mythical gun-slinging stranger, and Synapse give it a top-notch transfer with an excellent commentary to accompany it. 

COMIN' AT YA! (1981) (MVD Blu-ray 2D/3D Review)

COMIN' AT YA! (1981) 

Label: MVD Entertainment Group
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 91 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: Ferdinando Baldi
Cast: Tony Anthony, Gene Quintano, Victoria Abril, Ricardo Palacios, Lewis Gordon

American star Tony Anthony and Italian Director Ferdinando Baldi teamed-up again for one more spaghetti western following the success of The Stranger films from the '70s. This movie is not part of that cycle, this was something altogether different, a novel idea at the time, they made an in-your-face 3D spaghetti western. Truth be told, against the odds this movie seems to be the one that launched the third-wave of three-dimensional films we saw in the early 1080s> Without this eye-popping Western there might not have ever been a Jaws 3D, Friday the 13th 3D or even an Amityville 3D ...for better or worse, depending on your view of '80s 3D cheese. As a kid in the eighties I remember when Jaws 3D aired on TV and you had to go to the local grocery store to get your 3D glasses to watch, which was cool, because unfortunately I never caught any of the '80s 3D movies in the theater. 

In Comin' At Ya! Tony Anthony stars as H.H. Hart who at the open of the movie is about to be married to his beautiful bride Abilene (Victoria Abril, Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down) when two low-life white slavers burst into the church and blast the priest and Hart. They make off with Abiline slung over their shoulder while Hart lays helpless on the floor, wounded. Hart's wounds heal ridiculously fast and he sets off in search of the villainous scum who nabbed his wife.  The wife-nabbers are the Thompson Brothers, Pike (Gene Quintano) and Polk (Ricardo Palacios), treacherous white slavers who raid borders towns for young women, whom they sell to brothels and despot generals down south in Mexico. 

That's pretty much the plot of the movie, we have Hart tracking down the duo, saving his bride and having his revenge -- there's not much else to it. As a late period spaghetti-western director Ferdinando Baldi packs in a lot of the tropes you've come to expect, even borrowing a few from his previous films with Tony Anthony. The movie is short on originality or substance of any kind, but it does capture the look and the feel of a classic spaghetti-western with the widescreen scope cinematography and dusty vistas. 

For his part Anthony is decent enough if somewhat bland at times as H.H. Hart, the guy doesn't have a whole lot of character about him, but he looks good in the part and handles the action well-enough. Victoria Abril who would go onto fame in a string of Pedro Almodovar productions is an attractive woman, though she is not given much to do aside from getting smacked around when she offers lip or getting dragged behind a horse through the ocean surf just long enough to bare her breasts.  Our white-slaver villains are decent, particularly the heavy-set Ricardo Palacios who comes off with a bit of Paul L. Smith about him, he's the greasier of the pair, way more menacing than his brother. 

As the movie that fired the first shot on the '80s 3D renaissance it does manage to throw just about everything right into your face from the opening credits, which seem to go on forever, this one is definitely padded for running time. This is the sort of shameless in-your-face we no one is willing to do anymore, now it's all about depth of field, but back in the '80s it was all about what can we throw in your face, and I loved it. The use of the 3-D is fun, but overused to the nth degree, however, if you love it when stuff is flying off the screen and seemingly into your face you are in for quite a treat. The opening title credits alone offer a a snake, watermelons, beans and a pistol being fired into your face, throughout you get the standard yo-yo scene with it right in your face, and other assorted cornball stuff, it's cheap but I loved it. 

Some of my favorite use of the gimmick comes when Hart is pursued by a native American who is part of the Thompson's gang, he throws spears which come straight into your face. A short time later Hart is chased into a ban, his pursuer firing a quick succession of flaming arrows which set the barn on fire. The third dimension is used to great effect, and the scene is a bunch of action-packed 3D fun. There's also a lot of slow-motion action in the movie, and for the most it works pretty well. As with the 3D it is used a bit too much, but when taken in as a gimmick-riddled 3D spaghetti-western I was alright with it. 

