
Django
Prepare A Coffin
(1968)/The
Story Of Sin
(1975/MVD Visual/Arrow Blu-ray w/DVD Sets)
Picture:
B & C+/B & C+ Sound: B & B-/B & B- Extras: B
Film: B/C+
Now
for yet more interesting foreign films of the past from Arrow...
Django
Prepare A Coffin
American
audiences hear ''Django'' in a title these days, they no doubt make a
connection to Tarantino's Django
Unchained,
which grew its inspiration from 1960s - 70s Spaghetti Westerns, such
as Django
Prepare A Coffin
(1968) directed by Ferdinando Baldi. Also starring Ferdinando Baldi
(They
Call Me Trinity)
as Django, rather than Franco Nero (who played the role in the two
most famous films in the series, reviewed elsewhere on this site)
another man who was famously known for the role, the revenge film has
great action, inspiring cinematography and editing, and a fantastic
score.
The
film also features Terence Hill, Horst Frank and George Eastman.
Hired
as an executioner for a Politician who is framing innocent men to get
his hands on their property holdings, Django (Baldi) soon finds
himself gunned down by the man who hired him and his wife murdered in
cold blood. Using the other men who were wronged by his enemy as his
allies, Django pulls off the ultimate revenge scheme in this wild
Revenge Western.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen 1.66:1 aspect ratio and
two LPCM Mono tracks - both in Italian and English, the film looks
pristine on Blu-ray. Predominantly yellow tones dominate the
exterior scenes and interiors have high contrast and nice detail on
the subjects.
Also
included is a standard definition DVD with the same widescreen specs
and a mono track that is fine for the format, but secondary to the
Blu-ray. New English subs were also done for this release and an
English SDH track on the English audio version.
Special
Features...
Django
Explained - A new interview with Spaghetti Western expert and
author Kevin Grant
Original
Trailer
FIRST
PRESSING ONLY:
Illustrated collector's booklet by critic and Spaghetti Western
expert Howard Hughes
If
you're a fan of westerns, this is definitely worth the price tag!
The
Story of Sin
A
film by Walerian Borowczyk, Story of Sin (1975) is a visually
stunning erotic journey starring Grazyna Dlugolecka, Jerzy Zelnik,
Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Roman Wilhelmi, and Marek Walczewski. While not
partially this reviewer's cup of tea, this loaded release from Arrow
Films will certainly please fans of the genre with a fantastic
restoration with quite a lot of detail and loads of extras that shed
light on the film's production.
The
story tells the lustful and perverse story of a woman who stars a
repressed sexual life, but soon meets a young man and falls in love
but soon that love ends in divorce. After having a child, she soon
finds herself on a journey spanning Rome, Germany, and France on a
search for her husband - who she soon finds out has remarried a very
rich woman. Things from here get even more complicated as gets
involved with two con men and soon slips into a desperate life of
prostitution. Certainly not a cherry or uplifting film, The Story
of Sin is just that - and may be hard for some to stomach.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and
a nice sounding Polish LPCM Mono track, the presentation on the disc
is quite clean and impressive. A new 2K restoration from the
original 35mm negative are used for this film as well as of
Borowczyk's ground-breaking Polish shorts: Once Upon a Time
(co-directed by Jan Lenica), Dom (co-directed by Lenica) and The
School, with optional audio commentaries by art historian Szymon
Bojko (Once Upon a Time), composer Wlodzimierz Kotonsk (Dom)
and Daniel Bird (The School) original film negative, along
with a new subtitle translation, the film has never looked or sounded
as good as it does here. Also included is a standard definition DVD
of the film with a 1.66:1 aspect ratio and a 1.0 Mono track, the film
looks good on both formats included but shines particularly bright on
Blu-ray.
Special
Features include...
Feature
length audio commentary by Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger
New
introduction by poster designer Andrzej Klimowski
The
First Sinner, a new interview with Story of Sin lead actor
Grazyna Dlugolecka
The
Music Box, film critic and documentarian David Thompson on the
use of classic music in Borowczyk's films
Stories
of Sin, a video essay by Daniel Bird (co-founder Friends of
Walerian Borowczyk) concerning the director's obsessions
Miscellaneous,
a video essay on Borowczyk and Lenica's contributions to newsreels
and documentaries on art history
Street
Art, a short news reel documentary about poster art co-written
by Borowczyk
Tools
of the Trade, an interview with Juliusz Zamecznik, son of
photographer and graphic artist Wojciech Zamecznik
Poster
Girl, an interview with poster artist, illustrator and print
maker Teresa Byszewska, who appears (briefly) in Dom
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Andrzej
Klimowski
FIRST
PRESSING ONLY: Fully illustrated collector's booklet
featuring new and archival writing, including an exclusive interview
with the producer of Story of Sin, director Stanislaw
Rozewicz; a text by art historian and one-time Borowczyk
collaborator, Szymon Bojko; and excerpts from Borowczyk's memoirs
presented in English for the first time.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/