Savage
Guns: Four Classic Westerns, Volume Three
w/El
Puro
(1969)/Four
Of The Apocalypse
(1975)/I
Want Him Dead
(1968)/Wrath
Of The Wind
(1970 aka Trinity
Sees Red)/Tremors
2: Aftershocks 4K
(1996/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray/Universal/both MVD/Arrow)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B Picture: B- Sound: B- Extras: C+/B
Films: C/B-/C+/C+/C+
Now
for a group of older 'stuck out there' action films in the B-movie
zone, with some moments where they rise above that....
Savage
Guns: Four Classic Westerns, Volume Three
is yet another collection of usually lesser-know Spaghetti Westerns,
this series from Arrow Video and it
is yet another box on the subgenre that will be in print for a while,
then run out and you won't be able to get it. All the labels issuing
these films tend to do this, but all the labels do this and we'll
guess that reflects the interest in most of the non-Leone films; he
invented the subgenre.
We'll
start with Edoardo Mulargia's El
Puro
(1969,
aka La
taglia e tua... l'uomo l'ammazzo io)
has a gang of killers (Aldo Berti, Mario Brega and Marc Fiorini (as
Ashborn Hamilton, Jr.???) in it for the money going after the title
character (Robert Woods from Johnny
Colt,
Black
Jack
and the Pecos
films) for reward money, but of course, it is not going to be as easy
as that. They make it worse by killing his girlfriend. The bad news
is that we have seen much of this before in all kinds of westerns,
yet it is so odd and weird that its worth seeing just for it being so
off and different.
Mulargia
and Woods had made such a western before and it works a bit better in
the longer version, so its mixed reputation is somewhat undeserved.
Though the unexpected atmosphere does not put on Leonel's level, it
does distinguish it from so many other such films, especially at the
time when they were just being churned out and another plus is that
the filmmakers use the scope frame in interesting ways that add to
seeing it the way it was meant to be seen. Glad Arrow was proactive
in restoring this particular film.
The
most popular and well-known film in the set is the one we reviewed
before, around 20 years ago, in a DVD box set of such Westerns from
the now-defunct, but fondly remembered Anchor Bay Home Video. As I
noted in that review, Four
Of The Apocalypse
(1975) is
a film that never originally made it to the United States. It is
also directed by Lucio Fulci, better known for his Horror genre
films, and that might be the reason fellow Horror genre director Sam
Raimi may have preferred the same 1.85 X 1 frame his Spaghetti
Western, The
Quick and The Dead
(1995) had. The time spent on they outdoors is reminiscent of the
music breaks in many late 1960s/early 1970s films of the time, trying
to capitalize on Mike Nichols' The
Graduate,
Rockumentaries and like movements and trends. This seems to be added
to update the cycle, but turns the film into a time capsule instead.
Part of the look and the soundtrack is trying at times to emulate
Robert Altman's McCabe
& Mrs. Miller
(see it elsewhere on this site, now in 4K from Criterion), but it is
not on that level. It is at its best when it gets dirty as four
outcasts (Fabio Testi, Michael J. Pollard, Lynne Frederick, and Harry
Baird) escape a massacre by masked murderers and are on the run. The
rag tags here include, in the best Stagecoach
tradition, a gambler, hooker, drunk, and meet their match in the even
crazier psychopath (Tomas Milian) out to settle a few scores of his
own when he is not outright crazy. Will they or will they not make
it? The characters are not as involving as one would hope, but they
are somewhat likable. I give the film points for its naturalistic
approach, and that goes beyond nudity and scenery, as Fulci has more
vision than the directors of the previous films.
Paolo
Bianchini's I
Want Him Dead
(1968) has a blunt enough title, like some of the Film Noir titles of
the previous era, sometimes campy and even a howler. This is a
rape/revenge film with Craig Hill (Deadly
Duo,
Assignment
Terror,
Three
Crosses Not To Die,
The
Masked Thief,
endless TV shows) going ballistic when the sexual assault ruins his
sister for life. Unfortunately, a Civil War subplot that becomes a
bit much is inserted and it interferes with the screenplay's
credibility.
Fortunately,
Hill is able to carry a film as the lead and the actors are all
trying to give it their best, but script and budget limits also get
in the way. A more interesting or innovative subplot would have made
this all work better, but with the new freedom and realism filmmaking
worldwide was experiencing, you can see why they chose the storyline
they did. A mixed film, but worth a look, especially for genre fans.
Mario
Camus' Wrath
Of The Wind
(1970, aka Trinity
Sees Red
aka Revenge
Of Trinity)
has Terence Hill (A
Fistful Of Dynamite,
Visconti's The
Leopard,
Ace
High,
McCabe
& Mrs. Miller,
Mr.
Billion,
Django,
Prepare A Coffin)
as gunslinger Marco (though the alternate title wanted some people to
think this was another Trinity film) taking on rich, evil, violent
landlord Fernando Rey (The
French Connection,
Companeros,
That
Obscure Object Of Desire,
Discreet
Charm Of The Bourgeoisie,
Last
Romantic Lover,
Tristana)
has some political overtones, but is obviously a revenge western
otherwise.
It
is a good match of hero vs. villain and the supporting cast is good,
but the screenplay does not do too much more than you would see in
similar films, though the opposing leads do make it interesting and
save this film from being a formula romp. It is also worth a look
like the rest of the entries in this set and it too deserved to be
saved and preserved.