Audio/Video: Comin' At Ya! arrives on Blu-ray from MVD Entertainment from a brand new 4K Master supervised and produced by Tony Anthony himself and Tom Stern (In God's Hands), through his company Sternco 3D. Benefiting from a frame by frame digital conversion of the polarized over-and-under format of the original print, sourced from a brand new internegative into the MVC 3D format. The results are generally pleasing, the source shows some minor white speckling and scratches throughout, as are what appear to be numerous instances of dirt or debris on the the actual lens in numerous shots. While the movie may have been converted frame by frame for digital 3D conversion it doesn't appear to have been treated to a frame-by-frame restoration or clean-up. Though generally colors and black levels are adequate, they're just not stunning. This was my first watch of the movie, with nothing to compare it to I cannot say for sure how accurate this is to the original theatrical presentation. I would assume that some of the 3D effects have been modified to a degree, but for those who complain that modern 3D movies don't jump off the screen enough, you're in for a treat, the depth of field for this one is right up in your face!

Audio options come by way of DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 and DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0, the new surround sound mix is pretty good, with some nice use of the surrounds. I did hear some minor audio hiss and a few pops throughout the movie though, but it was not awful. There are no subtitle options on the disc. Of note is the lyrical score from Carlo Savina, which seems a much finer score than this particular movie would call for, that was an unexpected treat, and the lossless audio option only sweetens it.

The only extras on the disc are a six-minute promo trailer and a two-minute trailer for the movie. I would have loved a restoration demo or something about the Blu-ray 3D conversion process, or even an interview with star Tony Anthony, the lack of anything is a missed opportunity.

Special Features:
- Promo (6 Mins) HD
- Trailer (2 Mins) HD

While the story offers nothing new and the performances are just decent, I think the 3D gimmick saves this western to a degree, it falls a mile short of the Westerns we saw from Sergio Leone or Sergio Corbucci but it is nonetheless a wildly entertaining 3D novelty for fans of the Italian westerns. 

MAN, PRIDE AND VENGEANCE (1967)

MAN, PRIDE AND VENGEANCE (1967)

Label: Blue Underground 

Region Code: region FREE

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 100 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono, Italian DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English SDH, French, Spanish, English for Italian Version Subtitles 

Video: HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Director: Luigi Bazzoni

Cast:  Franco Nero, Tina Aumont, Klaus Kinski, Franco Ressel

Synopsis: When stalwart Spanish soldier Don Jose (Franco Nero of DJANGO) meets the stunningly beautiful Carmen (Tina Aumont of TORSO), he becomes instantly obsessed with the mysterious gypsy woman. After discovering she has cheated on him with his Lieutenant, Jose kills the officer during a brawl and flees the city. Forced to become a bandit, Jose partners with Carmen's villainous husband Garcia (Klaus Kinski of FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE) to rob a stagecoach and prove his love for the seductive femme fatale. 

This one is also deceptively known as With Django Comes Death and stars g the steely-eyed Franco Nero (Django) as Don Jose, a Spanish soldier who becomes absolutely intoxicated by a gorgeous young gypsy woman named Carmen (Tina Aumont).  Thus unhealthy infatuation with the young woman pulls him into her world of thievery and smuggling despite his noble intentions, so enraptured by her wide-eyed beauty he is willing to risk imprisonment to have her to himself, and what guy hasn't been there, am I right? 

What we come to find out is that the young Carmen is quite a manipulator of men, now blinded by lust Jose is powerless to deny the attraction, which puts him on the run from the law when he accidentally murders a superior officer with whom Carmen is involved with. Carmen has the tendency to bring out the green-eyed monster in men, and it's hard to fault him for it, she's quite a vision.

Now on the run as a wanted murderer Jose joins a group of thieves with which Carmen is affiliated and begins planning a heist in hopes of grabbing enough money to begin a new life together in America. A wrench is thrown into the works when Carmen's estranged husband, played by the mad man Klaus Kinski, shows up things turn from bad to worse when treachery and jealousy erupt between the men. 

Man, Pride and Vengeance strays from the typical Spaghetti Western tropes of vengeance, violence and gun play and focuses more on the manipulation and betrayal of Don Jose, whose blind desire for a pretty face proves to be his undoing. This one is deliberately paced and punctuated with some stunning cinematography, if you're looking for an Italian Western that offers something different with a bit more emotional depth Man, Pride and Vengeance is quite a find. 

