A Fistful of Dynamite Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

A Fistful of Dynamite Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 19, 2020

Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dynamite" a.k.a. "Duck, You Sucker"(1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailer for the film; vintage audio commentary by Christopher Frayling; archival program with screenwriter Sergio Donati; archival program with restoration specialist John Kirk; location comparisons; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Anyone aiming to produce a complete critical evaluation of Sergio Leone’s final western, A Fistful of Dynamite a.k.a. Duck, You Sucker, in 2020 will be rehashing old information. It is true. Why? Because this film is a legit classic of the spaghetti western genre and as such has been deconstructed so many times over the years that there is nothing new that can be written about it. In this article, I am only going to highlight a few subthemes that keep it relevant today.

The first channels a sense of melancholy that effectively counters the action and allows the viewer to remain aware of the bigger picture. (In Once Upon a Time in America this exact same relationship becomes a major theme of the narrative. Without it the film quite simply cannot stay coherent). So, while the Irish revolutionary (James Coburn) and the Mexican bandit (Rod Steiger) challenge each other with silly games and then go to work to rob the bank, the uprising slowly outgrows them and eventually becomes the main event in the film.

Behind the sizzling action there is also a very careful diagnosis of the futility of revolutionary action. Halfway through the film Leone uses Steiger’s frustrated bandit to describe the revolution as a giant scam initiated by ideological manipulators and hypocrites and carried out by naïve peasants who trade their lives for utopian lies. It is a vicious cycle, the bandit insists, that always begins and ends the same way. While originating in a unique socio-political context, this is an astonishingly bold and accurate statement that keeps Leone’s film relevant today. (Examined strictly through the prism of Italian politics, the film’s consciousness becomes even more impressive. Remember, during the Cold War era Italy had the strongest Communist Party in Western Europe and the socio-politcial climate there was unprecedented. The ‘70s was also the decade when terrorist organizations like the Red Brigades became incredibly active in the country and with the help of outside funding, primarily from the Soviet Union, went to work to cripple the system. Their finest hour was the kidnapping and execution of Prime Minister Aldo Moro. So, the film's warning that the revolution is a big scam before the peak of the underground uprising in Italy is in fact quite extraordinary).

The cynicism that permeates the film isn’t of the kind that is present in the rest of Leone’s westerns. It is utterly unforgiving but profoundly illuminating. At its core is a conviction that the desire to abuse and oppress the meek is part of human nature, a classless defect that could become uncontrollable in completely different situations. It is not a coincidence that throughout the film the rich and poor humiliate each other while revealing the exact same enthusiasm and enjoyment -- as soon as Leone switches their roles, they become the same.

The long version that is included on this release incorporates the reconstructed extended finale footage, which makes the film even easier to admire. The prolonged flashback provides proper context for a character arc that up to that point would have been unthinkable in a western. With Leone behind the camera, however, it makes perfect sense and provides the story with a terrific closure.

Maestro Ennio Morricone scored the film and the end product is yet another masterpiece that should have earned him at least David di Donatello award (the Italian equivalent of the Oscars).

A Fistful of Dynamite Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, A Fistful of Dynamite arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

This presentation is sourced from the older but still very good restoration and reconstruction of the English language version of the film that was produced on behalf of MGM. While it could be a bit rough in places -- and I will explain below why -- I like it a lot.

The bulk of the film looks really good, boasting fine delineation, clarity and even fluidity. Density levels are pleasing as well, but this is the area where you would see the most obvious inconsistencies. These are inherited source limitations, not fluctuations and/or anomalies were produced by unconvincing or problematic digital work.In an an ideal world the film could and should look lusher and 'tighter', but again, the current presentation is actually a reconstruction and some of the elements that were used to produce it clearly had unique age-related imperfections. (The 2K restoration that is addressed below offers some improvements, but there are other issues there). The graging job is good. In fact, it is far more convincing than that of the more recent 2K restoration of the film, as well as some other more recent restorations of popular Leone westerns. Saturation and nuances could be better balanced, mostly to avoid some of the clipping in background highlights, but the current overall color balance is very nice. Image stability is good, even during transitions where footage from different sources is merged. Finally, a few white specks can be spotted here and there, but there are no distracting large cuts, debris, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

