MACHINE GUN McCAIN

[pro-bassoonist]

Coming from Blue Underground on August 24.

Extras:
# Interview with Director Giuliano Montaldo
# English Trailer
# Italian Trailer

Technical specs:
# Color
# DTS-HD Mono
# English
# Optional Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
# 2.35:1
# 1969
# 96 Mins
# Not Rated
# Region Code: ALL

1969 Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award Nominee.

After serving 12 years behind bars for armed robbery, tough guy Hank McCain finds himself the pawn of a ruthless mob runt's rebellion against a high level don. When McCain discovers that he's been betrayed and abandoned by his new employer, he retaliates with a high stakes Las Vegas casino heist that erupts into all-out war on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Not blood, nor lust, nor wedding vows can come between McCain and his money...or his machine gun.

This long-unavailable gangster classic explodes on the screen with spectacular scenes of shocking violence, an unforgettable score by Ennio Morricone (THE UNTOUCHABLES), and an all-star cast featuring Academy Award nominees John Cassavetes (THE DIRTY DOZEN), Peter Falk (COLUMBO), and Gena Rowlands (THE NOTEBOOK). Co-starring beautiful Bond girl Britt Ekland (THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN) and cult fave Florinda Bolkan (DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING), Blue Underground is proud to present MACHINE GUN McCAIN in a gorgeous new High Definition transfer for the first time ever on home video!

Pro-B

Machine Gun McCain Blu-ray Review

[McCrutchy]

I saw this is coming and I was wondering, is it worth a watch even if I'm not a fan of most of the other Blue Underground titles?

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I saw this is coming and I was wondering, is it worth a watch even if I'm not a fan of most of the other Blue Underground titles?

Absolutely. The film has an excellent period feel and it is indeed quite entertaining.

Pro-B

[Monroville]

You know, I have to really wonder what is going on in the minds of BLUE UNDERGROUND... nothing against MACHINE GUN MCCAIN, but where is DEEP RED, CAT O' NINE TAILS or at least "something" familiar (CONTRABAND or CONTAMINATION in blu would be nice). Hell, considering that Dario kinda put them on the map, you would think that they would release at least one Dario title per blu release...

[kiskiboy97]

Originally Posted by Monroville

You know, I have to really wonder what is going on in the minds of BLUE UNDERGROUND... nothing against MACHINE GUN MCCAIN, but where is DEEP RED, CAT O' NINE TAILS or at least "something" familiar (CONTRABAND or CONTAMINATION in blu would be nice). Hell, considering that Dario kinda put them on the map, you would think that they would release at least one Dario title per blu release...

I'm still waiting for Shock Waves.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by Monroville

You know, I have to really wonder what is going on in the minds of BLUE UNDERGROUND... nothing against MACHINE GUN MCCAIN, but where is DEEP RED, CAT O' NINE TAILS or at least "something" familiar (CONTRABAND or CONTAMINATION in blu would be nice). Hell, considering that Dario kinda put them on the map, you would think that they would release at least one Dario title per blu release...

This is a never been released on dvd (in America) film making it's way to blu.

Also Cassavetes>all.

[Rob71]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Absolutely. The film has an excellent period feel and it is indeed quite entertaining.

Pro-B

I agree. I saw this years ago and it was very entertaining. Will definitely be picking this up. My obscure, cult and downright strange titles are beginning to outpace my mainstream purchases.

[Aristide Massaccesi]

Originally Posted by Monroville

You know, I have to really wonder what is going on in the minds of BLUE UNDERGROUND... nothing against MACHINE GUN MCCAIN, but where is DEEP RED, CAT O' NINE TAILS or at least "something" familiar (CONTRABAND or CONTAMINATION in blu would be nice). Hell, considering that Dario kinda put them on the map, you would think that they would release at least one Dario title per blu release...

I sympathize and I'm dying to see films like Zombie, Deep Red and The Fifth Chord on blu, but on the other hand it's awesome that they're not just re-releasing their back catalogue but are releases new titles as well.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Monroville

You know, I have to really wonder what is going on in the minds of BLUE UNDERGROUND... nothing against MACHINE GUN MCCAIN, but where is DEEP RED, CAT O' NINE TAILS or at least "something" familiar (CONTRABAND or CONTAMINATION in blu would be nice). Hell, considering that Dario kinda put them on the map, you would think that they would release at least one Dario title per blu release...

Hello,

I have to admit that I am actually extremely pleased that BU are heading in a slightly different direction. A few years ago, when No Shame was still around, I could not be any happier with the fact that there was a small, quality distributor who attempted to cover all sort of different cult subgenres -- Italian cinema from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, for example, is practically missing from the U.S. market. I would love to see Blue Underground expand their catalog with some No Shame (Italia) and Alan Young titles. Even better -- start releasing some of those classic Italian comedies from Bolognini, Lizani, Salce, Risi, etc; some of them are about as "cult" as they could get, and have never before been available in North America.

Pro-B

[Kenneth M]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello,

I have to admit that I am actually extremely pleased that BU are heading in a slightly different direction. A few years ago, when No Shame was still around, I could not be any happier with the fact that there was a small, quality distributor who attempted to cover all sort of different cult subgenres -- Italian cinema from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, for example, is practically missing from the U.S. market. I would love to see Blue Underground expand their catalog with some No Shame (Italia) and Alan Young titles. Even better -- start releasing some of those classic Italian comedies from Bolognini, Lizani, Salce, Risi, etc; some of them are about as "cult" as they could get, and have never before been available in North America.

