The Sergio Leone Anthology

[Lino]

Covers are up:

A Fistful of Dollars

For a few Dollars more

A Fistful of Dynamite

R1 editions are supposed to come out during Summer 2005.

First review (that I know) of For a few dollars more - French edition.

The upcoming UK edition of A Fistful of Dynamite will be cut by 6 seconds.

I was hoping to buy the R1 anyways, so no brainer for me...

[unclehulot]

Having seen all three films theatrically (from the new restored prints) in a short period of time this summer, I should comment that the new sound tracks on the first two films of the trilogy are less "worked-over" than TGTBTU, and less likely to offend the purist. The benefit of having the music tracks in stereo is the main plus for me; the sound effects are panned around the 5 audio tracks to some extent, but are not as beefed-up (as in TGTBTU). They may still be ammended to some extent, but not like the "uber" cannon sounds added to that film.

I must say, I was astounded at how good the films looked on the big screen....never thought they could get Techniscope to look so good!

[Derek Estes]

I really hope they use different artwork for the R1 releases. I think the R2 look pretty shitty, IMO.

[Kristoffer4]

I think the covers look ok! Shame about the cut ion Dynamite! R1 her I come...

For a few dollars more is among Sony first Blu Ray titels in the US. As someone speculated, now its official.
Some Blu-Ray Movies Announced:

* For a Few Dollars More
* The Guns of Navarone
* House of Flying Daggers
* The Last Waltz

[backstreetsbackalright]

These look pretty sweet. Anyone have any links to info about the R1 discs?

[Lino]

DVDtimes has posted reviews for the 3 new DVDs:

A Fistful of Dynamite

For a few Dollars more

A Fistful of Dollars

Still no news of a R1 release date.

[djali999]

Now that MGM is being torn up into a million billion tiny little pieces, I have no hope that these will be released this year in R1. Which makes me very sad.

[The Invunche]

The releases might be postponed but don't fool yourself. MGM is being bought because of its library. DVD's equal money.

[Lino]

From the Bits:

Leaks out of MGM in Europe have revealed that the studio will release a trio of long-awaited 2-disc Sergio Leone special edition DVDs in the U.K. on 4/18. These include A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and A Fistful of Dynamite. We've checked with our sources and learned that these same special editions HAD tentatively been scheduled to street from MGM here in the States in December. Do you sense a BUT coming? You're right. BUT... now that Sony is busy gobbling up MGM Home Entertainment, any decision to release these special editions in the U.S. is going to have to be made by them. Eventually. In other words, these DVDs have been caught in the thick of the merger, and there's a fair possibility that it's going to be a while before we see them here. We're checking with Sony to see what they say... but we'd be surprised if they commented at this point. We'll let you know in any case.

We've got a follow-up on that Sergio Leone SE DVD story we posted in The Rumor Mill yesterday. We've contacted Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and learned pretty much exactly what we expected: The deal to purchase MGM just closed, so they're only just starting to address the logistics of assuming responsibility for MGM Home Entertainment's catalog and DVD release slate. It's too early to know if the titles MGM had previously slated for release later this year (including the A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and A Fistful of Dynamite special editions) will street as planned, or will be delayed. Rest assured we'll keep you up to date on this in the weeks and months ahead. Cross your fingers, Leone fans.

Here are more comparisons between the old and the new UK SE's: 1 - 2 - 3.

Still no date for the US ones.

[unclehulot]

I'm more concerned about the fate of John Kirk and his wonderful FILM restoration wing of MGM. His is a crucial contribution to what eventually happens in the video division....when they get (got?) their heads out of the sand long enough to take advantage of the film division's work.

Hopefully Sony will realize what a valuable resource they have and take better advantage of it than MGM..... and keep that department employed!

I think the Leone films are high enough profile that we shouldn't worry about their eventual release once things get sorted out.

[dvdane]

While the restored images are beautiful, MGM has really fucked up the sound. The new 5.1 Dolby Digital mix jumps around from speaker to speaker depending on what the scene depicts. For instance, a conversation between two people, dialogue is first in left front speaker, then when doing a reverse shot, dialogue jumps to right speaker. Some effects, like an explosion, jumps from left rear to right front, and then when doing a point of view from Steiger, to left front. It is simply horrible and incredible distracting.

[Blissful Sinner]

I hate it when people pan dialogue. The same thing was done with the new The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly DVD . It's very distracting and annoying. Marter Murch calls that a big mistake and I agree with him. I hope they leave the original sound alone for the region 1 release, otherwise, a nicer transfer and a bad mix = me not buying these DVDs.

[flyonthewall2983]

Is there any news coming from Sony/MGM if or when the new SE's of A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and A Fistful of Dynamite will come out in the U.S.?

[manicsounds]

Although there is still no news of the Dollars films for R1 on DVD, Sony announce "For A Few Dollars More" will be one of their first 20-plus titles available on Blu Ray, according to digitalbits. Extras? Not sure.