Audio/Video: Blue Underground presents Man, Pride and Vengeance on Blu-ray for the very first time in North America with a brand new HD transfer sourced from the original negative. At first glance this is quite a sight, wonderfully saturated colors come through vibrantly but upon closer inspection we have some odd digital noise infiltrating the image, sort of masking the fact that the fine detail is lacking. In fact the grain structure seems off. Not sure what exactly is going on here but the digital noise seems to masking a lack of film grain, the natural grain should be alive and move with the image but this is something different. Nero's blue officer's uniform and piercing blue eyes pop off the screen, but the black levels seem to suffer quite a bit during a fantastic knife fight towards the end of the film, the intense action is difficult to follow with poor contrast and shadow detail, which is unfortunate as the knife fight between Kinski and Nero is rather intense. 

Audio options include both the original Italian DTS-HD MA Mono audio and the English-dub, both are solid but I found the English dubbing of Carmen to grate on my nerves, the character is already a manipulative woman but the dubbing makes every line overwrought and insufferable. 

Extras on the disc include an informative Audio Commentary with Journalists C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parke who seem to be the go-to guys for Italian Western commentaries, having done commentary for both The Big Gundown and Companeros recently. There's also interviews with Franco Nero and Camera Operator Vittorio Storaro who fondly recall their longtime friendship with each other and director Luigi Bazzoni and what a joy it was to come together on the project. Finishing up extras are a selection of trailers and a poster and stills gallery. 

Special Features: 

- Audio Commentary with Journalists C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parke (

- Interview with Star Franco Nero and Camera Operator Vittorio Storaro

- International Trailer

- Italian Trailer

- Poster and Still Gallery

Spaghetti Western fans might be a slightly disappointed by the lack of gun play and epic showdowns, but this is a pretty decent tale of infatuation, lust and betrayal with a great finale bolstered by some fine cinematography. Man, Pride and Vengeance is yet another gem of an Italian Western cinema now on Blu-ray courtesy of the folks over at Blue Underground, only slightly marred by an odd PQ quirk. *** 3/5 

COMPANEROS (1970)

COMPANEROS (1970)

Label: Blue Underground

Release Date: October 28, 2014
Region Code: Refion FREE

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 115 Mins. / Italian: 119 Mins.

Audio: English and Italian DTS-HD Mono with Optional English SDH, French, Spanish, English Subtitles for Italian Version
Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: Sergio Corbucci

Cast: Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, Fernando Rey, Karin Schubert, Jack Palance

SYNOPSIS: 
Yodlaf Peterson (Franco Nero of DJANGO) is a suave Swedish arms dealer with a love for fast money. Vasco (Tomas Milian of TRAFFIC) is a trigger-happy Mexican bandit with a hate for suave Swedish arms dealers. But when the two men team up to kidnap a professor who holds the key to a fortune in gold, they find themselves hunted by the American army, stalked by a marijuana-crazed sadist (Academy Award winner Jack Palance) and trapped in the middle of a revolution about to explode. Can these two enemies blast their way across Mexico together without killing each other first?

THE FILM: 
Here we have another Zapata Western of the Italian persuasion from director Sergio Corbucci (DJANGO) set during the Mexican revolution. The film Western legends Franco Nero (DJANGO) and Tomas Milan (DJANGO KILL). Milan portrays a Mexican bandit El Vasco who wears a beret which gives home a certain Che Guevara flavor. Vasco's not the sharpest tool in the shed which makes him useful to the self appointed rebel leader General Mongo (José Bódalo) who sends him into battle. The red-coated Mongo is more interested in personal gain than the revolution so it's always handy to have a few good disposable men at your disposal and Vasco fits the bill.

When a dapper Swedish arms dealer Yodlaf (Nero) arrives on scene to sell weapons to Mongo we discover that his payment is locked away in the impenetrable town vault and only the counter revolutionary leader Professor Xantos (Frenando Rey) knows the combination. He's currently imprisoned at an American Army base on the other side of the border and Vasco and Yodlaf must team-up to free te non-violent revolutionary. 

