The Complete Sartana Collection (1968-1970) (Arrow Video) - June 26, 2018

[MifuneFan]

Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name spawned imitations, variations and shameless rip-offs keen to emulate his success at the box office. Within months of A Fistful of Dollars’ release, Giuliano Gemma was playing Ringo, who was then followed by Franco Nero’s Django, Tony Anthony’s The Stranger and Gianni Garko’s Sartana – each providing their own twist on the Eastwood antihero, and each of them then subject to their own spate of unofficial sequels, spoofs and cash-ins.

Sartana tapped into more than just his Spaghetti Western predecessors – a mysterious figure, he has a spectral quality, aided by his Count Dracula-alike cloak which also nods towards comic strip figure Mandrake the Magician, with whom he shares he shares a penchant for card tricks. He takes pride in his appearance unlike the Eastwood’s dusty wanderer or Nero’s mud-caked drifter. And there’s a dose of James Bond too in his fondness for gadgetry and the droll sense of humour.

Unsurprisingly, this unique figure in the genre was treated to four official follow-ups. The Complete Sartana collects all five films, presented here in brand-new restorations: If You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death, I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death, Have a Good Funeral My Friend... Sartana Will Pay, Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming, and Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin, in which George Hilton replaced Garko in the lead role.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• Limited Edition Blu-ray collection of all five official Sartana films (2500 copies)
• Brand-new 2K restoration of If You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death from original film materials, carried out by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
• Brand-new 2K restorations of I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death, Have a Good Funeral My Friend... Sartana Will Pay, Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming, and Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin from original camera negatives, carried out by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
• Original Italian and English soundtracks on all five films
• Uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Audio commentary on If You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death by filmmaker Mike Siegel
• Audio commentaries on I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death and Have a Good Funeral My Friend... Sartana Will Pay by Spaghetti Western experts C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke
• Gianfranco Parolini on If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death, a brand-new interview with the writer-director
• Fabbio Piccioni on If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death, a brand-new interview with the writer • Sal Borgese on I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death and Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming, two brand-new interviews with the actor
• Ernesto Gastaldi on I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death and Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming, two brand-new interviews with the writer
• Roberto Dell’Acqua on Have a Good Funeral My Friend... Sartana Will Pay, a brand-new interview with the actor
• Sartana Lives, an archive featurette on Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming featuring interviews with actor Gianni Garko and director Giuliano Carnimeo • Sartana Shoots First, a brand-new interview with George Hilton on Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin
• Erika Blanc on Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin, a brand-new interview with the actor
• Tony Askin on Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin, a brand-new interview with the actor
• Brand-new video essay on the major actors and supporting players in the official Sartana films
• Galleries of original promotional images from the Mike Siegal Archive for all five films
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
• Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Roberto Curti and an extensive Spaghetti Western timeline by Howard Hughes

[Worship.my.wreck]

I've been meaning to get more into the spaghetti westerns. All I've ever seen is pretty much just the Dollars trilogy which I absolutely always loved. Is this worth checking out?

[Jr7936]

Diabolik has it listed now for $72 after shipping but they made an error on release date. They have it coming out 5-26 instead of 6-26

[RCRochester]

That looks like an absolutely amazing set. I love that Arrow lovingly puts together elaborate sets for grindhouse films like these.

[Yakuza Demon Sith Lord]

The only announcements that made me happy. Day one

[annubis44]

Never seen any of these. Can't wait.

[bigshot]

Has anyone seen any of these? I'm skeptical about buying a whole series of films when I haven't seen any of them yet.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by bigshot

Has anyone seen any of these? I'm skeptical about buying a whole series of films when I haven't seen any of them yet.

These are the types of movies you can watch in their entirety in low quality versions on You Tube if you want to check them out before buying.

[Jonny Powers]

Originally Posted by Worship.my.wreck

I've been meaning to get more into the spaghetti westerns. All I've ever seen is pretty much just the Dollars trilogy which I absolutely always loved. Is this worth checking out?

Yes, and I would also recommend you check out the Spaghetti Western Database and their SWDB Top 20 for more recommended films!

[The Great Owl]

I just pre-ordered The Sartana Collection from Diabolik for $72.99, including shipping.

Arrow has a good track record with their spaghetti westerns, and this one looks like a win across the board.

[javi92]

Best announcement for me in some months.

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

These are the types of movies you can watch in their entirety in low quality versions on You Tube if you want to check them out before buying.

Well I was kind of hoping someone with knowledge of the subject might be willing to offer some context and recommendations. Are these top of the line examples of the genre or bottom of the pack? Is the main focus on cinematography or acting or action? Are they known to have great potential for image and sound quality? Are the musical scores memorable? Stuff like that there.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by bigshot

Well I was kind of hoping someone with knowledge of the subject might be willing to offer some context and recommendations. Are these top of the line examples of the genre or bottom of the pack? Is the main focus on cinematography or acting or action? Are they known to have great potential for image and sound quality? Are the musical scores memorable? Stuff like that there.

