MGM (HK disc) left, RHV Italy right (if in doubt check the filename):

As far as the colors go, the poncho was originally green/olive green according to Eastwood.
Notice the cropping on the MGM disc. Quite a lot of the image is missing from the sides and top and bottom depending on the scene.

The MGM disc of A Fistful of Dollars is available separately from Hong Kong as well as the “sequel” For a Few Dollars More.

Also remember the previous post about the For a Few Dollars More Blu-Ray discs.

I took some screenshots from my Italian disc for comparison (see below), and will do some more (plus DVD screenshots) once my own copy of the MGM Leone box arrives (from Hong Kong where it has already been released).

Here are five screenshots from the MGM disc as taken by eric.exe:

And here the same ones from the Italian disc with MPC (at least one isn’t an exact same frame):

Italian disc is cropped from the sides and top/bottom.

Don’t know for sure yet, but since the MGM transfer is different than the Italian one, I’d expect it to have all the usual cuts and other problem(s) as all the MGM DVDs do.

Kinowelt’s earlier DVD releases of the Great Silence don’t have English audio or subtitles, but hopefully they can include them with the Blu-Ray.

As for the length of the movie… there are basically no extra blackness at the start or end of the movie and yet the disc is around two minutes longer (1:30:24 vs 1:28:2x) than the previous Fravidis, Wild East or Global Video discs! Considering they are all PAL (yes, WE disc also) there has to be something extra on this one (worth that two minutes).

Here’s one image (I’ll try uploading more to the screenshot page of the movie some day later) from the new disc (TOP) compared to the old French one (BOTTOM). Click to see them bigger (not much…).

As for the Django the Bastard (Django le Batard) disc, haven’t checked it yet (and the older DVD release is still on the way, thanks to Iceland, so I wouldn’t be able to compare it yet anyways) but the case claims only French audio.

Buy from Amazon.fr: Ciakmull, Django the Bastard

Click on the cover image to go to Amazon.com and pre-order your copy now!

I’d expect the transfer qualities to be the same as to what is being released in the UK in June… (About which I wrote earlier here http://www.spaghettiwesterndvds.com/2010/03/21/spaghetti-western-collection-blu-ray-available-for-pre-order/)
Extra material very likely as well. Audio and subtitle options might vary a bit (but I’d be surprised if the English options were not the same on both sets).

And… that’s about it. For now.

No details yet on the contents of the release (or perhaps I just didn’t find any), except for the movies included, or possible quality of the transfers but…

A Fistful of Dollars has already been released on region free Blu-Ray in Italy in late 2008. The disc features a superb picture quality with both Italian and English audio and English subtitles. Unless Fox/MGM buys the rights for the Italian print, I doubt their upcoming release will be nearly as good as the Italian disc by Ripley’s Home Video (RHV). I already have a big comparison between lots of DVD releases and the Italian Blu-ray with screenshots. I will of course update the page with the UK Blu-Ray as soon as I get my hands on it.
Let’s hope for the best and fear for the worst. Although I suppose as an owner of the Italian disc, it doesn’t really matter to me how this one will look like. :p

For a Few Dollars More is also already available in Italy (locked to region B) but unfortunately only with Italian audio and subtitles. The print quality is quite good and the film is presented uncut unlike almost all the DVDs (except few Italian ones) available. I guess we will have to wait until the first (knowledgeable) reviews to know if Fox/MGM will finally use the uncut print instead of the cut ones (and how about syncing that thunder sound, eh?).

As for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the disc on this Spaghetti Western Collection will very likely be almost exactly like the ones released a year ago in at least France, Germany, USA and Japan. Meaning, it will look like crap compared to the much better (but not perfect) Italian release by Mondo Home Entertainment. Unfortunately the Italian Blu-Ray (which is locked to region B) does not have English audio or subtitles.

I do not know if these new UK discs will be region locked to region B or if they will be free, but it would be weird if the Spaghetti Western Collection Blu-Ray wouldn’t be available quite soon in other countries as well. No word on separate releases of the movies, but they’ll probably be available some day.

As mentioned in the beginning, those brave enough can now pre-order the UK set from Amazon.co.uk. I know I will, even though For a Few Dollars More is the only one I need. :p

All of you who have linked to me in the past, for which I am very grateful thank you, could you please replace the old address with this new one ( http://www.spaghettiwesterndvds.com ) when you have the time and if it is not too much trouble. Fortunately, at least for now and hopefully far into the future, I have redirects from the old addresses to this new one, so even if you don’t change the links, the visitors should arrive at the correct place. So no need for panic, especially for the good people at the SWDB and the multiple links from there.

Anyways I might contact some of the webmasters separately and ask for the link change. Maybe. Someday.

Oh yeah one more thing… I made a twitter account for the site (link is at the top of the page), and my site should automatically tweet all of my blog posts into that account. For some reason there are already couple of followers (you know who you are… ) but I don’t except this to be a big thing, especially because my blog posts might be the only content that ends up there. I’m just not a big fan of the twitter or facebook. I don’t have anything against them though. I should probably do a facebook page/group as well…

First one is a comparison between several DVDs and one Blu-Ray for the A Fistful of Dollars. As excepted the Blu-Ray is obviously superior to everything else as far as image quality goes. The UK and German DVDs discs look surprisingly bad to my eyes when compared with the older Italian DVD. I don’t (yet) have the newer Italian DVD but I except it will be better than all the rest (as it was made from the same material as the Blu-Ray).
A Fistful of Dollars screenshot comparison.

(Note that the Italian discs of A Fistful of Dollars, DVDs and Blu-Ray, do have English audio)

I have also added screenshots from Dorado Films’ Gatling Gun and The Three Musketeers of the West, SNC/M6’s French discs (only Italian & French audio) George Hilton Sartana, Night of the Serpent (comparison with the Global Video release) and Durango Is Coming, Pay or Die, and a comparison between the two unimpressive DVDs of the Moment to Kill. There might be some more but I honestly can’t remember for sure either way.

Unfortunately according to Kultmedia and Videociak the discs have only one Italian track and nothing more. I realize DVD.it claims the Blu-Ray to have English audio but they also claim the aspect ratio to be 1.78:1 which can’t be correct so…

Anyways, I should have the discs (yes, both…) early next week and hopefully can put up some kind of comparison soon after that.