What makes the film here is the adversarial buddy-relationship between the slow-witted Vasco and the blue-eyed Swede, which is also very much what made THE BIG GUNDOWN such a fun watch which also starred Milan as the rough and tumble Mexican. As a Zapata Western there's certainly some political leanings to the film but for me the humor and camaraderie are what pulled me in and pushed me through - this is a wonderful watch and comedy tends to be painted in broad strokes. Milan is very much the straight man - a dapper stranger in a strange land who plays the opposition against each other to his benefit. Milan is sort of a low-life who cannot stand the well-dressed foreigner he has been assigned to. He mockingly refers to the well-dressed Swede as a "penguin" and the two double-cross and trade barbs with each other.

A particularly fun scene has Penguin at the wrong end of a noose balanced precariously on top of a barrel. Having just been betrayed by the Swede Vasco takes his sweet time freeing the arm dealer and with no small amount of taunting before doing so, these two are dynamite together - even more so than Milan's teaming with Lee Van Cleef (ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK) in THE BIG GUNDOWN. 

The performances are captivating and the chemistry of the two actors is undeniable - it's a damn shame this was they're only team-up onscreen. Also making a memorable appearance is Jack Palance as a weed-smoking mercenary with a vendetta against the Swede. He's a colorful character with a wooden hand and a pet hawk named Marshall (or Matilda in the English version), the back story is a fun one, he plays it cool but there's that Palance menace just beneath that nightmarish grin. Fernando Rey as the non-violent counter-rebel leader gives the film quite a bit of soul it wouldn't have had otherwise. 

There's a lot of nice character touches throughout that just add to the film in small ways beginning with the question of why the Swede gave Vasco a dollar upon meeting him - the question nags at the Mexican throughout the film. Another weird touch is professor Xantos discovering the younglings of a rare species of turtle which he carries with him, at the end of the day neither are significant to the story but help paint are more colorful image including references to DJANGO with someone dragging a coffin from a graveyard and the machine gun making an appearance. 

A fun film from start to finish but the film does strike a nice balance with the violence we've come to expect from the sub-genre with some excellent exchanges of gunfire, violence, bridges blowing up, hangings and bursts brute force but it never once loses the comedic edge. 

The visuals are top-notch and the cinematography is excellent, the sweaty Western visuals are framed nicely, just on a visual level this is a knockout. Adding immensely to the film is another stand-out score for Ennio Morricone (THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY) that stays with you long after the movie ends. 

BLU-RAY: 
COMPANEROS (1970) arrives on Blu-ray from Blue Underground with a brand-new transfer sourced from the original negative. Colors are uniformly strong and vibrant with black levels and shadow detail scoring high marks - this is a great looking disc with some nice clarity and moments of fine detail in the close-up shots.  There are two versions of the film on the disc, a 115 minute English version and the 119 minute Italian version which adds a few additional scenes including the "death to the oppressors" opening scene.

Audio options include an English DTS-HD Mono track for the English version and both DTS-HD Mono Italian and English for the extended Italian version with Optional English subtitles for both.

Onto the extras we have the 17 minute featurette from the 2001 Anchor Bay disc presented in standard-def. Nero speaks about his preference to play foreigners and to use his own voice in his Westerns while Milan address the fact that he could be a very difficult actor to work with and using his beret in the film as a prop to enhance his character. Both stars speak about their somewhat adversarial relationship during filming. They also recall working with the the imposing Jack Palance and director Sergio Corbucci with Nero glossing over his falling out with Corbucci with whom he did not collaborate with again following this film. 

There's a new audio commentary from Journalists C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke who have also done commentaries for THE GRAND DUEL (1972) and THE BIG GUNDOWN (1967). It's quite a good listen as the two are deeply versed in the genre and add a lot of insights into the cast, context and making of the film. 

Extras are finished up with a selection of stills, TV spots and trailers including an electrifying Italian trailer comprised of still shots and animation. 

SPECIAL FEATURES
- Audio Commentary with Journalists C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke
- In The Company Of Companeros - Interviews with Stars Franco Nero, Tomas Milian and Composer Ennio Morricone (17 minutes)
- International Trailer (1 minute)
- Italian Trailer (1 minute)
-Poster and Still Gallery (31 Images)

VERDICT:
Not as excessively violent as Sergio Corbucci's classic Spaghetti Western DJANGO (1966) but  just as enjoyable on another level. A top notch Italian Western infused with a fun buddy movie chemistry from Milan and Nero and some effective bursts of violence that punctuate the film. Blue Underground have done a fantastic job with the transfer and there's a decent set of extras, any fan of Spaghetti Westerns and the Zapata sub-genre in particular should jump on this without reservation.

