However, when the traditional Western began evolving and shifting during the 1970s, Van Cleef stayed in the saddle. He adapted to the decade by starring in high-concept mashups, explosive heist Westerns, and gritty drive-in revenge pictures. Yet while his '60s classics receive glossy steelbooks and high-bitrate scans, several key entries from his 1970s Western filmography remain stranded on decaying DVDs or obsolete VHS transfers.
If boutique labels like Arrow Video, Kino Lorber, or Severin are listening, here are three 1970s Lee Van Cleef Westerns that desperately need a proper HD physical release.
1. El Condor (1970)
Directed by John Guillermin (The Towering Inferno, 1976's King Kong), El Condor features Van Cleef as Jaroo, a scruffy, gold-obsessed prospector who teams up with an escaped convict (Jim Brown) and a tribe of Apaches. Their goal: assault a massive, heavily armed fortress rumored to hold billions in gold reserves.
Why it needs HD: It is one of the most unapologetically entertaining, big-budget "sunbaked mayhem" Westerns of the early 1970s. Filmed on location in Almería, Spain (using a massive, custom-built fortress set that was later reused for Conan the Barbarian), the movie features sprawling battle sequences, a fantastic Maurice Jarre score, and electric chemistry between Van Cleef and Brown.
Current Status: Trapped on legacy Warner Archive DVD-Rs and faded SD digital streams.
2. The Stranger and the Gunfighter (aka Blood Money / Là dove non batte il sole, 1974)
Directed by Antonio Margheriti, the film pairs Van Cleef as rogue gunfighter Dakota with martial arts superstar Lo Lieh as Ho Chiang. They team up to locate a hidden fortune in the American West—discovering that the clues to the treasure map are tattooed on the backsides of four different women.
Why it needs HD: It is one of the ultimate midnight-movie cult mashups of the decade. Lo Lieh’s martial arts choreography combined with Van Cleef’s weary gunslinger persona yields incredible comic and action chemistry. A budget Spanish Blu-ray disc surfaced years ago, but it was heavily crushed, unmastered, and lacked a proper scan. It demands a restored 2K or 4K release from a label like Arrow Video or Shout! Factory.
Current Status: Only exists in low-grade, muddy bootlegs or long-out-of-print, low-quality import discs.
3. Kid Vengeance (1977)
This gritty revenge Western sees a young boy (Leif Garrett) team up with a mysterious gold miner (Jim Brown) to hunt down a ruthless bandit chieftain—played with sadistic relish by Van Cleef.
Why it needs HD: While it leans heavily into B-movie tropes, seeing Van Cleef go full villain against action legend Jim Brown is pure drive-in cinema bliss. It’s colorful, cheap, and wildly entertaining.
Current Status: Relegated to bargain-bin DVD releases with faded colors and cropped aspect ratios.
Lee Van Cleef’s 1970s Westerns proved he was more than just a 1960s archetype—he was willing to lean into the decade's wilder, genre-bending sensibilities. Boutique physical media labels have been doing incredible work excavating forgotten 1970s cinema, and giving these three titles a proper HD upgrade would complete a crucial chapter in the gunslinger's legacy. We cannot live in a world where Captain Apache is on blu-ray, and El Condor it not!