6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A group of killers seek out wanted gunman El Puro for the $10,000 dollar reward. Their target, a drunkard and fed up with living, is roused to action after they murder his girlfriend, Rosie.
Starring: Robert Woods, Aldo Berti, Marc Fiorini, Mario Brega, Rosalba NeriForeign | 100% |
Western | 28% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow Video's Savage Guns: 4 Classic Westerns collection.
Arrow may be engaging in just the slightest bit of PR hyperbole with their description of the quartet of offerings in Savage Guns as
"classic westerns", as even some of the commentaries included on this set get into. The sheer glut of what have alternately been called Spaghetti or
Euro (as well as in one case on a disc in this set, Taco) Westerns throughout the sixties and seventies in particular probably unavoidably led to rather
wide variances in quality, and if, as again the very
commentaries on some of these discs overtly mention, some of the films in this set are probably not "top tier", they can be rather interesting in their
own ways,
and as usual Arrow has assembled an impressive array of supplements to augment things.
El Puro is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet offers technical information on all four films in the set in a somewhat haphazard fashion on one page, so I'm "cutting and pasting" as necessary to offer data on each film separately:
El Puro / La taglia e tua. . .l'uomo l'ammazzo is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Italian and English mono sound.A text card at the opening of the extended version offers a few more comments, as follows:
The original 35mm negative was scanned in 2K resolution at Cinema Communications, Rome. The film was graded and restored in 2K resolution at Dragon DI, Wales. A 35mm print was scanned in 2K resolution for the additional sections needed to complete the long version of the film. Although every effort has been taken to restore these print sections to match the negative sourced footage as closely as possible, this element suffered from severe fading and wear and some instances of picture damage remain.
Audio was sourced from the optical sound negatives. Audio remastering was completed by Ţorsteinn Gislason, Norway.
All original materials supplied for El Puro were made available by Intramovies.
The original Italian version of El Puro / La taglia e tua. . .l'uomo l'ammazzo io runs some 10 minutes longer than the more widely circulated export cut.With a probably significant caveat offered vis a vis the interstitial additions made for the extended version, this is a very pleasing looking transfer that preserves a very nicely suffused palette and some commendable detail levels. Flesh tones in particular can be just a tad on the orange side at times, but despite this film not having the surplus of outdoor material that other films in this set like I Want Him Dead offer, densities are secure and detail levels nicely consistent. The additional material is often quite easy to spot, and it does indeed show some severe fading, to the point that colors can look pretty blanched, as well as offering a much grittier grain field and less fulsome detail levels.
Unfortunately, the original elements for these additional scenes have been lost. For this presentation, these scenes were sourced from an archival print. In addition, for some brief scenes, no Italian audio could be located, so these are presented in Spanish with English subtitles.
While the quality of these elements is far from ideal, we felt it was important to bring you the complete, uncut version of El Puro.
El Puro features LPCM Mono audio in either Italian or English. Supplements on this disc either solely or in passing mention Alessandro Alessandroni's score, which more than obviously owes a tip of the sombrero to Ennio Morricone's epochal work on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (and perhaps even more saliently, Hugo Montenegro's arrangement of that memorable theme and other Morricone spaghetti western opuses). While the audio here shows some of the same quality variances that the video side of things does, things are nowhere near as widely variant, and overall the tracks for the different versions offer secure fidelity and no really debilitating damage. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
The back cover of this release states that El Puro offers Robert Woods' "arguably. . .greatest performance", and he is quite compelling as yet another addled hero who must confront his own inner turmoil in order to achieve justice for a loved one. Basic technical merits here are solid, though the extended version does show some significant quality variances. Supplements are very enjoyable. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Lo voglio morto
1968
I quattro dell'apocalisse
1975
Trinity Sees Red
1970
E Dio disse a Caino...
1970
1967
ˇMátalo!
1970
Per 100.000 dollari t'ammazzo
1967
10,000 Dollars for a Massacre / 10.000 dollari per un massacro
1967
Se incontri Sartana prega per la tua morte / Gunfighters Die Harder
1968
Ballad of Death Valley / The Angry Gun / Ringo the Killer / Una Pistola per Ringo
1965
Due once di piombo
1966
Le colt cantarono la morte e fu... tempo di massacro / The Brute and the Beast
1966
Special Edition
1966
Gli Specialisti
1969
Joe... cercati un posto per morire!
1968
Una nuvola di polvere... un grido di morte... arriva Sartana / Gunman in Town
1970
C'č Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la bara! / A Fistful of Lead
1970
Goodbye Texas
1966
1971
La resa dei conti
1966