Pro-B

Yeah, but the comedic elements are quite lost in translation. I think they are more suitable to stay in the original Italian language and BU should stick with the Italian Crime/Gialli like they've been at for years. Since Machine Gun McCain still pertains to the poliziesco, it ain't too far in a different direction for BU at all. What is awesome is that BU is showing that they will release titles that weren't in their dvd catalog before!

That gives me newfound hope that "La polizia incrimina la legge assolve" will finally get the BU treatment since Enzo met with Lustig to discuss rights issues a year+ ago.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Kenneth M

Yeah, but the comedic elements are quite lost in translation.

I am sorry, I must strongly disagree with you

When it comes to 50s, 60s and 70s classic Italian comedies, even the ones that make a point to satirize the Italian state and society, there is absolutely nothing lost in translation (example: Divorce - Italian Style; Mafioso; The Maniacs, etc).

And the sexy comedies with the big stars (such as the one below) are about as straightforward as they could be

No one sells these types of films - with good quality - on the U.S. market, and as far as I am concerned, it is an excellent niche/opportunity for a serious company like Blue Underground to explore.



Pro-B

[Kenneth M]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I am sorry, I must strongly disagree with you

When it comes to 50s, 60s and 70s classic Italian comedies, even the ones that make a point to satirize the Italian state and society, there is absolutely nothing lost in translation (example: Divorce - Italian Style; Mafioso; The Maniacs, etc).

And the sexy comedies with the big stars (such as the one below) are about as straightforward as they could be

No one sells these types of films - with good quality - on the U.S. market, and as far as I am concerned, it is an excellent niche/opportunity for a serious company like Blue Underground to explore.



Pro-B

Hey, I understand what you're saying.

And I do believe that some of the comedic elements do translate, but quite a bit is lost. Some of it is due to different dialects for different regions... Some of it is due to play on words... And some of it, as you bring up, is to make a point to satirize the Italian state and society, I think would be pretty lost on the US audiences.

It would be a much bigger chance by the part of any company to go through all of the time and trouble to release comedies of such, than tried and true Big Guns/Big Knives/Black Gloves of the other, more popular genres.

One other thing. BU has never been much of a subtitling company. Most of their releases use the English mono dub (almost always inferior). For example, they didn't take the time to subtitle and include the Italian track of Luca il contrabbandiere (which is way better, takes itself seriously and has a soundtrack that ques suitable music and proper times), then why would they subtitle other more obscure films such as comedies?

In my mind there is no way that BU will ever be a Criterion or a No Shame. Sorry to say that to you, as the absence of No Shame since their primary financier passed away has really sucked. For me as well. But just because BU is releasing Gli intoccabili, another poliziesco, I highly doubt that they intend on releasing Italian comedies....

[csdot]

another great announcement from Blue Underground. they really cover all the bases i dont know how anyone could complain about their releases. theyve release gialli, slashers, fantasy, action, spaghetti westerns and others and seem to be announcing new releases all the time. one of the best companies releasing blu-rays in my opinion.

[MTRodaba2468]

As glad as I am to see Blue Underground releasing unavailable titles along with prior favorites in their catalog (and I am interested in checking this out, being a Cassavetes fan), I can't help but sympathize with Monroe, in wishing that we could at least see a couple more Argento titles on Blu...

[csdot]

theyve already released 2 Argento films, and im pretty sure the only other director theyve released(are releasing in the near future) more than one film of is Fulci. just be patient theyll all come out eventually. what really burns me up is Anchor Bay probably still has Tenebre and Phenomena. those are my favorite Argento movies and who knows when theyll get around to releasing those. Anchor Bay has just been releasing a lot of crap lately.

[the blob]

Anchor Bay has never been the same since the Starz takeover. I'm sure they would like to see themselves as a competitor to Lionsgate in the mini major studio department and could probably care less about their more obscure cult catalogue. There's more hope from Anchor Bay UK but we'll see. Personally, I'd like to see the rights for a lot of those old Anchor Bay titles move on to someone else who will treat them well and hopefully they have. I can't understand why they'd let titles like The Wicker Man go OOP on dvd. So many people seem to still be after the Hammer titles but are now left to high used prices or buying over-priced DVD-R's from Amazon. Can it be that hard to do small runs for wider distribution?

To stay on topic, I'm not a big fan of Euro Crime myself but I agree that it's a very good sign that BU are doing day and date new releases on BD.

[Harry Caul]

Monroville

You know, I have to really wonder what is going on in the minds of BLUE UNDERGROUND... nothing against MACHINE GUN MCCAIN, but where is DEEP RED, CAT O' NINE TAILS or at least "something" familiar (CONTRABAND or CONTAMINATION in blu would be nice). Hell, considering that Dario kinda put them on the map, you would think that they would release at least one Dario title per blu release...
05-10-2010 06:54 AM

They have released 17 titles and three of them have Argernto as a Director. I mean it is Blue Underground, any more Argento and it should be be Argento Underground.

[Arkadin]

I would think that many times they are waiting for the proper restorations to be completed.
That is what keeps many titles from being released, and an aspect of bd that people just don't think about when wondering why x distributor hasn't released x title.
I have no doubt that there are a number of films Criterion is just waiting to get the restored elements for so that they can release a new bd.
same thing with BU.
I'm sure people in this thread are aware that like 5 Argentos are coming to out in the UK in August.
I would think that bodes well for US releases before too long.

[retask]

Hell yeah this is a win for me.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by csdot

dvd beaver review

looks like another winner from BU

I agree Blue-Undergound knows their stuff when it comes to releasing films to HD format. Day one purchase for sure. Gena Rowlands is the coolest.