Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 22, 2021

Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas; vintage featurettes; deleted and extended scenes; vintage production and promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

In the United States, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was previously released on Blu-ray by MGM and Kino Lorber. For an in-depth analysis of the film, please see Casey Broadwater's review of the MGM release here.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The screencaptures that are included in our review appear in the order described below. Also, keep in mind that the screencaptures from the 4K Blu-ray are downscaled to 1080p and are not representative of the actual quality of the 4K content.

Screencaptures #1-28: 4K Blu-ray release.
Screencaptures #31-40: Blu-ray release.

4K BLU-RAY DISC

Before I discuss the extensive new color grading job that was completed by the folks at Kino Lorber, I would like to address the other key qualities of the presentation. On my system density levels and fluidity were very, very pleasing. In a lot of areas the backgrounds were so much better now that at times it felt like the entire film was redone from scratch. I specifically would like to mention the vastly superior dynamic range of the visuals, which brings back an organic appearance that was completely lost on L'Immagine Ritrovata's graded master that was used for previous Blu-ray releases of the film in the United States and abroad. Image stability was outstanding. The entire film looked very healthy as well.

The new color grading is essentially a big 'rescue project' that was initiated to fix another party's errors. The folks at Kino Lorber announced that over thirty hours of shot-by-shot grading corrections were performed, and I think that if you have seen their previous Blu-ray release you will immediately recognize the tremendous progress that was made with them. For example, plenty of the indoor and darker footage looks vastly superior, though this did not surprise me at all because just by normalizing the dynamic range of the visuals a significant overall improvement is guaranteed. All ranges of blacks are very clearly superior as well, so the perception of depth becomes quite different, but at least on my system it looked like shadow definition could have been handled better. Now, while the film's new appearance is a lot more attractive, it still has plenty of inconsistencies and entire color values that are off. I am going to highlight some, but I would like to state that given the nature of the 'rescue project' this was practically unavoidable. So, a lot of the daylight footage retains different variations of the problematic yellows and greens that are present on L'Immagine Ritrovata's graded master. I could easily tell that a lot of careful work was done to either suppress or eliminate them and get an overall better color balance, but the negative effects are still detectable. There are a lot of unnatural skin colors; a lot of supporting nuances, and especially ranges of darker ones, that are off; and even plenty of unnatural highlights that disturb the visual balance of the original cinematography. (You can see examples in screencaptures #1, 11, and 25). Elsewhere saturation level can be off as well, frequently causing different and much bigger inconsistencies. For example, a cigar smoke can appear oddly colored (see the very heavy blues in screencapture #16), or an entire segment can have wrong and/or oversaturated primaries (see the very strong and unnatural greens in screencapture #23). In other words, while there are plenty of nice improvements, in different areas throughout the film there are small and big inconsistencies that can produce some very unusual anomalies as well. Ultimately, at present this is the best technical presentation of the film on the home video market, but I think that it is not the definitive presentation of the film. (Note: The Theatrical Version, which is the only one on this release, features approximately ten seconds of footage that is not present on the Extended Version. It was sourced from a 4K scan of a 1967 35mm IB tech print).

BLU-RAY DISC

The basics again look very solid and I would immediately recommend this presentation of the film as the best one that we currently have on Blu-ray. On my system, delineation, depth, clarity, and fluidity were very pleasing. What about the color balance? Again, I have the same reservations for the areas where the effects of the previous grading job are noticeable. This should not be surprising because the 4K Blu-ray release does not utilize a unique color grading of the type seen on other releases that feature Dolby Vision and/or HDR presentations of the same content. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content. The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free).

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit) and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Mono track is new. The folks at Kino Lorber restored it after going back to the LD edition of the film that MGM produced in 1993. This is the audio track I used to view the film on 4K Blu-ray.

While the Mono track lacks the broad dynamic field that you would get from the 5.1 track, I still think that it produces dynamic contrasts that are solid. It is clean and healthy as well. Predictably, it reveals greater fluctuations in terms of overall balance, especially during mass sequences, but as far as I am concerned this is a typical production limitation. (It has absolutely nothing to do with the manner in which the audio was transferred from the LD).