For everyone that hasnt gotten the films yet, just buy the UK R2s, cdwow has those titles for less than 8 pounds each. There's no reason not to get them (except Fistful of Dynamite of course)

Well, if the 5.1 tracks are too bothersome, (which occasionally they are), there is always the option of the remastered German Leone sets, which have the original mono tracks.

[Gordon]

For everyone that hasnt gotten the films yet, just buy the UK R2s, cdwow has those titles for less than 8 pounds each.
There's no reason not to get them

[Awaits the 5,000th PAL speed-up debate]

It is absolutely fucking unfathomable as to why MGM/Sony have yet to release these potential mega-sellers in the USA. Midnight Cowboy's SE is on the way, and the somewhat unnecessary new 2-disc of The Magnificent Seven has just been released, but no Leone remasters? They are ready to go, Sony! And now a Blu-Ray release for For A Few Dollars More - eh? The mind boggles.

I have those R2 sets. Beautiful, just beautiful. The gunshots on GBU bother me a bit (we're not in Vertigo or Jaws territory here, though, fortunately). The horse trips on Duck You Sucker! are not as bad as most other such BBFC edits and their omission isn't something that I would ever rail against.

For a few dollars more is among Sony first Blu Ray titels in the US. As someone speculated, now its official.
Blu-Ray Movies Announced:

* The Last Waltz

Eh? That's a bit of a head-scratcher. A great format for the audio, but we had the 4-CD boxed set and the DVD, so you'd have to be a HUGE fan of all those artists to begin your foray into Blu-Ray. Maybe if they restored the boulder of coke that was rotoscoped out of Neil Young's nose, yours truly would bite the bullet, but this seems a weird choice, but that is always the case with apostle titles for a new video format.

[Taketori Washizu]

Can someone clarify for me regarding A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. Are they going to be released under the MGM banner when they finally come out or Sony/Columbia or were they acquired along with A Fistful of Dynamite/Duck You Sucker for release by Warner? I would like to get special editions of A Fistful and For Few Dollars More if they are released with The Good, the Bad & the Ugly as a trilogy, since GB&U was put out by Warner Bros. Anyone know? I'm refering to Region 1 of course.

[djali999]

Actually, The Good, The Bad.. was an MGM disc, one of their most ambitous prior to being eaten by Sony. So the rest of the Leone spaghettis are gonna come from them too, hopefully as well as neglected stuff like The Mercenary.

[flyonthewall2983]

From thedigitalbits: MGM also confirmed that they're finally planning Region 1 versions of those three Sergio Leone DVD special editions that were released last year in the U.K. (A Fistful of Dollars, A Fistful of Dynamite and For a Few Dollars More) sometime in 2007, to be distributed by Fox.

[Gordon]

I would imagine that the James Bond SEs will be released before the Leone sets. Original mono on each film would be great, of course.

[Ashirg]

Fox and MGM are finally releasing collector's editions of Sergio Leone films on June 5. Titles included will be DUCK, YOU SUCKER (FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE) - CE, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS - CE, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE - CE, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY - CE. Each title list price is $26.98. There's also going to be a SERGIO LEONE ANTHOLOGY BOXSET for $89.98

[flyonthewall2983]

Fox and MGM are finally releasing collector's editions of Sergio Leone films on June 5.

Stupid question, but will The GBU CE be the same as the one already out?

[Derek Estes]

Is there a link? This is quite promising.

[tryavna]

Fox and MGM are finally releasing collector's editions of Sergio Leone films on June 5.

Stupid question, but will The GBU CE be the same as the one already out?

I think that's actually a pretty good question, especially since the old CE is problematic -- forcing you to watch the extended version whether you want to or not and (especially) the fiddling with the sound. Hopefully, these versions won't mess with the original sound too much.

[patrick]

I am beyond excited to finally own Fistful of Dynamite/Duck, You Sucker!/Once Upon A Time In The Revolution on R1 DVD, it's one of my favorite westerns. Actually, if the aforementioned problems with the Good, Bad & The Ugly SE are resolved, I might just have to buy the boxset.

[Gordon]

It is somewhat confusing that the sound on GBU was futzed around with, as on the SE DVDs, John Kirk seems immensely proud about restoring the films. I never felt that the 161-minute version lacked anything, though the extra scenes with Lee Van Cleef are pretty cool. I'd double-dip for a new transfer of the 161-minute version with mono sound.

I actually watched For a Few Dollars More last night and it just gets better with every viewing. In fact, I think I am begining to find it superior to GBU. Van Cleef is so awesome in this movie - and to think that he had more or less retired and was almost broke. I think that one of the great mistakes of Cinema was the underuse/misuse of Lee Van Cleef. My argument isn't that he was a great actor, but simply that he had immense screen presence - no one has ever had a face like LVC's. And he lost part of his finger building a playhouse for his daughter. Don't make 'em like dat an'more.