Kino Lorber 2 - Disc 4K Blu-ray 2017

[Clinton]

Fantastic podcast about Jordan's fantastic efforts. I'm really looking forward to the new release.

Benji Heran and Jordan Krug have certainly done a wonderful job in systematically researching and documenting the various GBU prints.

My great hope is that someone will find unused material lying around somewhere in Rome, e.g. the complete Socorro scene.

The film of Sergio Leone directing post-production sound effects for the GBU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK_oYEs4dJ4) is hopefully only one of many preserved treasures.

I also agree that the scene shot at Grotte di Salone, Rome, should have only been an extra on DVDs etc.

I just had a re-look at Jordan Krug's "Comparison of the Tuco Torture scene from 4 sources" (https://vimeo.com/214347921).

The 2009 MONDO BLU (Bluy-ray) version looks absolutely fantastic compared to the others.

The 2014 MGM 4K version looks sick. It's unwatchable.

I often look at the clouds to judge the quality of a print or still in terms of image resolution/contrast.

In the 2009 MONDO BLU version the colors appear very natural, and the both the sky and clouds look great.

In some versions the clouds are missing.

[Cusser]

I disagree about the shorter version being superior.

I also agree.  The  additional scenes really impact the anti-war theme.

And the scene with the Union commandant lecturing Angel Eyes to treat the prisoners humanely - I don't recall if that was in the shorter version.

I'm in Arizona, USA; I saw this upon its first release here (1968) and pretty damn sure that the scene referenced above was included.

I've mentioned before that the three gunshots/actual shooting of the three bounty killers with Tuco in the desert early in the film was cut out due to a film repair.  So one saw the stare-down and then the three dead and Blondie there with his gun, and the music.  I thought that was the greatest editing I'd ever seen, later realized it had been a repaired reel.

[dave jenkins]

I just had a re-look at Jordan Krug's "Comparison of the Tuco Torture scene from 4 sources" (https://vimeo.com/214347921).

The 2009 MONDO BLU (Bluy-ray) version looks absolutely fantastic compared to the others.

 In the 2009 MONDO BLU version the colors appear very natural, and the both the sky and clouds look great.

I just had a look too, and you're right, the Mondo looks very good. Is this available for purchase anywhere?

[Jordan Krug]

I also agree.  The  additional scenes really impact the anti-war theme.


I'm in Arizona, USA; I saw this upon its first release here (1968) and pretty damn sure that the scene referenced above was included.

I've mentioned before that the three gunshots/actual shooting of the three bounty killers with Tuco in the desert early in the film was cut out due to a film repair.  So one saw the stare-down and then the three dead and Blondie there with his gun, and the music.  I thought that was the greatest editing I'd ever seen, later realized it had been a repaired reel.

Listen, I adore the film, so I do love seeing the extra scenes...but I wish they had stayed in the Italian cut and that the Italian cut as we have it now was the full version. Right now we are about to get one of Leone's cuts (shorter international) back into its correct form for the first time since 1993. I hope in the future, the full Italian cut with all its excess (including the full beating scene, the skeleton desert scene) can be brought back to its complete glory. I love that anecdote - as you see a minor trim can make a big difference!

[drinkanddestroy]

I just had a look too, and you're right, the Mondo looks very good. Is this available for purchase anywhere?

I got the Mondo on Amazon. It has a major grading issue. The images look very choppy in motion. Nice color but I find it unwatchable

[Jordan Krug]

Benji Heran and Jordan Krug have certainly done a wonderful job in systematically researching and documenting the various GBU prints.

My great hope is that someone will find unused material lying around somewhere in Rome, e.g. the complete Socorro scene.

The film of Sergio Leone directing post-production sound effects for the GBU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK_oYEs4dJ4) is hopefully only one of many preserved treasures.

I also agree that the scene shot at Grotte di Salone, Rome, should have only been an extra on DVDs etc.

I just had a re-look at Jordan Krug's "Comparison of the Tuco Torture scene from 4 sources" (https://vimeo.com/214347921).

The 2009 MONDO BLU (Bluy-ray) version looks absolutely fantastic compared to the others.

The 2014 MGM 4K version looks sick. It's unwatchable.

I often look at the clouds to judge the quality of a print or still in terms of image resolution/contrast.

In the 2009 MONDO BLU version the colors appear very natural, and the both the sky and clouds look great.

In some versions the clouds are missing.

In general, a scan from the negative will always yield more sky detail (mondo and MGM 4K), by the time release prints hit theatres in 66/67 they were 2-3 generations away from negative, and thus have greater contrast and less detail. The 2009 has its flaws but is an example of the richness of a negative scan. The 2014 completely botched the colour correction, where they somehow added contrast and lost detail. The 2014 is also the most cropped!

[Jordan Krug]

I got the Mondo on Amazon. It has a major grading issue. The images look very choppy in motion. Nice color but I find it unwatchable

It was done on an early generation film scanner with jello problems caused by the scanner only scanning parts of a frame at a time, instead of the full frame. It gives it a digital wobble throughout. You get the same effect with fast motion on very cheap video cameras, if you pan left or right quickly, you'll notice everything bends left or right as chunks of video are captured in lines (like a set of stairs). Nowadays, each frame is scanned entirely.

[stanton]

And the scene with the Union commandant lecturing Angel Eyes to treat the prisoners humanely - I don?t recall if that was in the shorter version (it was definitely leftnout of the even-shorter British version) - again, not essential, but IMO a good scene, with the discussion of war crimes.

Yes, that scene was always part of the 161 min version, but it was cut from the UK version, which runs only for 148 min. A really inferior version, as it also misses the wonderful gunsmith scene with Tuco.

[Cusser]

One I wasn't really "watching", but a local TV broadcast went directly from "See you soon" note to Tuco hitting his head on the grave marker after the cannon scared his horse.  So no civil war at the bridge at all !!!  Wonder what else someone deemed not necessary to fill a time slot or add more commercials !!!

[noodles_leone]

You get the same effect with fast motion on very cheap video cameras, if you pan left or right quickly, you'll notice everything bends left or right as chunks of video are captured in lines (like a set of stairs).

"Cheap"... You can find it in $3,000 to 4,000 video cameras, even sometimes up to 7-8,000 bucks. It's called rolling shutter. It's usually associated with big sensors (35mm and full frame), but they're working on it and in the past 2 years these things have been greatly reduced.

[dave jenkins]

Robert Harris: "If you don't mind losing shadow detail, I believe this is the best the film has looked on home video."

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/a-few-words-about-tm-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-in-4k-uhd-blu-ray.371814/

[noodles_leone]

Robert Harris: "If you don't mind losing shadow detail"

I do.

[cigar joe]

I do.

Agree crushed blacks are no good.

[dave jenkins]

We all agree. But a release with uncrushed blacks is not on offer. Until the film gets a new scan (2031?), we are stuck with what's available. If the colors have been corrected, as Harris's review suggests, this probably will be the best-looking home release for some time to come.

[noodles_leone]

Somebody should make a film about the epic adventures of GBU getting incorrect home release throughout history.

And that film should have the best color grading ever and no extended/shortened cut.