Blu-ray Review: THE BIG GUNDOWN (1968) 4-Disc Collector's Edition

THE BIG GUNDOWN (1968) 

Label: Grindhouse Releasing 
Region: Region-FREE
Rating: R
Duration: 95 Minutes (Expanded US Cut), 110 Minutes (Director's Cut) 
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.40:1) 
Director: Sergio Sollima
Cast: Tomas Milian, Walter Barnes, Lee Van Cleef, Gérard Herter

'The Big Gundown' (1968) is a Spaghetti Western written by Sergio Leone (Fistful of Dollars) collaborator Sergio Donati (Orca) and directed by Sergio Sollima (Run, Man, Run) starring Western legend Lee Van Cleef (Escape from New York) as Texas lawman Corbett tasked by a corrupt Baron Brokston (Walter Barnes) to track and kill a Mexican peasant named Cuchillo (Tomas Milian) blamed for the despicable rape and murder a 12 year-old girl - and that's the very simple set-up of the The Big Gundown.

As Corbett sets out on a cross country pursuit of the Mexican criminal he discovers that his adversary is quite crafty adversary and not easy to lay hands on. Tomas Milian portrays the character as a mischievous prankste, a street rat who prefers the blade to a six-shooter. Van Cleef's Corbet is a stone-cold lawman with a real sense of duty and justice, a straight-laced sharp shooter who throughout the film has his loyalties tested. Something that sets this film apart are the cast of characters, aside from Van Cleef and Tomas Milian we have the addition of a peculiar Austrian caped-gunslinger Baron Von Schulenberg (Gérard Herter) who sports a monocle, a truly unforgettable character.

There's a very strong political undercurrent throughout the film with Cuchillo as something of a Mexican revolutionary against the greed and corruption of American industrialist Brokston, and then we have Corbett as the conflicted hired gun working for the man. While the politics are there it's not obnoxiously up front - there are so drawn-out monologues drawing attention to it the theme, it's character driven and Van Cleef and Milian completely carry the film on their performances and exchanges.

By far the most enjoyable aspect of the movie that cat and mouse interplay with the wily Cuchillo usually getting the upper-hand on the more straight-faced Corbett. On top of that it's a gorgeously shot film with long vistas, rough desert terrain and blue sky. The superb finale a triple-layered duel with all the elements converging for a satisfyingly tense climax proving that it is not necessarily a bad idea to bring a knife to a gunfight.

Blu-ray: 'The Big Gundown' comes to Blu-ray/DVD for the first time ever in the US with a brand new 2K digital restoration of the original uncensored English-language version, newly expanded with three additional scenes presented in 1080p widescreen (2.40:1). The colors are vivid, details are crisp and the skin tones are appear natural. The black levels are nice and the film grain is intact, this is a very attractive presentation from start to finish with very minimal instances of speckling and print damage, there's even a modest amount of depth to the image, a qaulity transfer courtesy of Columbia Pictures and Grindhouse Releasing. There's one English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono sounds very nice, the dubbed dialogue and canned effects are nicely balanced and the superb Ennio Morricone's Western score comes through gloriously, right from the opening salvo of "Run, Man, Run".

This four-disc limited edition set is crammed with quality extras beginning on disc one with an Audio commentary by Western film experts C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parke who come off a bit on the academic side of things but do keep the conversation moving forward with some scene by scene commentary, trivia and history of the production - it makes for a informative listen as they attempt to one-up each other with anecdotal trivia bits. There is also the option to watch the movie with an isolated music and effects only audio track. There are nearly 2 hours of interviews with Director Sergio Sollima, Screenwriter Sergio Donati and StarTomas Milan which cover a lot of ground about the production of the movie with many colorful anecdotes. The first disc is completed by the inclusion of production stills, trailers and TV spots, filmographies and a DVD-ROM with a detailed analysis of the different versions of the film. There is also an Easter Egg hidden away on disc one, a trailer for the sequel to this movie.

