Feb 2013 German Blu-ray release of Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars More

[dave jenkins]

depp91: You da man!!! 

Vielen dank!

[Jordan Krug]

Depp91, thanks so much for all your observations- it looks like my dream of a complete fafdm has come true (except for that audio issue, I'll just switch to the German audio for the thunder crash and back again

[depp91]

@ drinkanddestroy & Honest Farmer
I will compare it to the version on YouTube later, okay? The review today was really exhausting
I can confirm however that the 1sec that is missing on the Mondo BD, isn't missing on the Universum BD.

@ drinkandestroy
Very good point, I didn't remember about the intermission! Thank you!!!


And thanks for all your kind words:)
Sorry for the grammatical errors by the way, I got tired at the end

As I'm satisfied with this new release, I have also ordered FAFOD, which is based upon the Italian master of the movie.

[drinkanddestroy]

I also have the Italian blu ray of FOD (from Ripley's home video. The feature is region-free and has english audio; the bonus features are region B).

Is there any difference between that version of the movie and the MGM American dvd/blu ray? (i'm not asking about image/audio quality; I'm only asking about if there are any differences in the scenes)

[Novecento]

And thanks for all your kind words:)

I want to add some of my own. Thank you so much for going to all the trouble of posting all of that. It is really appreciated.

I also have the Italian blu ray of FOD (from Ripley's home video. The feature is region-free and has english audio; the bonus features are region B).

I think I explained this earlier - you cannot have a BD that is both region-free and region B at the same time; it is either one or the other. In this case it is region-free. What you are referring to is the fact that the main feature is 1080p while some of the extras are 576p.

[depp91]

@Novecento
Thank you


Several other German forums all report that this new release is uncut except for a few missing frames compared to the Mondo BD:
"Erstmals komplett ungeschnitten. Es gibt aber hier und da ganz kleine Frame-Cuts im Vergleich zur italienischen Blu-ray."
( http://www.schnittberichte.com/svds.php?Page=Fassung&ID=25682 )

[drinkanddestroy]

I think I explained this earlier - you cannot have a BD that is both region-free and region B at the same time; it is either one or the other. In this case it is region-free. What you are referring to is the fact that the main feature is 1080p while some of the extras are 576p.

actually, what I meant to say is that the feature is NTSC while the bonus features are PAL (and therefore, only the feature would play on my American blu-ray player). I haven't tried playing the bonus features, but I read that they are in PAL on DVD Beaver (back when I used to read DVD Beaver's site, before I realized how bad it is  http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/dvdreviews42/fistful_of_dollars_blu-ray.htm )

I never bothered trying to play the bonus features anyway, since I also heard that they are only in Italian.

As long as the main feature was region-free, I was very happy with the purchase 

[stanton]

The main feature is certainly not in NTSC as this is an Italian DVD. And Italy still uses the Pal standard.

The difference is like Novecento mentions that the bonus is still in SD, and most likely simply taken from a previous DVD release.

[depp91]

There seems to be general confusion regarding the terms region code, NTSC / PAL and HD...

NTSC means 23.97 frames per second (resulting in 30fps via 3.2 pulldown) and a resolution of 720x480 = SD
PAL means 25fps and a resolution of 720x576 = SD

These are the standards for SD material, either on DVDs or on BluRays where they are only used for bonus features.


HD means 24fps and 1920x1080. HD material neither is NTSC nor PAL!



And then there's region coding. Which doesn't have anything to do with how the material is encoded on the DVD / BluRay.



So if you have the Italian BluRay of FAFOD, you'll be able to play the disc in general, because it is region-free. The main feature will also be playable because its the normal HD standard, which is internationally the same. Only the bonus features may prove tricky, if your hardware doesn't support PAL.

[Rojo Ramone]

Thank you for your valuable work, Depp.

I had an eyegasm when I saw the German FAFDM...it's MINE!

[Senza]

Further observations!

First of all, these are the releases I will refer to in the following text:
Paramount DVD (Germany, 2005)
MGM BD (US, UK, etc.)
Mondo BD (Italy)
Universum BD (Germany, 2013)
Additionally, there's a remastered version in Germany that usually airs on Kabel1.


This comparison is going to be extremely complicated, as there are so many different remastered versions of FAFDM by now, all of them differing in certain aspects. I hope I can sort all of this out in this post. So...

Here are three screencaps of the Universum BD which you can compare to their MGM BD and Mondo BD counterparts at http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleiche/comparison.php?cID=666#auswahl.
http://s20.postimage.org/5twso1u3x/PDVD_006.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/qn8e3y1f1/PDVD_025.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/3zojk1wh9/PDVD_016.jpg

This should give you an overall impression of the Universum BD.
To show that there are many instances of dirt and speckles, here's one example, look at the sky:
http://s20.postimage.org/kfntcaqwd/PDVD_008.jpg

The main titles stem from an inferior source (in comparison to the main bulk of the movie) on both all releases:
Universum BD: http://s20.postimage.org/wznjds4h9/PDVD_024.jpg
Mondo BD: http://s20.postimage.org/tff4y6ca5/PDVD_000.jpg

Unfortunately, the famous quote "Where life has no value..." is translated into German on the Universum BD, and there's no way to view it in English:
http://s20.postimage.org/lynsv0mul/PDVD_023.jpg
On the Mondo BD, it's is missing altogether. I don't have any idea if it has ever been part of the Italian version, I have to admit.

Now let's take a look at the different cuts...
This shot ist cut short on the MGM BD and the Paramount DVD, the Mondo BD does contain it however, as well as the Kabel1 version on German TV. On the new Universum BD, it was inserted in full length from the Mondo BD probably:
http://s20.postimage.org/472zp2sod/PDVD_000.jpg
Another interesting thing is the sound. When Clint raises his head and we can see his head for the first time, thunder roars. On old remastered MGM DVDs and the Paramount DVD, this sound came too early. It was corrected for the MGM BD. However it comes too early on both English soundtracks of the Universum BD, while it is correct on the German soundtracks and also of course on the Italian soundtrack of the Mondo BD.

