Good info…I do have DVDshrink which may do the same thing, I know it breaks the coding. If not I’ll get Any dvd or check into my player, 8)
Update: I was able to find a code for my player in the living room an Oritron player. There is a secret menu and it is now configured to play PAL and all regions, now there is nothing else to do but actually try it. I don’t have any PAL dvds at this time so Mercenary here I come lol. The only problem is it will probably cost a boatload to ship over here, but in the end beggers can’t be choosers. Also after checking into it on the German amazon, when confirming my address it has some warning in red and when I translated it, it said something along the lines that it couldn’t be dispatched to me. However if I order direct from Amazon.de merchant it looks to have no problems, it is just going to cost a few more dollars if I do it.
Just watched Compañeros for the first time. Fantastic. 8) Definitely my favourite of the Zapata Westerns I’ve seen. Possibly my favourite Corbucci film too (of the few I’ve seen). Love the music.
Il Mercenario is the better film.
Companeros lacks the quality of Il Mercenario.
That does not mean Companeros is not good.
But it is only entertainment.
He has no political statement as Mercenario.
Il Mercenario is a critical examination of the 60s. Student revolt, the Vietnam War, anti-capitalism …
And it shows in every sentence.
Companeros is fun. Nothing more.
Maybe too much fun.
Mercenario is a masterpiece.
Compañeros is a good thing.
For me, that’s the difference.
For me there are two parts of Compañeros, one fun and one political. Also, the two films don’t have to be against each other. If Mercenario shows the optimism of the 60’s, Compañeros, while still not being a pessimistic movie, shows a little more of the pessimism of the 70’s.
[quote=“Silence, post:153, topic:68”]Agreeing to that.
Maybe they could release Compañeros now like a kind of double feature with Mercenario (but still seperate discs). But I like the Blue Underground![/quote]
Good idea. Or a Zapata DVD-Box with Mercenario, Companeros and Tepepa. Dreams would come true.
But these dreams are not true. Too bad. :’(
As a western Il mercenario has a happy end, as a film about the revolution it is a pessimistic film. The revolution and the leftist ideals are always overpowered by the money, the idea is always doomed to failure.
Contrary to Scherp I also see the ending of Companeros as an optimistic one.
[quote=“The Stranger, post:156, topic:68”]In three versions:
uncut
cut
Super 8 Version[/quote]
Only the uncut version is in English, but it’s the one that’s had real attention: beautiful picture & sound quality. Some of the previously-cut scenes are in Italian with English subtitles, since they were never dubbed in English, or at least no English dub of them survives. Is this the same in the Anchor Bay / Blue Underground version?
The cut versions are Deutsch only, fairly basic remastering, & only interesting for comparison.
There’s also interviews with Nero & Milian (in English) & Morricone (Italian) with German subs. Looking at the specs, I wonder if it uses the same content as the Blue Underground release.
I haven’t yet seen any Koch Media releases, but I can’t think how a release of Companeros could get much better than the Starlight one is. The only thing that’s missing is being able to see the full Italian dub with English (or German) subs.
Some people are not satisfied with the picture quality of the Starlight DVD because it’s a NTSC transfer and not a real Pal mastered DVD. I think it’s taken directly from the BU DVD.
Koch has meanwhile replaced their NTSC transfers of Quien sabe? and Run Man Run with Pal masters in an improved picture quality.
