so you obviously don't like any of the three BRD's out there now (the MGM US, the Mondo, or the new yellow one). But of the three, which do you like the best? Can you describe a little of what is best/worst about each?
also, what about the various DVD's? the original MGM DVD from 1997 (the 161-min. version) looks like it had no real restoration, plenty of damage - but if you think the restorers screwed up, then maybe the restoration is not a good thing, maybe you like that disc?
You doing this as a fan thing, or trying for an official release - you'd have to get di$stribuution right$ for that, no?
Why not wait for the next Italian Blu? Which surely will be a 4K remaster, and surely will appear in about 1 - 3 years. What's wrong with the recent Italian Blu, apart from being taken from a 2K scan? Most people who are critical with the new MGM Blu are praising the Italian colors.
I'm still willing to contribute...if it's possible that this has alternate shots we can't let it get away!
I consider Il Buono Il Brutto Il Cattivo (BBC) and The Good The Bad & The Ugly (GBU) as 2 separate films given the nature of their original theatrical release. Although I appreciate the effort I believe the extended English language version is inferior to the US International cut available on the 1998 MGM DVD and 1990/1993/1998 MGM LD. The studio seems hell bent on treating the US cut as if it doesn't exist, which I feel is wrong. So my answer is I prefer watching GBU on LD with all the print damage (adds charm!) and ORIGINAL lossless PCM mono audio. The 1998 DVD is fine too. Keep in mind I'm talking official releases not fan/hybrid cuts etc.
the whole "print damage adds charm" is a bunch of hooey. sounds like people simply liking something cuz it's "old" and "what I am used to" - if we're wanna follow Leone's intent, when the movie was first released, well it wasn't released with print damage and he wasn't intending it be viewed that way. what I mean to say is, the changes MGM made to the BRD's may have been undesirable, but all the damage marks on early dvd's are undesirable as well. and btw, talking about Leone's intent, I wouldn't disregard the 177-min. version. He surely didn't prefer the 161-min. version. Again, this is something that people get usd to over the decades so they feel it is more authentic, despite the fact that if Leone had his way, it obviously would have been released in 177 min. version in the US.
That evidence will come in the form of an unfaded IB tech print of BBC from the original theatrical run.
the whole "print damage adds charm" is a bunch of hooey. sounds like people simply liking something cuz it's "old" and "what I am used to" - if we're wanna follow Leone's intent, when the movie was first released, well it wasn't released with print damage and he wasn't intending it be viewed that way. what I mean to say is, the changes MGM made to the BRD's may have been undesirable, but all the damage marks on early dvd's are undesirable as well. and btw, talking about Leone's intent, I wouldn't disregard the 177-min. version. He surely didn't prefer the 161-min. version. Again, this is something that people get usd to over the decades so they feel it is more authentic, despite the fact that if Leone had his way, it obviously would have been released in 177 min. version in the US.you can debate whether the re-dubbed voices are a good idea, or whether they should have just Italian dialogue with subtitles for those scenes, but of you wanna get at Leone's intent, the movie is 177 min. long, not 161 (or 148 for the Brits).Anyway, I don't mean to get off-topic, debating the various cuts, all I'm saying is that if we wanna get at Leone's intent, we should do so for real, what we think he wanted in 1967, and not add in the mistakes we have been used to for 35 years ...
Stanton, yes you are correct, I should have said the 177-min. version minus the Cave scene. (although do we really whether or not Leone wanted the full beating scene in there? If it's missinng even from Italian versions of the movie, does that necessarily mean he didn't want it in there? Did he have full authority over the final Italian cut or did he have to capitulate to distributors' desires to cut the film even in Italy?)
Hmm, ok, but doesn't it look faded, or are the pics on page 1 not representative??
One question to Lil brutto: Is the short scene towards the end in your print, the one in which Eastwood says Sorry Tuco before he leaves him, cause that short scene is so far missing in all Italian DVD versions.
If a print exists that still has the colors looking exactly as they did when the movie was released, why didn't MGM and/or Mondo use it to get accrate colors for the BRD, instead of relying on a vague statement from a camera assistant's memory that Leone wanted the movie to look like piss? Was the existence of this print a secret until now? Did MGM/Mondo not know or give a damn about this?