The second disc is a Blu-ray of the 110 minute director's cut 'La Resa Dei Conti' presented in 1080p with a Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono with optional English subtitles. With this version we also have an isolated score option and a subtitled commentary focusing on Morricone's score and the different versions of the film. Also included are trailers for An American Hippie in Israel, Corruption, The Swimmer, Massacre Mafia Style, Gone with the Pope, Cannibal Holocaust, Ice House, Poor White Trash 2, Cat in the Brain, The Beyond, Cannibal Ferox, The Tough Ones, Pieces and I Drink Your Blood.

The third disc is a DVD version of the Expanded US Cut mirroring the extras from the first disc. The final disc of this 4-disc set is a CD of the 23-track original score from Ennio Morricone (53:49). Packaging extras include a sleeve of reversible artwork, a sweet slipcase and a hefty 22 page color booklet with liner notes from Western film expert C. Courtney Joyner and Euro-music expert Gergely Hubai crammed with stills and international posters, plus a write-up on poster artist Mario De Barardini.  


Special Features:
- 4-Disc Deluxe Limited Edition Combo Pack - 2 Blu-rays, 1 DVD and 1 Bonus CD
- Individually numbered and limited to 3000 copies
- Spectacular new 2K digital restoration of the original uncensored English-language version, newly expanded with three additional scenes
- 'La Resa Dei Conti' (1080p) - the complete, 110 minute director's cut presented in Italian with optional English subtitles and special musical subtitles
- Isolated Music and Effects Audio Track
- 'The Big Gundown' original soundtrack by Ennio Morricone
- Sergio Sollima Remembers the Big Gundown (29:00) 
- Tomas Milian: Acting On Instinct (29:46) 
- Tagliatelle in Los Angeles: Sergio Donati Interview (12:03) 
- Sergio Sollima: Struggles Against Genre Rome (27:54) 
- Sergio Donati Bonus Interview (11:50) 
- Still Galleries: Productions Stills (1:41), US Promotional Material (3:26), Italian Promotional Material (0:51), French Promotional Material (2:31), Various Promotional Material (1:41)
- Audio commentary by Western film experts C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parke
- 22 Page Collector's Booklet with Liner notes by C. Courtney Joyner and Euro-music expert Gergely Hubai
- 3 Theatrical Trailers (8:24) 
- 5 TV Spots (2:06) 
- Filmographies for Sergio Sollima, Sergio Donati and Tomas Milian 
- DVD-ROM Content
- Grindhouse Releasing Trailers (32:55) 
- Easter Eggs: Run , Man, Run Trailer (3:41) 

Verdict: 'The Big Gundown' (1968) is thoroughly entertaining Spaghetti Western by any standard, on par with any of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy. On top of that we get a superb edition  with a sweet transfer and it's dripping with quality extras you can pour over for days on end. Only 3000 copies of this 4-disc limited edition are available, so get your copy now before it's gone. A very high recommend for fans of Westerns of any variety, this is the definitive document of a under seen Italian  Western classic. 4.5 Outta 5

Blu-ray Review: A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL (1967)

A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL (1967)  
2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD

Label: Blue Underground 
Region Code: ALL
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: U.S.: 115 Mins. / International: 118 Mins.
Audio: English and Italian DTS-HD Mono
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, English for Italian Version
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Damiano Damiani (How to Kill a Judge, Amityville II)
Cast: Gian Maria Volonte, Klaus Kinski, Martine Beswick, Lou Castel

Synopsis: At the height of the Mexican revolution, a mysterious young American (Lou Castel of FIST IN HIS POCKET) joins a gang of marauders led by El Chucho (Gian Maria Volonte of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS) on a series of savage raids to steal guns for a powerful rebel general. But when the Gringo brings his own cold-blooded ideals to the bandits, El Chucho discovers that the real weapons of war belong to no army. In a land ravaged by poverty and violence, can true freedom be bought with a single bullet?


