The Big Gundown (1966) - Lee van Cleef- December 10, 2013

[oscarmerkx]

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=12320

Grindhouse Releasing will bring to Blu-ray director Sergio Sollima's The Big Gundown a.k.a La resa dei conti (1966), starring Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, and Luisa Rivelli. The release will be available for purchase online and in stores across the nation on December 10th.

Synopsis: Jonathan Corbett is a gunman so brave to have eliminated all the bandits of Texas. For this he is proposed for the candidacy to the Senate of the United States. In exchange he has only to support the construction of one railway line. Only after he accepts does he come to know that the Mexican Cuchillo has raped and killed a 12 year old girl. Corbett leaves on a long manhunt during which he gets to know his adversary better and discovers a variation on the crime for which the accused Cuchillo may not be as guilty as he first thought.

Special Features:

Four Disc Deluxe Limited Edition Combo Pack - Two Blu-rays, One DVD And One Bonus CD
Individually Numbered And Limited To 3000 Copies
Spectacular New 2K Digital Restoration Of The Original Uncensored English Language Version, Newly Expanded With Three Additional Scenes
LA RESA DEI CONTI - The Complete, 110 Minute Director's Cut Presented In Italian With Optional English Bubtitles And Special Musical Subtitles
Bonus CD - THE BIG GUNDOWN - Original Soundtrack By Ennio Morricone
Compelling In-Depth Interviews With Director Sergio Sollima, Star Tomas Milian And Screenwriter Sergio Donati (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST)
Audio Commentary By Western Film Experts C. Courtney Joyner And Henry C. Parke
Liner Notes By C. Courtney Joyner And Euro-Music Expert Gergely Hubai
Extensive Still Galleries, Trailers And TV Spots
And Other Surprises...

Awesome news that an Ennio Morricone CD is being released as well

[djchaseb]

Looking forward to this! I'll hold off on purchasing the german version.

[Deke Rivers]

how does this compare to the German release?

[Ernane]

I ordered it today. It has been shipped already.

Looking foward to it. I hope the PQ is really good as they say it is. And the CD is a must have, too.

[bluknight1]

Is this really a limited 3,000 edition? The Twilight Time disease is spreading.

[a clockwork orange]

just placed a order. can't wait to watch this

[OldPangYau]

Originally Posted by bluknight1

Is this really a limited 3,000 edition? The Twilight Time disease is spreading.

I honestly think it has something to do with Sony... then again, I believe Grindhouse's release of "An American Hippie in Israel" was also limited to 2,000. But hey, whatever it took to get a decent US release of The Big Gundown! Hell, it's weird to think that the film has NEVER had a US home release. Not even VHS.

Overall, I've read a ton of reviews, and this basically looks like Criterion got a hold of it, both in A/V and extras. I know some will be put off by the lack of a "patchwork" English track to follow the Italian cut, but I still think having two cuts (with the English cut being an exclusive 95 minute cut with English dubbing never released in the US) works well more from a "purist" standpoint.

Also, this is the review I posted in the Grindhouse thread, and it still seems to be the most comprehensive, complete with comparisons:

http://mondo-digital.com/gundown.html

I asked for it for Christmas, so here's hoping somebody got me one of the 3,000 copies

[Irongod2112]

Originally Posted by Deke Rivers

how does this compare to the German release?

Just watched this yesterday and was blown away,

I have the German release already which I will be keeping, but Grindhouse has really put out such an awesome high quality package with amazing extras you could compare this to any Criterion release!

Worth it just for having a top notch transfer on the longest running English language version!

All in all money well spent!

Lee Van Cleef is just sooo F'n COOL!!

Now I'm gonna pick up the German Blu-ray releases of

Sabata and my fave... Death Rides A Horse!

[Irongod2112]

Originally Posted by OldPangYau

I know some will be put off by the lack of a "patchwork" English track to follow the Italian cut, but I still think having two cuts (with the English cut being an exclusive 95 minute cut with English dubbing never released in the US) works well more from a "purist" standpoint.

The patchwork audio track which is on the German release switches back and forth so often it becomes annoying real fast!

I think Grindhouse did the right thing by not including it.

The English cut gets to the point faster... but I just wish they didn't edit the the first shoot out, the Italian cut plays so much better.

Other than that first shoot out I think the English version may be the better cut of the movie... but I still have not made up my mind! lol

[OldPangYau]

Originally Posted by Irongod2112

The patchwork audio track which is on the German release switches back and forth so often it becomes annoying real fast!

I think Grindhouse did the right thing by not including it.

The English cut gets to the point faster... but I just wish they didn't edit the the first shoot out, the Italian cut plays so much better.

Other than that first shoot out I think the English version may be the better cut of the movie... but I still have not made up my mind! lol

Good point about the patchwork track... I still have a fan made DVD from years back which was the first attempt made at compositing the English track to fit the Italian cut... and yeah, there were a lot of dialogue scenes that jumped back and forth, especially the wedding reception in the first act.

But I do agree that the opening shootout should've been dubbed in full, as the scene itself shows how "fair" a bounty hunter he is, giving the outlaws one bullet each to try to take him out. Ironically, the shot of him placing the bullets on the log is in the American trailer That, and the duel between Cuchillo and Shep should've been left longer... if only to hear Morricone's track in full

I haven't followed many spaghetti westerns (outside of the Man With No Name trilogy and My Name is Nobody), but this film quickly became one of my overall favorite films when I caught it on TV ten years ago. As I wrote on Grindhouse's Facebook page, there are times where I can't believe this is a real release, as this essentially looks like a fantasy release that I would've made up in my head

[zbinks]

This may be limited to 3,000 copies, but as far as I can tell, this is not individually numbered as was originally advertised.

[Leterface]

Could someone help out and test if it is region locked or not?

[OAXACA]

Awesome news regarding the quality of this Grindhouse release. I sold the German blu ray to get this one as I was sure Grindhouse would deliver the goods (their release of CORRUPTION was exceptional) and it sounds like they have!

Could they be the new Criterion of cult films?

[grim_tales]

Originally Posted by zbinks

This may be limited to 3,000 copies, but as far as I can tell, this is not individually numbered as was originally advertised.

I got mine the other day and cant find a number either. That doesnt matter though.

[Member-222782]

I've got a bunch of random numbered releases throughout my collection that stick out like a sore thumb. I think it's sort of pointless to put numbers on the cases since most people aren't completists.

[OAXACA]

Originally Posted by cine74

I've got a bunch of random numbered releases throughout my collection that stick out like a sore thumb. I think it's sort of pointless to put numbers on the cases since most people aren't completists.

I think they meant numbers as in the number of a limited edition pressing (e.g. 1874 / 3000)... Not a spine number to signify that something is part of a series or collection

[thrillmygorilla]

I should be receiving my pre-order tomorrow.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by OAXACA

I think they meant numbers as in the number of a limited edition pressing (e.g. 1874 / 3000)... Not a spine number to signify that something is part of a series or collection

Exactly. Each copy of An American Hippie in Israel, for example, was numbered out of 2,000. It doesn't really matter to me, but I figured this might be relevant to more obsessive collectors, especially since it's mentioned in the OP.

[grim_tales]

The old DVD Wooden Box of Fistful of Dollars/Dollars More was numbered

[OldPangYau]

Originally Posted by OAXACA

Could they be the new Criterion of cult films?

I would hope so! I think they only released around 7 or so movies on DVD "back in the day", and then tapered off, so these blu-ray releases have been their big comeback.