In the mid-1960s, the runaway success of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars” trilogy gave rise to an explosion of similar productions. Filmmakers by the dozen sought to capitalize on this new, uniquely Italian take on the western, which was characterized by their deeply cynical outlook, morally compromised antiheroes and unflinching depictions savage violence. This specially curated selection gathers together four outstanding examples of the genre from the height of its popularity, all centered around the theme of blood money.
In Romolo Guerrieri’s $10,000 Blood Money (1967; a.k.a. $10,000 for a Massacre), Gianni Garko – best known for his portrayal of supernatural gunslinger Sartana – takes on the part of another beloved western antihero, Django, who is on the trail of bandit Manuel Vasquez (Claudio Camaso, A Bay of Blood). But what started as a job for hire soon turns personal, with Django swearing vengeance against the unscrupulous outlaw. Then, in the film’s spiritual successor, Giovanni Fago’s Vengeance is Mine (1967; a.k.a. $100,000 for a Killing), Garko and Camaso once again lead the cast, this time as estranged half-brothers – one a Confederate soldier now riding with renegade outlaws, the other a bounty hunter tasked with bringing him in alive.
Next, in Giuliano Carnimeo’s Find a Place to Die (1968), Jeffrey Hunter (The Searchers) plays Joe Collins, a disgraced former soldier who assembles a ragtag band of scoundrels. They are lured into helping a woman (Pascale Petit, A Queen for Caesar) to rescue her prospector husband, who is trapped at their gold mine cave-in – though in reality, they have designs on the gold strike themselves. Finally, in Cesare Canevari’s psychedelic Matalo! (Kill Him) (1970), double- and triple-crosses abound as a band of outlaws, having holed up in an isolated ghost town, set about terrorizing travelers Ray (Lou Castel, Orgasmo) and Bridget (Ana María Mendoza, 7 Women for the MacGregors) – only to get more than they bargained for when Ray fights back, armed only with his weapon of choice: a bag full of boomerangs.
Featuring a wealth of key Euro-cult talent both behind and in front of the camera, Arrow Films is proud to present these four classic westerns in sparkling High Definition restorations produced specially for this release, alongside a plethora of brand new bonus materials.
4-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all four films
• Brand new 2K restorations of all four films from the original 35mm camera negatives by Arrow Films
• Original Italian and English front and end titles
• Restored lossless original Italian and English soundtracks
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
• Brand new introductions to each film by journalist and critic Fabio Melelli
• Galleries for all four films
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing 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 – $10,000 BLOOD MONEY
• Brand new audio commentary by author and film historian Lee Broughton
• Tears of Django – newly edited featurette with archival interviews with director Romolo Guerrieri and actor Gianni Garko
• The Producer Who Didn’t Like Western Movies – brand new interview with producer Mino Loy
• How the West Was Won – brand new interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
• Theatrical trailer
DISC 2 – VENGEANCE IS MINE
• Brand new audio commentary by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
• Cain and Abel – newly edited featurette with archival interviews with actor Gianni Garko and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
• In Conversation with Nora Orlandi – newly edited archival interview with the film’s iconic composer
• Movie After Movie – brand new interview with producer Mino Loy
• Theatrical trailer
DISC 3 – FIND A PLACE TO DIE
• Brand new audio commentary by author and critic Howard Hughes
• Sons of Leone – newly edited archival interview with director Giuliano Carnimeo
• Traditional Figure – brand new, in-depth appreciation of the soundtrack and its composer, Gianni Ferrio, by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
DISC 4 – MATALO! (KILL HIM)
• Brand new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• A Milanese Story – brand new, in-depth interview with filmmaker Davide Pulici, discussing the career of Matalo! director Cesare Canevari
• Untold Icon – brand new, in-depth appreciation of the soundtrack and its composer, Mario Migliardi, by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
• Theatrical trailer
Just finished watching the set and enjoyed it overall. Not sure if I would say it's better or worse than volume 1, but it's about par. $10,000 Blood Money is the easy winner for best film of the set. This is a brutal western that has the beats that make a classic spaghetti western.
Matalo is easily the most "out there" spaghetti western in the set. It's a bit more on the artsy side, but still a brutal one and if you want to try something outside the typical formula this one will do that for you.
Overall, a great dip into the genre and always hoping for another volume as reading the booklet there are about 100 spaghetti westerns mentioned that I haven't seen.
Just finished watching the set and enjoyed it overall. Not sure if I would say it's better or worse than volume 1, but it's about par. $10,000 Blood Money is the easy winner for best film of the set. This is a brutal western that has the beats that make a classic spaghetti western.
Matalo is easily the most "out there" spaghetti western in the set. It's a bit more on the artsy side, but still a brutal one and if you want to try something outside the typical formula this one will do that for you.
Overall, a great dip into the genre and always hoping for another volume as reading the booklet there are about 100 spaghetti westerns mentioned that I haven't seen.
Thanks Duke for posting your comments/observations, offering an interesting insight into the second volume. It's on my list of Arrow US and UK titles that I want to get (I'm not sure when I'll get a copy though). Haven't seen any preview comments about the UK release yet, specifically whether any of the films have cuts to them (were there any horse falls in any of the four films in the second volume?).
Thanks Duke for posting your comments/observations, offering an interesting insight into the second volume. It's on my list of Arrow US and UK titles that I want to get (I'm not sure when I'll get a copy though). Haven't seen any preview comments about the UK release yet, specifically whether any of the films have cuts to them (were there any horse falls in any of the four films in the second volume?).
I actually don't remember any horse falls from the top of my head. Should be fine.
Been watching the new Blood Money set and it's been great so far, but on the disc for $10,000 Blood Money, while watching the interview with the director and Garko (in Italian) the subtitles just cut out for the remainder of the feature at around the 8:30 mark? Anyone else getting this issue?
I've tested this disc with my (UK) 4K multi-region player set to region A as I suspected (correctly) this would be another dual region set. Sorry to say the issue occurs when set to region A as well.
I’m assuming this is going to be like what happened with the very similar missing interview subtitle issue with the Giallo Essentials: Black set, where there isn’t a public replacement program and Arrow’s customer service is never fully alerted to the problem, so getting a proper replacement is a Herculean task?
It looks like this one is sold out. Surprises me since the first set is still available. Went from 'Sold Out' on the Arrow Video store to no longer appearing at all in a search, whereas Volumes 1 and 3 are available.
I thought I had ordered this but I hadn't. Had to order a copy from Orbit. Missed out on the $40 sale price at Arrow, paid $70 from Orbit.
What was/were the key title(s) with this one? In these sets I figured the Fulci westerns were the big draw.
It looks like this one is sold out. Surprises me since the first set is still available. Went from 'Sold Out' on the Arrow Video store to no longer appearing at all in a search, whereas Volumes 1 and 3 are available.
I thought I had ordered this but I hadn't. Had to order a copy from Orbit. Missed out on the $40 sale price at Arrow, paid $70 from Orbit.
What was/were the key title(s) with this one? In these sets I figured the Fulci westerns were the big draw.
There should be a standard edition to follow that will be very similar, just without the book. It will more than likely be a more slim version of the same box. But the discs should all be the same. They have done this with most if not all of their other similar box sets.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
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Cyprus
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Finland
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Hong Kong
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Iceland
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Israel
India
Latvia
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Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Blood Money: Four Western Classics Vol. 2 box set coming from Arrow on July 25
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