It took me awhile to get to this one, as it is not one of my favorites (weird, right?).
The disc is from Japan and plays on Region A players. It will cost $40 to $50 to import, which is actually less than what the long out of print Wild East DVD usually goes for on eBay.
I'm not going to
review the actual film, just the quality of the disc. For general information
on the movie click here
VIDEO
The biggest problem with this disc, is it is encoded in 1080i, not 1080p. Honestly it doesn't look too good, maybe a marginal improvement over standard DVD. I would say it is an improvement over the Wild East disc, as that disc was non-anamorphic.
Color is decent. Film is often times over exposed or washed out, but it is very watchable. Don't be expecting a fantastic presentation like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Italian disc, or The Big Gundown German disc.
The audio is nothing spectacular, but is clear. No sync issues like the Grand Duel disc from Mill Creek. Languages include Italian, English, and Japanese.
EXTRAS
It looks like all the extras from the Wild East disc are ported over as well as an additional Giuliano Gemma interview.- 83 minute and 109 minute versions of the film
- Video interviews (Giuliano Gemma)
- TV spots
- Almeria Then and Now
- Trailers
- “Day of Anger"&"Days of Wrath" alternate title sequences
- Posters and leaflets Gallery
IN CONCLUSION
While this disc offers currently the best way to view the film, it is still no up to today's blu-ray standards. If you love the film, I would say buy it. Hopefully we will see a release one day with a better quality image.
[2015 Update: A much better version has been released by Arrow Video]
[2015 Update: A much better version has been released by Arrow Video]
When I saw the film new in a downtown theater in 1969, I was very surprised Giuliano Gemma's name & image appeared on the screen before Lee Van Cleef's!! I had never heard of him before. And the posters in front of the theater ONLY had Lee Van Cleef's name in large letters!
ReplyDeleteI had to do some checking as I became very curious & discovered when I saw the press book with the film that Gemma actually had top billing but National General, who distributed the film in the states, chose to downplay that & promote the film as ONLY starring Lee Van Cleef. After a phone call & further research in 1969, I discovered this film was shot in Spain & Italy in 1967 & was a HUGE box office hit in Italy & Spain. In addition I discovered that Gemma was one of the biggest stars in Italy & several other countries in Europe in the 1960's. National General told me this film was made primarily for release in Italy, Spain & Germany & that Gemma was a bigger star than Lee Van Cleef in those countries. And that they acquired the rights for the United States & had the film dubbed into English with Lee agreeing to provide his own voice for the English version.
Then the man told me that since I'm a Lee Van Cleef fan, I would enjoy knowing that Lee Van Cleef is in Spain now finishing a film that National General is behind & it's being shot for the U. S. & U. K. markets primarily as Lee is moving into U. S. films & away from Italian/Spanish films made primarily for Europe.
I asked about "Beyond the Law" & a war picture Lee did in 1968 with Jack Kelly..when would these be released in the United States. The man had never heard of them & informed me that many European films are never released in the states. I was beginning to worry I would never see them. And I didn't until the mid 1970's. Beyond the Law & Commandos took the slow boat over to the states.