The Film: In director Damiano Damiani's "zapato" spaghetti western A Bullet for the General (1966) encounter a revolutionary bandit named El Chuncho (Gia Maria Volonte, A Fistful of Dollars) during the Mexican Revolution and his group of banditos as they stop rob a military cargo train. Ingeniously they stop the train by crucifying a soldier in the middle of the train tracks, it's quite a sight.  After rather easily eliminating the government soldiers on the train El Chucho encounters a well-dressed American named Bill Tate (Lou Castel, Fists in the Pocket) whom earns the nickname "Nino" for his boyish looks. After he earns the trust of El Chuncho  Nino joins the revolutionary bandits. Chuncho and his bandits blaze a path through Mexico exchanging gunfire with the government forces and raiding military compounds collecting weaponry, including a new machine gun, to aide General Elias's revolutionary forces. El Chuncho is not truly a supporter of the revolution and seems motivated mostly by the notoriety of his conquests and the lucrative spoils of war. However, when it is revealed that Nino may be in fact a counter-revolutionary assassin El Chucho's loyalties are put to the ultimate test.

I think the film goes a bit long but I was sucked right in from the start. It's a sweaty film, it feels dirty and sun-bleached with great shoot-outs and arid desert landscapes, you really feel the enviorment. Volonte as the cigar-chompin' El Chuncho is a great villain... or is he? Definitely a film that tests your loyalties, he's someone profiting from the spoils of war -  chewing up the scenery in every shot in the best possible way. Lou Castel as Nino is a pretty cold character, baby-faced and steely-eyed, always with an air of mystery. After these two amazing performances we have an all too brief appearance by the madman himself Kalus Kinski (Aguirre, the Wrath of God) as El Chuncho's brother El Santo , a holy-bandit praying for his enemies fallen in battle, it's an odd role even for the notorious Kinski, I wanted more from this character and my main beef with the film would be just that. Special mention should also be made of the gorgeous brunette sexpot Martine Beswick (Thunderball) whom appears as Adelita, the lone woman among El Chuncho's gang, a supremely alluring beauty and the cause of some friction among Nino and Chuncho.


The film in my opinion is not as violent as Sergio Corbucci's Django (1966) or as twisted as Giulio Questi's Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1966) but there's definitely no shortage of spaghetti western carnage onscreen here right from the start, the assault on the train is fantastic. The film has a great pedigree too, it was penned by Oscar-nominee Franco Solinas (The Battle of Algiers) and features a great score from Luis Bacalov (Django) and Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) and looks fantastic with lensing from Antonio Secchi (The Hills Run Red) so we're in good hands here from the ground up except for maybe the director whom went onto direct Amityville II: The Possession but credit where credit is do this is a great film. 

Blu-ray: Blue Underground's region-FREE Blu-ray release features both the U.S. 
(115 mins) and International Version (118 mins) of the film presented in 16:9 enhanced widescreen (2.35:1) in wonderful 1080p HD. The transfer is sourced from a gorgeous print and there's a fine layer of film grain. The colors are vibrant, flesh tones are accurate and the black levels are strong. The image is crisp and while some scenes seem to have received an aggressive dose of digital noise reduction but overall I have no other complaints, a very pleasant image. The Italian and English-dubbed DTS-HD Mono options both sounds very good with crisp dialogue, piercing gunshots and score.


Special Features:
- A Bullet for the Director - Interview with Director Damiano Damiani (5:01)
- U.S. Trailer (1:52) 16:9
- International Trailer (4:29) 16:9
- Poster and Still Gallery
- Bonus DVD - Gian Maria Volonte: Un Attore Contro (112 Mins.)


Verdict: In years past Blue Underground were synonymous in my mind at least with horror and exploitation cinema and not much else, so it's rather nice to expand my adventures into Spaghetti Westerns with their release of Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! and A Bullet for the General. This is a riveting watch and comes recommended not just for fans of the spaghetti westerns but of all westerns, it's right up here with A Fistful of Dynamite and The Wild Bunch. 4 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: DJANGO KILL... IF YOU LIVE, SHOOT! (1967)

DJANGO KILL... IF YOU LIVE, SHOOT! (1967) 

Label: Blue Underground 
Region Code: ALL
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 117 Mins
Audio: English, Italian DTS-HD Mono
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, English for Italian Version
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2.40:1) 
Director: Giulio Questi (Death Laid an Egg)
Cast: Tomas Milian (Traffic, Run Man Run), Ray Lovelock (Let Sleeping Corpses Lie)
 

Synopsis: Tomas Milian (Run Man Run) stars as a half-breed bandit double-crossed and left for dead who rises from the grave to seek his revenge. But when his quest leads to a bizarre town called 'The Unhappy Place,' he is plunged into an odyssey of gruesome torture, graphic violence and relentless sexual depravity. This is the landmark movie that fans and critics still consider to be the strangest - and most controversial - 'Spaghetti Western' ever made. This is DJANGO KILL!


