Blu-ray Review: Stranger & Gunfighter (Spain)

 

The Stranger and The Gunfighter, aka Blood Money, or in this case El Karate, El Colt, Y El Imposter was recently released on Blu-ray in Spain.  This Blu-ray was put out by Divisa Studios, the same studio that also recently released Bad Man's River, and is marketed as a "budget title", (cheap disc!)   The disc is compatible with US blu-ray players (verified).

 

 

Main Menu - includes animation of LVC being carried across the screen

 

 

VIDEO:

Have you ever watched a DVD or Blu-ray where the movie looks great, and when you go to watch the trailer on the disc, the image looks muddy, washed out, and overall terrible?  Now imagine the whole movie looking like that,  and you have a pretty good idea of how this transfer looks!  Contrast levels are way off, with much of the image crushed into a sea of black, and much of the color is bled out.

Overall it is a very disappointing transfer.  I am not sure if it is the film elements they sourced, or their actual transfer process (although I suspect both), but there is a lot of room for improvement.  As this title was released under several names in several territories, I am hopeful a better Blu-ray will see the light of day.

 

Screencaps below (click to enlarge!) -

 

Below is a comparison between this blu-ray, and a DVD version (La Brute, Le Colt, Et Le Karate).  While neither is stunning, the DVD does offer a brighter (if slightly less detailed) picture.

Blu-ray

 

DVD

 

 

AUDIO:

 

The audio is available in both Spanish and English.  Both are serviceable.  Spanish subtitles are also available.

 

 

EXTRAS:

Only a pretty lame slideshow of video boxes, posters, and photos.  35 seconds in length!

 

 

I am hopeful this film one day gets a better release.  There is not much to praise with this release, but it can fill a hole in your LVC blu-ray collection.

THE GOOD:

• Cheap
• Plays on US players
• English language 

THE BAD:

• Poor image
• No worthwhile extras

 

Full stats and ordering info- 

 

• Region: A/B/C
• Language: Spanish, English
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Divisa
• Run Time: 100 minutes (1:39:48)

Amazon.es - El Karate, El Colt, Y El Imposter Blu-ray

Ricardo Palacios - Frequent LVC co-star

Ricardo Palacios, who sadly recently passed away, had the distinction of co-starring in the most films with Lee Van Cleef (with the possible exception of Romano Puppo)
Ricardo Palacios, born on March 2, 1940, was a Spanish actor, film director, and screenwriter. Born Ricardo López-Nuño Díez in Reinosa, Cantabria, Palacios graduated from the Official Film School in Madrid as an actor and director. He participated in about 150 films and television series, being mainly active in the spaghetti western genre.  In 1987, Palacios made his directorial debut with the comedy film ¡Biba la banda! starring Alfredo Landa, and in 1997 he directed the TV-series La banda de Pérez.  Ricardo died on February 11, 2015 due to heart failure.

Below are the films and roles Ricardo had with Lee Van Cleef between 1965 and 1975-



For a Few Dollars More
Tucumcari Saloon Keeper - Ricardo provides Col. Mortimer the location of Guy Calloway (in classic Leone style!)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Bartender in Socorro - From the cut (and presumably lost) sequence.

 
Day of Anger
Bowie Cantina Owner - Ricardo serves Frank Talby a drink (LVC once again refuses it) and then fetches Wild Jack.

El Condor
Chief Bandit - After drinking with Jaroo, Ricardo and his men pursue and ambush Jaroo at his gold mine.  Jaroo shoots him.

Captain Apache
Sergeant - Ricardo greets Captain Apache upon his arrival.  Later he somehow manages to get buried alive, and once he is free, he shoots 4 time LVC co-star Jess Hahn.

Bad Man's River
Mexican Soldier - Ricardo only has a few scenes, and none with LVC.

Stranger and Gunfighter
Calico - Captures Dakota and then gives him an offscreen whipping. Later, once free, Dakota punches him multiple times as payback (featured in many of the film's publicity stills)

Take a Hard Ride
Calvera - Ricardo teams up with Kiefer to go after Pike's money.

Something to look out for-
Ricardo wore the exact same outfit in El Condor, Captain Apache, and The Stranger and The Gunfighter.  He may have worn it in some non-LVC westerns too!

Bad Man's River - Color Press Photos (part 2)

A continuation from a previous post

Click to enlarge!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LVC Soundtracks on Spotify

Did you know you can listen to many LVC soundtracks for free?  Thanks to Spotify you can.  Granted about every 3 songs will be subjected to a 30 second ad, or for $10 a month you can go ad free.  Being a long time soundtrack collector, I thought this was really cool!  Take a look (or listen?) at what is available now!

Complete Albums

• The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (Morricone)
• The Big Gundown (Morricone)
• Sabata (Giombini)
• Return of Sabata (Giombini)
• Grand Duel (Bacalov)
• Escape From New York (Carpenter)

Main Title Themes Only

• Death Rides a Horse (Morricone)
• Barquero (Frontiere)

Of course there are tons or other genre soundtracks available too.  Check out Spotify.com.  I promise you they are not paying me to advertise, I just like the LVC tunes!