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Deleted Scenes - a large collection of deleted scenes. In English. (18 min).

• Extended Scenes - additional extended scenes. In English. (8 min).

• Alternate Transitions - In English. (1 min).

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, critic Tim Lucas discusses in great detail the careers of various people that contributed to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; specific 'minor' details that are essential for the film's identity, like the title credits; Sergio Leone's vision for the film and its visual style; the nature of the key conflicts and some of the symbolism that is part of it; Ennio Morricone's legendary soundtrack; etc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, critic Tim Lucas discusses in great detail the careers of various people that contributed to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; specific 'minor' details that are essential for the film's identity, like the title credits; Sergio Leone's vision for the film and its visual style; the nature of the key conflicts and some of the symbolism that is part of it; Ennio Morricone's legendary soundtrack; etc.

• Leone's West - this archival documentary focuses on the career and legacy of Sergio Leone as well as the impact his films had on the evolution of the western genre. Included in it are clips from interviews with critic Richard Schickel, film translator Mickey Knox, producer Alberto Grimaldi, and Clint Eastwood, amongst others. There are very particular and interesting comments about the making of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as well. The documentary was produced by MGM. In English. (20 min).

• Il Maestro - Part One - in this archival documentary, film music historian Jon Burlingame, takes a closer look at the background and work of composer Ennio Morricone as well the soundtrack he created for Sergio Leone's great westerns, including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The documentary was produced by MGM. In English. (8 min).

• Il Maestro - Part Two - in this archival documentary, film music historian Jon Burlingame, deconstructs the soundtrack of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and explains how particular themes were conceived and utilized in key sequences throughout the film. The documentary was produced by MGM. In English. (13 min).

• The Leone Style - this archival documentary examines the stylistic preferences of Sergio Leone and the manner in which they shaped up his work. Included in it are clips from interviews with Clint Eastwood, film translator Mickey Knox, and Eli Wallach, amongst others. The documentary was produced by MGM. In English. (24 min).

• The Man Who Lost the Civil War - this segment of an archival documentary chronicles the true conflict that provides the background for the treasure hunt of Blondie, Tuco, and Angel Eyes. Written and produced by Rick Creese. In English. (15 min).

• Reconstruction of The Good, the Bad and The Ugly (Extended Cut) - this archival documentary focuses on the reconstruction and restoration work that was done for the Extended Cut of The Good, the Bad and The Ugly. The documentary was produced by MGM. In English. (12 min).

• Deleted Scenes -
  
  1. Extended Tuco Torture Scene
  2. The Socorro Sequence - A Reconstruction
  3. Skeletons in the Desert
  4. Extended Torture Scene

• Vignettes - a few very, very funny stories shared by Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach.
  
  1. Uno, Due, Tre
  2. Italian Lunch
  3. New York Accent
  4. Gun in Holster

• The Optical Flip - some theatrical versions of the film contain an optical transition, used for comic effect, which is highlighted here. In English. (1 min).

• Trailers From Hell - an archival episode of Trailers From Hell with director Ernest Dickerson. In English. (4 min).

• Image Gallery One - a collection of stills from the set of The Good, the Bad and The Ugly. With music. (9 min).

• Image Gallery Two - a collection of promotional materials for The Good, the Bad and The Ugly. With music. (10 min).

• Trailers -
  
  1. Domestic trailer
  2. German trailer
  3. French trailer

• Radio Spot - vintage radio spot for The Good, the Bad and The Ugly. In English. (1 min).

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The 4K Blu-ray release of Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is essentially a giant 'rescue project' that was initiated to fix another party's restoration errors. It succeeds in some areas, but in my opinion the definitive presentation of this classic western has not yet materialized. The folks at Kino Lorber did what they could with their resources, and for this they deserve a lot of credit, but at some point in the future a properly funded restoration project will need to be initiated. Also, this new restoration project will have to be supervised by real experts with access to reference materials so that the many errors that were made at L'immagine Ritrovata can be avoided. For the time being, Kino Lorber's 4K Blu-ray release offers the most attractive technical presentation of the film. RECOMMENDED.