The Film: The Stranger (Thomas Milan) is a half-breed Mexican bandit double-crossed by  Oaks (Pierro Lulli)  following a lucrative Wells Fargo gold heist. He and the other Mexican bandits are executed and left for dead. Sometime later The Stranger is resurrected by two native American medicine men whom set him on a path of vengeance armed with newly crafted golden bullets, just one of many weird and awesome events evidenced in this bizarre and brutal spaghetti western.

His quest for vengeance  leads him to a small and unsettling town known as The Unhappy Place.  Here he must face off against not just Oaks' gang of bandits but a greed-obsessed saloon proprietor, a weird priest and a very strange gang of gay (read: homosexual) caballeros lead by a man called Sorrow (Robert Camardiel). A very young Ray Lovelock (Live Like a man, Die Like a Cop) also makes a memorable appearance as the son of the saloon owner who bares a possibly sexually repressed resentment towards his mother and her sexy lingerie, it's pretty bizarre and only gets weirder when he winds up a victim of Sorrow's gang and their particular proclivities leading to a tragedy.


The film is also mighty violent - even by spaghetti western standards - the first of The Stranger's victims Oaks lays dying on a Saloon table riddled with bullets. As his wounds are tended to it is discovered the bullets are made of gold. Well, any concern for his well-being is thrown out the window right there and then and he is literally torn apart as hands are plunged into his wounds to get at the remaining bullets as he writhes in exquisite pain. A later scalping scene is especially bloody and cringe-worthy, not to mention the death of children and someone roasted to death on a spit over a fire. 


There's no shortage of What-the-Fuck moments on display here from the gritty violence on thru to the perversion, torture and pain- it's a thing of strange beauty including a fantastic fiery finale with someone taking a blast of  molten-gold to to the face.


Milan is a total understated bad-ass as The Stranger whom admirably carries on the tradition of The Man With No Name having been resurrected from the grave. I love this film, there's a lot of re-watch value here, a high recommend.  

Blu-ray: The transfer here is par for the course with what I've see from Blue Underground of late, we get some nice film grain with very nice fine detail, it's a crisp image with no evidence of overly aggressive digital noise reduction. While the transfer created from the original Italian negative is quite good the source material does seem uneven at times going from wonderfully crisp to a soft from time to time but this is no fault to the transfer. The film is presented in it's original aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and it's a stunning watch. 


Audio options include both English and Italian DTS-HD mono with optional English SDH, Italian, French and separate English subtitles for the Italian version. To my ears the English audio bests the Italian but there are dropouts on the English dub stemming from the fact that certain scenes included here were cut from the shorter American version of the film. It should be noted that the Blu-ray is REGION-FREE too.


Special features include a twenty minute featurette ported from the 2004 DVD edition with interviews  from director Giulio Questi and stars Tomas Milan and Ray Lovelock. There's also a theatrical trailer and a poster and stills gallery, the features are not extensive by any means but the interviews are quite interesting and the trailer's pretty bad-ass.


Special Features:
- Django, Tell! - Interviews with Co-Writer/Director Guilio Questi, Stars Tomas Milian and Ray Lovelock (20:37) 16:9
- Theatrical Trailer (2:26) 16:9 1080p
- Poster and Still Gallery


Verdict: Giulio Questi's Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! is most definitely not on par with the Sergio Leone iconic spaghetti westerns but is definitely a blast of perverse and gritty western action laying somewhere between Alejandro Jodorowski's mind-bending El Topo and Sergio Corbucci's brutal  Django. A gritty and slightly surreal spaghetti western revenger that offers up more than a handful of things you won't be expecting even by today's standards it's pretty shocking stuff, a spaghetti western that will definitely appeal to the exploitation enthusiasts and another home-run for Blue Underground.  4 outta 5