The Spaghetti Western thread

[Sundance Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sundance]

I have seen only one of their Blu-Rays. The Pecos double feature... It looks like an old print put onto a disc... I had some trouble with the rgb values but might just be on the computer screen or I just fucked up something. I think the Koch DVD is probably better in some areas.

The thing with Wild East's DVD releases is that they simply copy the video from an existing foreign DVD release (or sometimes a TV recording I suspect) and add an English track from some other source. And most of the time they make the video worse because they do a poor PAL to NTSC conversion.

The Requiem for a Gringo Blu-Ray is for some reason only 720p. I suspect it is just a copy of the German disc (which is 1080p though) which wasn't that great to begin with... way too much filtered.
And the Bullet for the President is probably just a copy of the German disc but supposedly this time with good video but bad audio (way too much noise reduction or something like that).

Some suspect the Shanghai Joe will just turn out to be the ripped Amazon stream put onto a disc but ...

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

So I bought it. What are Wild East blu-rays like in quality?

DUEL IN THE ECLIPSE/REQUIEM FOR A GRINGO is worth buying because it's a damned good film and despite being 720p, a reasonable presentation though clearly DNR-ed. (It is, at the very least, uncut - which I can attest to, having spent many hours about 10-15 years ago putting together a composite fandub version of the film which was shared on the web.)

I haven't picked up any of their other BDs because they are films I already own on DVD and have heard that the WE's Blu-ray presentations are not particularly stellar.

The WE Blus are equivalent in price, if not slightly more expensive, to German company Colosseo Films' BD releases of rareish Spaghetti Westerns - and I'd say the Colosseo releases are a priority for any fan of the subgenre (uncut BLACKJACK, the Italian cut of A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE, and STARBLACK).

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

DUEL IN THE ECLIPSE/REQUIEM FOR A GRINGO is worth buying because it's a damned good film and despite being 720p, a reasonable presentation though clearly DNR-ed. (It is, at the very least, uncut - which I can attest to, having spent many hours about 10-15 years ago putting together a composite fandub version of the film which was shared on the web.)

I got to see the film for the first time from your fandub as you sent it to me in one of our many trades. Great work. I have the WE BD and it's not up there with the best companies but it's worth having I think. I have the Pecos double feature BD and that one is a step down. I like WE's dedication to the genre and the fact that they do English dubs (my preferred way to watch spaghetti westerns), but they obviously operate in a gray area.

[Nabonga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nabonga]

Oh, ok. Doesn't inspire much confidence then. Oh, well. I don't see any other blu-rays on the horizon for this film so let's hope it's decent. At least it didn't cost very much.

Also, this is coming out soon in Germany:

[killer must kill again Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close killer must kill again]

I think I have 2 or 3 wild east DVDs in my collection and the presentations are half-notch above bootleg quality. I'd love to replace them, but I don't think we will see obscure stuff like kiss kiss bang bang (pretty weird eurospy parody, same director and same cast of the two ringo-movies) getting an english friendly release soon!

[killer must kill again Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close killer must kill again]

I'd say the Colosseo releases are a priority for any fan of the subgenre (uncut BLACKJACK, the Italian cut of A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE, and STARBLACK).

thumbs up for starblack! definitely one of my favorite releases this year. this was never really on my radar, but I have to admit it blew me away. It's a strange hybrid ... it looks like one of those early euro-westerns: colorful landscape shots, too clean, has a cartoonish feel even (the hero is dressing like a zorro-clone, robert woods playing a country song on his guitar in the middle of the movie). but the tone of the movie is pretty dark and 100% later spaghetti-western (knives in the forehead, a woman gets raped and brutally beaten up).

there is on jaw-dropping scene where the hero discovers his father is dead and decides to dig up his rotten corpse to remove a bullet from his head and present it to his mother during dinner.

[agent999 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close agent999]

thumbs up for starblack! definitely one of my favorite releases this year. this was never really on my radar, but I have to admit it blew me away. It's a strange hybrid ... it looks like one of those early euro-westerns: colorful landscape shots, too clean, has a cartoonish feel even (the hero is dressing like a zorro-clone, robert woods playing a country song on his guitar in the middle of the movie). but the tone of the movie is pretty dark and 100% later spaghetti-western (knives in the forehead, a woman gets raped and brutally beaten up).

there is on jaw-dropping scene where the hero discovers his father is dead and decides to dig up his rotten corpse to remove a bullet from his head and present it to his mother during dinner.