I have the same concerns, which is why I'm hesitant to preorder from any site that requires upfront payment. Kinda caught between a rock and a hard place - do I order from Diabolik and pay upfront or take a risk and preorder from Amazon? People seem generally upbeat about this announcement, which tells me the films are probably better than middle-of-the-road.

[FlikMage]

I haven’t seen these films but I consider myself something of an amateur spaghetti western afficianado. Understand that all that really takes is having seen more spaghetti westerns than say just the Dollars Trilogy. I’ve seen maybe a dozen or so, and I have looked into and am interested in seeing many more. I have heard of the Sartana series and as I understand it, they would be considered deeper cuts than what is considered the essentials of the genre.
The thing to consider if you’re planning on getting into spaghetti westerns, macaroni combat, polizioteschi or any of the Italian b-cinema of the 60s and 70s is that these movies were made to cash in on each other’s success. They were ripping each other off in effect, trying to establish a brand within the brand. So you’re going to encounter little variation between them, but you can still find novelty in how different directors approach the genre.
Myself, I’m very interested in this box set and will probably get it when it hits a good price, but I understand that it’s a risk.

[MifuneFan]

Full versions of the films are available on youtube, but in very crappy quality. Also, Arrow will inevitably release these all individually if you don't want to risk getting the whole set, and not liking it.

[Baron Blood]

Originally Posted by bigshot

Well I was kind of hoping someone with knowledge of the subject might be willing to offer some context and recommendations. Are these top of the line examples of the genre or bottom of the pack? Is the main focus on cinematography or acting or action? Are they known to have great potential for image and sound quality? Are the musical scores memorable? Stuff like that there.

OK...despite many here can't accept other peoples opinions I'll stick my neck out

I'm a huge SW fan and consider Leone one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
For me, not even Corbucci comes close.

So as you'd might guess none of these Sartana films comes even close to the brilliance of a Leone film. (or even Corbucci)
Not with imagery, dialogue, casting, acting, soundtrack or heart.
Definitely don't expect the uniform quality of the Leone canon.
I have no idea who directed these and truth be told...don't really care.
I'd be surprised if anyone familiar did or even directed more than one.

"...Is the main focus on cinematography or acting or action?.."
Definitely action.

But that's not to say these films are without merit.
I personally want the first because of it's Gothic tone and less goofy nature when compared to the rest.
I'd have to revisit the others to refresh my memory and see if my opinion changes since it often does.
(I revisited If You Meet...two weeks ago)

The best way to describe these films is Inspector Gadget meets Django.
They came out at a time when SW's were being reinvented to remain fresh and everyone started looking like hippies.


In the end I applaud Arrow for tackling all these films and any SW completest should be thrilled.
However, for me I think I'm getting too long in the tooth and therefor more selective with my viewing time.
I think Arrow knew if they split these up there would be winners and losers.

Right now only If You Meet...is in my top ten most wanted SW's.
The best advice, already given, is to check some out while you can.

Light the Fuse...Sartana is Coming! - YouTube

[bigshot]

Thanks Baron Blood. That is *exactly* what I was looking for. I'm here to listen to opinions of people who know about stuff I don't know about myself. I'm not looking for validation. I just want to know if it's a good idea to blind buy. You answered that question perfectly.

[Baron Blood]

"Thanks Baron Blood. That is *exactly* what I was looking for. I'm here to listen to opinions of people who know about stuff I don't know about myself. I'm not looking for validation. I just want to know if it's a good idea to blind buy. You answered that question perfectly."

I hope someone who love these films will chime in and give you another point of view.
Art is extremely subjective.




It just occurred to me I confused one of the Sartana films with Sabata
Corrected.

[Baron Blood]

After some thought I gotta say I don't feel very comfortable discouraging anyone from buying this set...if I did.

If it weren't for Canada's crappy dollar I'd consider the box set.
But with my limited funds I gotta pick and choose lately.
Hopefully I'll get the chance with these titles at some point.

Imo the greatest non-Leone SW is Cemetery Without Crosses.
Instead of being just another Leone rip-off (not saying these are)
Cemetery is a loving tribute to the Master with a full dedication at the end.
Leone even directed one scene in the film (the dinner scene)

It's a French/Italian co-production where, like Leone films, style is of the utmost importance.
Imo the added French sensibility gives it a haunting beauty not even found in a Leone film.
I can feel better by highly recommending this Arrow Blu.
It's not the most action packed SW though.

[StarDestroyer52]

I pre-ordered this Day 1 on Diabolik. I've been picking a lot of spaghetti Westerns between Arrow and Kino Lorber in the last 12 months:

• The Good, Bad, and the Ugly
• A Fistful of Dollars
• Death Rides a Horse
• The Mercenary
• Ringo trilogy
• Sartana trilogy
• Day of Anger
• Duck You Sucker

I just need to pick up the Sabatas, Django, Bullet for the General, Cemetry Without Crosses, and The Big Countdown(which is the most expensive of them all). Any other big Spaghetti Westerns I'm missing that I ought to take a look at?