Presented here is the more recent 2K restoration of the film that was completed by Cineteca di Bologna in 2009. In most areas the density levels are better and on a larger screen the difference is very easy to appreciate. However, there is plenty of darker/nighttime footage where the dynamic range becomes unconvincing. The grading choices leave the impression that various sections of the film could and should have been finalized with greater precision so that finer nuances are preserved (crushing collapses them). Also, the yellow font seems uneven and in select areas clearly overwhelms some of the primaries and their supporting nuances. I prefer the older presentation of the film. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

A Fistful of Dynamite Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit) and Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH (for the English track) and English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I prefer to view the A Fistful of Dynamite version with the English track (from disc one). I think that it serves the film really well, though as it is mentioned in one of the archival featureless a Stereo option (which was present for the Italian version of the film) would have been even better. Clarity, depth, and overall dynamic intensity are very good. there are a few sequences where it feels like depth and roundness could be better, but I think that restored and reconstructed audio is perfectly fine. There are no encoding anomalies to report.

A Fistful of Dynamite Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Trailer - an original theatrical trailer for A Fistful of Dynamite. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Radio Spots - vintage radio spots for Duck, You Sucker. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Restoration Italian Style - in this archival featurette, John Kirk, director of technical operations at MGM, discusses the complex production history of A Fistful of Dynamite as well as the restoration and reconstruction of the longer English language version of the film. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• The Myth of Revolution - in this archival program, Christopher Frayling, biographer of Sergio Leone, discusses some of the key themes in A Fistful of Dynamite, the distribution history of the film, the director's working methods and the evolution of his style, his relationship with other Italian filmmakers, etc. Outstanding program. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• Austin Fisher on A Fistful of Dynamite - in this new program, Austin Fisher, author of Radical Frontiers in the Spaghetti Western: Politics, Violence and Popular Italian Cinema, discusses some of the political themes that emerged in Italian spaghetti westerns during the '70s and A Fistful of Dynamite. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Kim Newman on A Fistful of Dynamite - critic Kim Newman discusses A Fistful of Dynamite and Sergio Leone's body of work. The program was produced exclusively for Eureka Entertainment. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Commentary One - this vintage audio commentary was recorded by Christopher Frayling and has appeared on other home video releases of A Fistful of Dynamite.

• Commentary Two - this vintage audio commentary was recorded by filmmaker Alex Cox (Repo Man) and has appeared on other home video releases of A Fistful of Dynamite.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Sergio Donati Remembers - in this archival program, screenwriter Sergio Donati recalls his contribution to A Fistful of Dynamite and discusses Sergio Leone's directing methods. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Sorting Out the Versions - this archival program focuses on the different and often confusing versions of A Fistful of Dynamite as well as the reconstruction of the longer English language version that is found on this release. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Once Upon a Time in Italy - this archival program focuses on the cinematic legacy of Sergio Leone and its preservation. With comments by Christopher Frayling. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Location Comparisons - a visual comparison featuruette. With music. (10 min).

• Still Galleries -
  
  1. Filming Giu la testa
  2. Color stills from Giu la testa
  3. Giu la testa in pictures
  4. Promoting Giu la testa

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by Simon Ward, and western authority Howard Hughes

A Fistful of Dynamite Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For my money, A Fistful of Dynamite is the ultimate spaghetti western. There are other equally ambitious and certainly a lot more outrageous genre films that can be compared and placed next to it, but the complexity of its narrative and the clarity with which it deconstructs some timeless socio-political myths are quite simply astonishing. The film's visual style is also incredible, though there is so much brilliance on display that the mind could be tricked to accept that it isn't so. (Christopher Frayling's statement that even the 'unimportant' footage in the film is actually huge is spot on. The long zoom with the approaching train would have been the central piece in a lot of other period films). Eureka Entertainment's two-disc set features two presentations of the film, one being the recent 2K restoration of the film that Cineteca di Bologna prepared in 2009. I like the older restoration and reconstruction of the English language version that was prepared on behalf of MGM better. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.