Why is "Sorry, Tuco" excised from the Italian version?

[Lil Brutto]

As all of you that have viewed the Italian cut of GBU have noticed, there is a short segment missing when Blondie says, "Sorry, Tuco" before riding off with his share of the $200k in gold.

Any explanation why that bit was deleted? Did SL not intend for that bit to be included?

[Dirty Rat]

Well it was certainly never in the version that I always knew - meaning the version we all grew up with before all of the Leone cuts were added back in.
So I would say yeah, it was not meant to be in there

[Lil Brutto]

Are you saying that older international home video versions did not have this snippet? I'll have to view my laserdisc (released in the 80's) and see if it's included. That's the oldest international version I have.

[cigar joe]

Are you saying that older international home video versions did not have this snippet? I'll have to view my laserdisc (released in the 80's) and see if it's included. That's the oldest international version I have.

Yea, check that, I seem to remember it being there upon its initial release, but then again, I also seem to remember Indio in "For A Few Dollars More" parodying the baptizing his Colt SAA revolver in the broken down church upon its initial release.

[Groggy]

Are you saying that older international home video versions did not have this snippet? I'll have to view my laserdisc (released in the 80's) and see if it's included. That's the oldest international version I have.

It's definitely on my old VHS copy.

[Lil Brutto]

It's included in both the 80s (P&S 1.33:1) and the mid-90s (widescreen 2.35:1) laserdisc releases. It's also included in all DVD and BD releases so I don't think there's an international home video release that excludes that scene.

[Dirty Rat]

Hmm, there's definitely something new about that scene, but I can't argue with the evidence you guys have produced.
Is it the shot of Blondie's horse raising it's front legs really dramatically and Tuco's really pathetic call to him "Blondi-he.." that is new?
It's only a couple of frames but still

[Lil Brutto]

I just skimmed through my copies of BBC CVC DVD, BBC Mondo BD and GBU SE BD and I noticed something interesting. As mentioned above, the CVC DVD and Mondo BD do not have the scene in question. However, I thought I'd select the Italian mono 2.0 soundtrack when viewing this scene on the MGM SE BD and Blondie says sorry in Italian, "scusa". It's definitely the voice of the actor used in the rest of the movie so Blondie's line wasn't added for the sake of conforming to MGM's cut of the film.

Dirty Rat, this brief segment comes right after the scene you described above.

[Dirty Rat]

Ah, I see what you mean.
Yes, the "Sorry Tuco" bit was always in my old videos, just the bit wher the horse does his thing that wasn't.

[Lil Brutto]

Yes, the "Sorry Tuco" bit was always in my old videos, just the bit wher the horse does his thing that wasn't.

I was under the impression it was but I'll have to check my laserdiscs (which I presume have the same cuts of the film as VHS releases) if the footage of the horsing showing off is included.

[Lil Brutto]

I just viewed my laserdiscs and both versions include the horse raising its legs. It's a brief shot just before the cut to Tuco saying, "Blond-ie" and subsequently cutting to Blondie saying, "Sorry, Tuco".

[Lil Brutto]

Ah, I see what you mean.
Yes, the "Sorry Tuco" bit was always in my old videos, just the bit wher the horse does his thing that wasn't.

It seems the Italians were denied the privilege of viewing the horse showing of his skills because both scenes (horse being fancy and Blondie saying sorry) are cut from the CVC DVD and Mondo BD.

[Dirty Rat]

I'm more confused now than I was the first time that I watched Where Eagles Dare!
Only kidding Farmer, keep it coming. Any talk about this film is good as far as I am concerned.

I don't want to start getting on people's nerves with this but I am sure that there is a couple of frames worth of film from this bit that were never on the UK TV version throughout the 80's (when Alex Cox introduced it), the 90's or either of the 2 vhs versions that I bought. Basically the UK version as we knew it before any extras were put back in.

I know it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things but heck, thinking about it, it really does matter to us Leone Freaks!

[Lil Brutto]

I know it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things but heck, thinking about it, it really does matter to us Leone Freaks!

You're right, it doesn't at all matter and non-Leone freaks would probably think we got a few screws loose to dwell on something so trivial (in their eyes, of course...not ours!) but it just shows that there were more subtle differences than simply deleting 7 scenes from the Italian cut for the international release.

To clarify, the Italian home releases that I own (CVC DVD and Mondo BD) do not include the scenes of the horse showing off or Blondie saying sorry, whereas the North American releases I own do (80's CBS/Fox P&S LD, 90's MGM widescreen LD, MGM DVD and MGM SE BD).

From what you're saying the older UK releases also excluded these 2 scenes.

Hope this clarifies.

[Dirty Rat]

It does, thanks Farmer