Extras
(per the press release) include brand new introductions to each film
by journalist and critic Fabio Melelli
Illustrated
collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by author and
critic Howard Hughes
Fold-out
double-sided poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles
Vranckx
Limited
edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original artwork
and a slipcover featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles
Vranckx
DISC
1 - I WANT HIM DEAD
Brand
new audio commentary by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
The
Man Who Hated Violence: brand new interview with director Paolo
Bianchini
Cut
and Shot: brand new interview with editor Eugenio Alabiso
Nico
Unchained: archival interview with composer Nico Fidenco
English
theatrical trailer
Image
gallery
DISC
2 - EL PURO
Two
versions of the film: the 98-minute cut, presented in Italian and
English, and the longer, 108-minute version, assembled from the
original camera negative and an archival print and presented in both
Italian and a newly created hybrid English/Italian mix; For some
scenes and dialogue lines in the long version, the Italian audio is
either lost or was never produced. These are presented in Spanish
with English subtitles.
Brand
new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
Brand
new interview with actor Robert Woods
Brand
new, in-depth appreciation of the soundtrack and its composer,
Alessandro Alessandroni, by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
DISC
3 - WRATH OF THE WIND
Alternate,
106-minute Spanish-language version of the film, featuring
additional and extended scenes not found in the Italian or English
versions
Brand
new audio commentary by author and critic Howard Hughes
The
Days of Wrath: brand new interview with camera operator Roberto
D'Ettorre Piazzoli
They
Call It... Red Cemetery!: a short film from 2022 by filmmaker
Francisco Lacerda, serving as a love letter to the spaghetti western
genre
Alternate
"Revenge of Trinity" opening titles, newly restored
for this release
Image
gallery
DISC
4 - FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE
Brand
new audio commentary by author and producer Kat Ellinger
It
Takes Four: previously unreleased interview with production
manager Roberto Sbarigia
Brand
new, in-depth appreciation of the film by author, critic and Lucio
Fulci scholar Stephen Thrower
Brand
new, in-depth appreciation of the soundtrack and its composers,
Franco Bixio, Fabio Frizzi and Vince Tempera, by musician and disc
collector Lovely Jon
Newly
restored theatrical trailer
and
an image gallery.
S.S.
Wilson's
Tremors
2: Aftershocks 4K
(1996) is the straight-to-video sequel to the hit film with Kevin
Bacon that I always thought was really, really bad, but this one has
gained a sort of cult following, enough that it is now the first
straight-to-video release to ever get 4K treatment. In this version,
the underground creatures are back in a small town and they make the
mistake of interrupting an oil company's profits. Thus, a group of
people (played by Fred
Ward, Helen Shaver, Christopher Gartin and Michael Gross) can stop
them.
What
follows is silly and not very effective, but it is consistent and the
characters seem more in danger by default than the original film,
thus its appeal. It is not for everyone or that good, but now that
it has received the unbelievably generous treatment, restoration and
preservation, you can give it the fairest chance possible to see if
you like it or not. Diehard fans will be obviously more pleased, to
go with their surprise it got such a release in the first place.
Extras
include
two brand new feature commentaries. One by director/co-writer S.S.
Wilson and co-producer Nancy Roberts, the other by Jonathan Melville,
author of Seeking
Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors
Graboid
Go Boom, a newly filmed interview with special effects designer
Peter Chesney
Critical
Need-to-Know Information, a newly filmed interview with CG
supervisor [and genius] Phil Tippett
The
Making of Tremors 2, an on-set featurette with the
cast and crew
Outtakes
Trailers
for Tremors and Tremors 2: Aftershocks
Image
gallery
Illustrated
perfect bound booklet featuring new writing by Jonathan Melville on
the Tremors 2 scripts that never got made, and Dave Wain &
Matty Budrewicz on the history of Universal's DTV sequel division
Double-sided
fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by
Matt Frank
Small
fold-out poster featuring new Shrieker X-ray art by Matt Frank
and
while supplies last, Limited Edition packaging
featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank.
And
for what its
worth, see our coverage of Tremors
5: Bloodlines
from its Blu-ray/DVD set here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13803/Tremors+5:+Bloodlines+(2015/Universal+Blu-ray
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on Tremors
2 was
actually shot on 35mm film, so it can look good, but like all filmed,
full color productions made for home video in the analog era, it had
to follow certain color rules to look good on the old picture tubes.
That included limited video red and video white, plus not to much
sunlight and a few other items we will not go into. The result is
not bad, but still limited, whether you can tell why or not. The
regular 1080p Blu-ray is poorer and misses a few of the qualities the
2160p 4K version has. The 4K is the best of all the transfers here
by default and the two soundtrack choices are DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 4.0 and 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes on both discs.
The 4.0 is better and only very, very slightly the best soundtrack on
the list.
As
for the box set, El Puro is here in 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital
High Definition with the added footage more pale and faded because it
barely survived. Shot in the Cromoscope format (a 2-perforation
variant of Techniscope, but without the benefit of three-strip, dye
transfer Technicolor prints) and developed by Technostampa in Italy,
it is the only scope film in the set and uses the wide frame pretty
well. Color can be good, but is not great overall and you also get
more grain than you would if this were Techniscope, but at least the
2K scan did not try to scrub the grain away as Universal sadly just
did with their new 4K version of American Graffiti, reviewed
elsewhere on this site.
The
other three films are from 2K scans in 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High
Definition image transfers that also show the age of the materials
used with more grain than expected, plus color is not always the
best, but this is the best these three films have looked since their
original theatrical releases. All four films are in English and
Italian PCM 1.0 Mono sound from
their surviving sound materials and sound as good as they likely ever
will. They are surprisingly clearer than expected, despite showing
their age and budget limits, though maybe 2.0 Mono versions would
have been a bit better?
-
Nicholas Sheffo
