Montero - if this was a straight 3 hr slot then you are probably correct as there were 12m of advert breaks per hour back then.
Must be my memory playing tricks. The uncut version was released in 1982 not 1981 with an AA rating. The shorter version was released in 1969 with an A rating after some cuts to the bed scene between Jill and Frank.
It wasnât just Roger Ebert who went into a âfrenzy of annoyance and upsetâ at the picture, it also included a professor of criminal justice:
HANS W. MATTICK, a noted University of Chicago criminologist, was watching television at dawn Wednesday, sickened by the brutal news, when he saw something âso fantastically gruesome I had to turn away.â It was a commercial for a new movie, interrupting the reports of the shooting of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
âThe movie is called, âA Minute to Pray, a Second to Dieâ,â said Mattick. âAnd I swear to God, in 45 seconds of the preview film I saw at least 30 people killed. I was horrified. This was the first commercial of the day. And coming right on top of that news. What kind of country do we live in? Itâs hard to find words to describe it anymoreâŚâ (The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 9, 1968)
The producers opted for a formula ending at the last minute, much to Alex Cordâs disgust:
The new Western was screened Tuesday [April 30, 1968] in Dallas by mass media representatives from throughout the state prior to its state-wide release⌠Its star, Alex Cord, attended the preview in Dallas and learned only then that the last few minutes of the original film had been cut at the request of a review board. This, he said, changed the meaning by its failure to fully develop the theme that killing is not worthwhile. He is, at the moment, a very congenial but unhappy star. (El Paso Times, May 1, 1968)
âI think that beautifully showed that the entire plot of the movie was a gunmanâs futile effort to live,â he said and suggested that the movie-goers write to the producers: Selmur Pictures, ABC Studios, New York City, N.Y.
âI doubt that they will put the last two minutes of the movie back on, but Iâd like to know if a lot of other folks donât agree with me bout the end being cut,â he reasoned.
âIn this movie, I want to die,â he joked. (Tyler Morning Telegraph, [TX], May 1, 1968)
Walter Barnes provided the voice of McCordâs sidekick Fred Duskin (Giampiero Albertini):
If the voice of actor Walter Barnes, who plays the heavy in Columbia Pictures âThe Big Gundown,â sounds familiar to Western movie fans, itâs no wonder. Barnesâ vibrant Southern drawl has been heard in scores of European films, especially Westerns, for he is in great demand as the English voice of Italian, Spanish and German actors. Between movie chores, Barnes works as one of the top film dubbers in Europe. His latest assignment: serving as the English voice of Alex Cordâs sidekick in âDead or Alive.â (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 27, 1968)
Sources below: (1) (2) (El Paso Times, May 1 & 5, 1968) (3) (Houston Chronicle, May 5, 1968)
I watched the German Blu-ray of this one on Saturday and thought it was excellent. I have never watched the shorter cut but I canât see the cuts improving it. This is a bleak western and pretty violent, as well. I had re-watched âA Clockwork Orangeâ and the TV-version of âScumâ recently and I think the drowning sequence in this film is just as nasty as anything depicted in the 70s shockers.
There is about three minutes of deleted footage included as a bonus on the Blu-ray in the exras section. It is a pity that Explosive didnât restore it and include a composite version with seamless branching. With a lot of these films, I feel like I need a gap before I watch them again but I think I will try and re-watch this one pretty soon. It has taken me a long time but I am glad that I waited to get my hands on the Explosive release.
One reason is probably that EM doesnât itself restore film, they release whatever material they get from the license owner. But a composite version is an interesting idea. Do we know where in the film the footage would belong?
I am going to assume that the footage is from the US cut as it is presented in HD on the extras, so it shouldnât be too difficult to restore it using the US print as a reference.
I remember that there was talk to include the 2 scenes, but in the end they stayed with the Italian version. I tried to convince them to include them, but without success.
Of course that must be respected, but it is a pity though, as these scenes are very good. Actually one belongs to the best of the film.
The place where they belong is clear, and both belong together.
Odd that MGM when making their own much shorter version still used 3 extra min not to be part of the long 118 min version.
Well, yes, seamless branching would have been an elegant solution.
It is a Colosseo release, not Explosiveâ
Iâm still sad they stopped releasing discs. This, Starblack and Black Jack are all amazing releases.
Colosseo is still in business with movie licences and with VOD. But they retired from releasing physical Media. UnfortunatelyâŚ
My mistake!
