6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Johnny Forest, bounty hunter, attempts to carry out his mother's dying wish that he bring in his outlaw brother, Clint, alive. On the run from Jurago, a former partner he has crossed, Clint accepts Johnny's help, and agrees to surrender ..... for now.
Starring: Gianni Garko, Claudio Camaso, Claudie Lange, Susanna Martinková, Piero LulliForeign | 100% |
Western | 28% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
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 | 3.5 | |
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.
brown
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.Vengeance is Mine struck me as the least overall pleasing looking transfer in the Blood Money set, which is not to suggest it's highly deficient one way or the other. At its best in fact it matches the nice suffusion and excellent fine detail levels of some of the other films in this set (look at screenshot 4 for a great example), but it also has more widely variant densities at times, especially in some of the ubiquitous outdoor material, and there are also a couple of noticeable sudden downgrades in image quality where things become almost pixellated and compression struggles to deal with both grain and dust (see screenshot 9 for one example). On the whole, this is certainly more than serviceable, and perhaps suffers only when compared to a couple of the other "shinier" transfers in this set.
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.
As your resident audiophile who has in fact pointed out sometimes rather odd pitch differences in alternate language tracks on one disc, I have to say that Arrow's disclaimer on this disc seemed to be aimed directly at my ears, to whit:
Perceptive listeners may notice a difference in pitch between the Italian and English version of Vengeance is Mine. Please rest assured that this as per the original soundtrack negatives and not a fault of this release.As with the other discs in this set, English and Italian language versions are offered in LPCM Mono, but you can't toggle between the languages, making side by side comparisons a little more difficult, but that said, yes, perceptive listeners will notice a pitch change with regard to the scoring. Otherwise, the Italian track sounded a bit thinner overall to me, with a more robust midrange in the English track especially noticeable during scoring. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout in both versions. Optional English subtitles are available.
As with $10,000 Blood Money, as charismatic as Gianni Garko (and/or Gary Hudson) may be, it's probably Claudio Camaso's scenery chewing performance that will stick in the memory the longest in this kinda sorta retelling of the Cain and Abel story. That said, for anyone wanting more evidence in that aforementioned "when is a Django film not a Django film" debate, look at the alternate title of this film on the reversible sleeve. Technical merits are generally solid, and as usual Arrow has aggregated some appealing supplements. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
¡Mátalo!
1970
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