The longer laughter of Indio is also there on the new Universum BD, ported over from the Mondo BD probably. It is missing on the Paramount DVD and the MGM BD. There's one interesting thing here, though. On the Mondo BD, the whole prison scene starts at night and ends at dawn, while on the other versions, the whole scene takes place at night.
Universum BD: http://s20.postimage.org/tfsewhmzx/PDVD_002.jpg
Mondo BD: http://s20.postimage.org/d6ywop3fx/PDVD_002.jpg
I guess they had to filter the scene on the Universum BD in order to adjust it to the rest.

The scene of Clint grabbing the boy is also longer on the Mondo BD and has therefore been inserted on the Universum BD:
http://s20.postimage.org/owg6az54d/PDVD_004.jpg
Please note that the shot I've provided is also part of the other releases, it's just 1,5s of the scene which are longer here.

There's another extended scene, which has also been taken from the Mondo BD in order to make the Universum BD complete:
http://s20.postimage.org/btkjrpewd/PDVD_005.jpg
As before, this shot is also part of the other releases, however in this version the shot is 4,5s longer.
There are strange things going on with the music at the end of this scene.
On the Universum BD, the music is faded out very abruptly on both German soundtracks and the English mono soundtrack. On the English 5.1 upmix, it lingers until the beginning of the next scene and kind of serves as a bridge. On the Italian soundtrack of the Mondo BD, it simply stops before the next scene begins.

And now... the famous beating scene. This is going to be hard to describe...
Fact is, that none of the former releases featured the complete scene. Until now. Combining different sources, the Universum BD is able to present this scene in its complete form for the first time. I'll try to cover the most important aspects of the different versions of this scene, but it is complicated...

Only one little thing is missing on the Mondo BD, it has however been part of the Paramount DVD all along and if I remember correctly also of the MGM BD. It's simply the end of this shot (1s only):
http://s20.postimage.org/6kpittwh9/PDVD_007.jpg

The scene of Indio gettin a grimmer face and Monco being kicked in the back is there in its complete form. It was missing on the MGM BD and parts of if were missing on the Paramount DVD.
http://s20.postimage.org/q92yxild9/PDVD_002_2.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/gpta41xv1/PDVD_003_2.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/j8ez4qjl9/PDVD_004_2.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/ilg2f7mp9/PDVD_006_2.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/qkftwjcfh/PDVD_001_2.jpg

Then, after Indio has jumped off the wall, there was one face shot missing on the Paramount DVD:
http://s20.postimage.org/q2p9ufc8d/PDVD_007_2.jpg
It is part of the Mondo BD, while I think the scene as a whole is missing on the MGM BD.

The shot back to Indio and his comrades stems from an inferior source on all of the releases that contain it, namely the Paramount DVD, the Mondo BD and the Universum BD.
Universum BD: http://s20.postimage.org/ccq57vzql/PDVD_000_2.jpg
Mondo BD: http://s20.postimage.org/9gz9vsrl9/PDVD_008.jpg

The end titles, as the main titles, also come from an inferiour source on problably all remastered versions.
Universum BD: http://s20.postimage.org/8zlzs023x/PDVD_017.jpg
Mondo BD: http://s20.postimage.org/b7iaxa94d/PDVD_006.jpg

Last but not least, here are several more screencaps from the new Universum BD:
http://s20.postimage.org/nq7kyfrfx/PDVD_001.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/rwx0rigfh/PDVD_009.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/3ug6wmzsd/PDVD_010.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/sc8akj2ct/PDVD_011.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/5c68lxtwt/PDVD_012.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/wba3h3gdp/PDVD_015.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/hj5dpragd/PDVD_018.jpg
http://s20.postimage.org/6ndzuepil/PDVD_021.jpg

To sum up:
I'm totally fine with the picture quality. Although there are so many speckles, the overall quality is still a lot better than the Mondo BD in terms of sharpness, color and contrast. And yes, this really is the first release of this amazing in its uncut form. Finally!!!!
There only two sad things about this release:
- Universum felt they had to translate the "Where life has no value..."-phrase into German
- The thunder sound isn't in its right place when we see Monco for the first time
(And the ugly cover art, probably.)

PS: I'm sorry that the screencaps are not in their original size. I uploaded them at postimage.org which said it wouldn't resize them, but obviously it did. SORRY!

Just when you thought you knew it all, good job!

[Rojo Ramone]

About the thunderclap with Manco's appearance.
Is it suppose to be when Clint first lifts his head?

This is how I remember it but I have so many releases where it comes at a different time.

[Jordan Krug]

About the thunderclap with Manco's appearance.
Is it suppose to be when Clint first lifts his head?

This is how I remember it but I have so many releases where it comes at a different time.

Yes, it's such a iconic moment, it's meant to be on his first look up, we see his face and hear the ominous thunderclap. Somewhere along the line this sync moment got messed up. Might have something to do with the reel end there, some versions of the scene hold until he walks out of frame (almost to the white flash of the camera shutoff) others cut earlier.

[Rojo Ramone]

That's what I thought
What a huge @#$%-up by screwing up such a dramatic entrance.
I hope the German Blu got it right.
Or at least the R1 MGM.

I watched TGTB&TU last weekend...next will be FAFDM.

Thanks, Jordan.

[Novecento]

I always wonder how things like this go unnoticed. "Navajo Joe" has a similar screw up involving another Morricone score on most of its home video releases - the German DVD got it right, but then apparently it was messed up on the BD again.