First Viewing of GBU

[Lil Brutto]

Best fuc$ing movie ever. Watched it in my uncle's lap in the early 80's when i was 7 or 8. Loved SL ever since.

[stanton]

Yes, there was, rich boy
We couldn't afford one that early, 'tapes being expensive too (I remember when my buddy bought three HAMMER films in London, THORN-EMI VHS, for about 80 or 100 pounds each. That first VHS edition from Warner Home was great, I still have some of those 'glass boxes' for sentimental reasons: SEARCHERS, WILD BUNCH, GBU, WOODSTOCK, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE ... those were among the first films released on Video in 1980 / 1981 ...
 

Ha, ha not that rich, it was my first money, and it was lot of money for me back then.

But I never bought VHS cassettes apart from a few ex-rentals when I had to pay only one D-Mark.
2 exceptions: I bought me in the mid-80s the UK VHS of The Wild Bunch and Major Dundee (both fullscreen) when they were down to about 50 or 60 D-Mark, but Bunch was the same version as released in Germany and Dundee was only slightly longer. Not the 135 min version I had hoped for.
TV recordings looked much better than the VHS Tapes and were at least in the compromise aspect ratio of 1,85:1 .

Funny thing about TWB. German version runs only 126 min, which was stated also on the back cover of the rental VHS. When I bought the UK VHS I was still thinking that I had always watched only the 126 min version, even if I did not knew what the hell was missing except for the flashback with the woman Pike loved. But the German VHS contained nearly the complete version, only that flashback was missing and strangely one min just after the missing flashback was in English. So I was a bit disappointed that the UK VHS also had cut the fllashback out. Later I watched also the German 126 version, and know I could see for the first time the full image of most of the film. And in the early 90s the uncut version was on TV in 1,85:1. Seems like a big puzzle. But now it is complete

[mike siegel]

:But now it is complete


Yes, don't we like it?

As much as I understand that bitching about certain DVDs / blu-rays were  they messed up certain things (GBU sound F/X for instance);
we still live in paradise compared to the 80s & early 90s.
BUNCH played in 1969 uncut in Germany in 35mm and 70mm and was recut to 126 min. for the 1975 re-release. PRO7 screened the uncut version in 1990 (or 1991) because of the Kirch archive I suppose. That often made masters based on archive copies. Is the complete German dubbed version on the Warner DVD ? Never watched it in German again. ..
(as for the int. VHS tapes - they were always a mess, length-wise & qualitiy-wise, until 1996)

[Cusser]

1st Time: June 14, 1968.  I was 15. We had heard the Montenegro music on the radio (was #2 for one week, Mrs. Robinson was #1).  We knew who Clint Eastwood was (from Rawhide), and liked westerns.  We were wondering why most of the names in the titles were Italians.  We had seen no trailers or advertisements.  The second feature was "The Party" where interestingly, a bridge was blown up by accident when no cameras were rolling.

2nd Time: June 15, 1968.

Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars More double feature 1969.

You forgot to mention the place.

Scottsdale, Arizona. Camelback Theater, Scottsdale Rd. & Camelback (no longer there).  Afternoon show.  My brother drove us, he was 16.

Anyway I assume that it was the Montenegro's tune which brought you to the cinema. Did you realize when you watched the movie that it had a different version from Montenegro's? And, at the time, what of the two you thought it was better?

Now, it is strange that I don't remember the title song being much of a hit over here, at least as Fistful was. Probably I am wrong but I don't think that, not counting the last ten years, I heard it on the radio more than a handful of times. And even the title tune didn't register with me exactly as the movie didn't.

Absolutely noticed that the Morricone music was tons better, and I still feel GBU is the absolute BEST FILM EVER for use of music.  Had it not been foreign-made, likely could've, and should've won best film score.  Apparently one has to register and pay to be considered, and GBU was once again eligible in 2004 with restored version, but doubt anyone thought to try.  Even The Academy dropped the ball with Morricone award, should've played the entire Ecstacy of Gold sequence on big screen, maybe even the final gunfight.  Now, that would've been memorable.  Big disappointment for me to find GBU soundtrack album was missing so much, really glad when European CDs with expanded tracks, audible Story of a Soldier came out.  Also bootleg CDs had other stuff as well.

[stanton]

:But now it is complete


Yes, don't we like it?

As much as I understand that bitching about certain DVDs / blu-rays were  they messed up certain things (GBU sound F/X for instance);
we still live in paradise compared to the 80s & early 90s.
BUNCH played in 1969 uncut in Germany in 35mm and 70mm and was recut to 126 min. for the 1975 re-release.

Are you sure? All my informations say that TWB was already cut in 69, but obviously after the dubbing was made. All sources only mention the cut version.

The DVD has indeed the complete German dub.

[titoli]

It was summer 1974 I saw it, judging by the re-releases dates at IMDB. Ladispoli; Roma. Cinema Nuova Arena, only night show. I also have finally relized it was 1969, first re-release, that I first heard about the movie.

[Smokey]

I saw it when it first came out. I had seen FOD and FAFDM by then and was eagerly awating GBU. At our local theater they had a midnight sneak preview
for the first showing in our area. That's the one I saw and I wasn't dissapointed.

[cigar joe]

I saw it when it first came out. I had seen FOD and FAFDM by then and was eagerly awating GBU. At our local theater they had a midnight sneak preview
for the first showing in our area. That's the one I saw and I wasn't dissapointed.

Hi Smokey welcome aboard, any where was this at location wise.

[Smokey]

Hi Joe. Peoria Illinois. I think the old Palace theater but I could be wrong on that. Been a long time ago.

[sargatanas]

i took my special lady friend a topless go-go girl at a club i was playing in cocoa in '67
we walked in on the tuco beating scene. the music mixed w/ the violence floored me.
the massive theater was jam packed to the gills. the audience was glued to the screen

[emmo26]

For me it was always on the late night TV circuit, I think it was the TV channels trying to fill up their late night tv schedules...Saw it first back in the mid 80's as a kid and thought that was cool...Then when saw again on tv got a few things more out of the storyline that I missed before.  About time in 90's   I was then getting the video and the dvd releases with deleted scenes I was truly blown away with the masterpiece and completly obessed with the film.  Plus I wanted to learn more, especially about the civil war back then.

[emmo26]

This thread should be stuck on top.......imo

[johnk]

I saw it on Times Square in January 1968 

I saw it early 1968 Apollo Cinema Victoria UK

[Dirty Rat]

Speaking of special ladies, I took my now wife to go and see a showing of the uncut version at FACT in Liverpool back in 2008 (or '07?) and she really enjoyed it. She has great taste anyway (well, obviously!) and prior to going, one of her friends was taking the p1ss saying what a loyal girlfriend she was going to see a boring old cowboy film.
Some people just don't get it.

There were no topless birds involved that night though.......