Sold!

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

thumbs up for starblack! definitely one of my favorite releases this year. this was never really on my radar, but I have to admit it blew me away. It's a strange hybrid ... it looks like one of those early euro-westerns: colorful landscape shots, too clean, has a cartoonish feel even (the hero is dressing like a zorro-clone, robert woods playing a country song on his guitar in the middle of the movie). but the tone of the movie is pretty dark and 100% later spaghetti-western (knives in the forehead, a woman gets raped and brutally beaten up).

there is on jaw-dropping scene where the hero discovers his father is dead and decides to dig up his rotten corpse to remove a bullet from his head and present it to his mother during dinner.

I'd not seen it before and from the trailer was expecting a very American-style early Euro-Western. It's certainly photographed in that style but the narrative has all sorts of dark left-turns, as you say. Strongly recommended stuff.

[Cinephagous Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Cinephagous]

Great thread! :up:

Here´s a guide about Italo-westerns:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F7ZVS6G/


The American western launched great icons like filmmaker John Ford, or his namesake actor John Wayne, into stardom. The success of these films also reverberated in Europe. From the 1960s onwards, it was the Italians in particular who revived and renewed the western genre. Sergio Leone, specially, brought out true masterpieces. His Dollar Trilogy, which brought fame to the famous Clint Eastwood, caused such a sensation that in the following years the "spaghetti-western" trend would develop. Leone, Eastwood and Morricone (direction, acting and music, respectively) are the most prominent names in this European appendix of "cowboy" cinema set in the "wild west" but shot in the Old Continent.

The Italian-style western, whose pioneers had been Leone and Corbucci, would become even more popular than the original American western in some respects. For it was more violent, more raw, more direct, with less dialogue and more visual power, without so much idealization, without a clear distinction between good and evil. In other words: more realistic. For in the "Wild West", as its name suggests, there was not much room for scruples.

In this book you will find reviewed several of the most emblematic Italo-Western films. From the classics of Leone or Corbucci to lesser-known feature films, which, without matching the works of the masters, follow the storylines and stylistic patterns of the sub-genre, sometimes contributing some innovations.

In addition, we include as an appendix some western films that, without being Italian, have the same patterns of "spaghetti-western" (i.e.: amorality, violence, black humor...). Among those other films included in this guide, a special mention deserves "El Topo" by Alejandro Jodorowsky, which, besides being formally a western (clearly inspired by the Italian style), has a deep mystical-initiatic content.

The purpose of this book is to serve as a guide for Italo-Western fans, compiling the most important and famous films of the subgenre, and including, as a curiosity, others that are less known or that, without being strictly Italo-Western, have similarities with that kind of cinema in terms of stories and style.

(Book description)

[Derrick King Waterfall Puncher Find all posts View Profile Close Derrick King]

Django situation has been resolved. Statement from MVD:

“Dear valued customer:

We are happy to announce that after months of moratorium, Blue Underground and Arrow have come to terms regarding the motion picture Django. The below items may resume shipping immediately:

DJANGO (LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY)760137191483 AV176

DJANGO (LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY STEELBOOK)760137191384 AV177

“I'm personally happy we settled this matter as Arrow's Django Blu-ray release should be in every collector's library”, says Bill Lustig, C.E.O. Blue Underground

Mike Hewitt from Arrow Video: “Arrow are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Blue Underground on Django. We very much look forward to fans being able to pick up this definitive Spaghetti Western in this gorgeous restoration with a wealth of extra features.”

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and challenges previously surrounding this title; please sell it with confidence and rest assured there shall be no further complaints with regard to this film. Thank you as always for your support and understanding.”

[Mark Tolch Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark Tolch]

Better get it NOW.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

A lot of people who paid $200+ on eBay are gonna be pissed, haha.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

It also looks like Arrow is putting Django out on 4k now.

https://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/...tion-arrow-us/

[fatboyslim142 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fatboyslim142]

It also looks like Arrow is putting Django out on 4k now.

https://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/...tion-arrow-us/

Exactly the same contents as the LE BD except disc 1 is UHD.

[Nabonga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nabonga]

Well, the Wild East blu of Fighting Fists Of Shanghai Joe turned out to be pretty much flipping excellent in quality! Beautiful picture. Great release and for that price a no brainer.