6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Outlaw Bart is about to be hanged when a gang of Mexican bandidos ride into town and rescue him, only for him to shoot them and then ride away to his hideout where he and his gang plan to rob a stage. But Bart is shot, leaving the sadistic gang members to deal with the loot, a mysterious stranger, a woman who has lost her husband in an accident and their ghost town hideout's only inhabitant.
Starring: Lou Castel, Corrado Pani, Antonio Salines, Luis Dávila, Claudia GravyForeign | 100% |
Western | 28% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Blood Money: Four Classic Westerns set.
The term "Spaghetti Western" and the name of Sergio Leone are probably going to be forever linked in many film fans' minds, but as a number of
labels and
perhaps especially Arrow continue to prove, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as they say, and in this particular instance there were
seemingly
hordes of filmmakers out to
"flatter" Leone with their own take on this often rather provocative (sub?)genre. Blood Money aggregates a quartet of rather interesting
films, all according to some descriptive verbiage on the slipbox included with this set "centered around the theme" of the title of the collection.
Each
of the four offers interesting introductions by Italian journalist and critic Fabio Melelli, and he points out both some connections between some of
the
films, as
well as some perhaps unexpected tethers to Hollywood in some cases as well. The
films' production dates range from 1967 to 1970 and offer an admittedly somewhat formulaic approach to both plot and character, all within the
general confines already proscribed by Leone, but each of the films has some interesting elements either intrinsically or again in some cases with a
certain "meta" aspect. As usual with these Arrow collections, technical
merits tend to be solid and the supplemental content is outstanding.
Matalo! (Kill Him) is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet included with the Blood Money set lumps all of the films in the set together on its page devoted to the restorations:
$10,000 Blood Money is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Italian and English mono sound.A glut of outdoor location footage help to elevate the visual allure of this often striking presentation. The palette is typically very nicely suffused, though eagle eyed videophiles may see some minor passing variances in densities. Fine detail is typically excellent, helped by the genre staple of extreme close-ups. While occasionally pretty gritty looking, especially against those brightly lit blue skies, grain resolves naturally, and even some of the dusty scenes don't encounter some of the compression hurdles seen in Vengeance Is Mine.
Vengeance is Mine is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Italian and English mono sound.
Find a Place to Die is presented in its original aspect of 1.85:1 with Italian and English mono sound.
The original 35mm negatives were scanned in 2K resolution at Cinema Communications, Rome. The films were graded and restored in 2K resolution at Dragon DI, Wales.
Sound mastering was completed by Lowe Frequency Limited, London and Bad Princess Productions, London.
Matalo! (Kill Him) is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Italian and English mono sound.
The original 35mm negative was scanned and restored in 2K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The film was colour graded at R3Store Studios London.
Sound remastering was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata and Lowe Frequency Productions, London.
Audio synch will appear loose against the picture, as the dialogue was recorded entirely in post productions, as pwer the production standards of the period.
All original materials for 10,000 Blood Money, Vengeance is Mine and Find a Place to Die were supplied by Variety Distribution.
All original materials supplied for the restoration of Matalo! (Kill Him) were made available by Intramovies and Mediaset.
Unfortunately, despite an extensive search, Arrow Films was unable to locate elements for the Italian closing titles for Matalo! (Kill Him). As such, we have included the English titles in their place.
Matalo! (Kill Him) features Italian and English language versions in LPCM Mono. Audio is not able to be toggled between the versions, and as such a "side by side" comparison wasn't accessible, but to my ears other than the language differences, the mixes sounded pretty much identical. There's some very minor break up in some of the high whistling score that opens the film, and you can hear similar anomalies at times in the decidedly hallucinogenic score in the upper registers in particular, but dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
2001: A Space Odyssey may have famously been advertised as "the ultimate trip", but Matalo! (Kill Him) may be at least in the Top Ten of that particular idiom. Technical merits are generally solid, and as usual Arrow has aggregated some appealing supplements. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Per 100.000 dollari t'ammazzo
1967
10,000 Dollars for a Massacre / 10.000 dollari per un massacro
1967
Joe... cercati un posto per morire!
1968
E Dio disse a Caino...
1970
1967
Lo voglio morto
1968
The Reward's Yours... The Man's Mine
1969
Due once di piombo
1966
Le colt cantarono la morte e fu... tempo di massacro / The Brute and the Beast
1966
I quattro dell'apocalisse
1975
Una nuvola di polvere... un grido di morte... arriva Sartana / Gunman in Town
1970
C'è Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la bara! / A Fistful of Lead
1970
Special Edition
1966
Goodbye Texas
1966
La resa dei conti
1966
Django, prepare ton cercueil / Preparati la bara!
1968
¿Quien sabe?
1967
Se incontri Sartana prega per la tua morte / Gunfighters Die Harder
1968
Buon funerale amigos!... paga Sartana / Gunslinger
1970
Il mio corpo per un poker
1968