Explosive is the way to go.
The 2-disc DVD release by Explosive says that one of the extraās is the soundtrack. Does that mean thereās a CD included?
No. Seems like the soundtrack is just part of the second dvd and playable via the menu.
https://ssl.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=10098&vid=348159
Their release of The Big Gundown has the same thing.
In case anyoneās wondering, Iāve been doing some examination of the French Wild Side blu ray Italian version versus the Kino blu ray release, along with comparison to the Explosive DVD composite (I donāt have the Explosive blu ray, but assuming it contains the same composite as the DVD)
The French release uses the same transfer as the Kino, but it appears to be slightly filtered and as such has slightly less definition. It also has slightly different dark/light levels. Watching the two side by side- the Kino looks significantly better.
And for some reason, the French blu has not included the entire composite with all cut scenes - which is particularly strange because it appears they have used the Explosive source print for the cut scenes (they look identical to the Explosive DVD footage)
The following scenes are missing from the extended Wild Side blu ray:
At 00:31:58
The short scene of Bennet walking away from the dead Reagan.
Bennet tells Mrs. Reagen that his killing of her husband is ājust businessā. As Reagen dies, he then walks away from the body.
7 Sec
At 01:12:24
Bennet gets pestered by Paco, a peasant boy who wants to know if they are related. He tries to ignore the boy. Siringo watches as the lady who he accidently-on-purpose gave the letter regarding the bank robbery to tries to warn the sheriff, but he dismisses her, thinking the letter to be one of her many petitions to close down the saloon. The lady throws the letter away in anger.
1:11 Min
At 01:27:18
A group of men watch as one of Fletcherās goons punch a tied up Wallace.
Interesting comparison! Welcome back autephex!
āFace to Faceā (1967) Directed by Sergio Sollima
This is in my top 20. A film that never fails to raise more questions than answers.
What if you were asked to consider your morals, by re-evaluating your life-expectancy?
One of the characters faces this dilemma.
Would you be prepared to do anything to maintain a hold on life, at any cost?
Could you be turned from your sense of right and wrong? Could you, in fact, become the very thing that you have preached to others to beware of?
Such is the tale of āFace to Faceāā¦less a Western, and more a timeless fable of good vs evil. In this case, one characterās perceived āevilā has a lot in common with his perception of āgoodā. At one point we ask ourselves: āIs there much difference between the two?ā
What is there not to like?
A talented director, Sergio Sollima, who had produced the undisputed master-piece, āThe Big Gundownā; and a stellar cast consisting of Volonte, Milian, Berger, Frank Brana, Aldo Sanbrell - actors at the pinnacle of Spaghetti fame and innovative brilliance.
Add to that the most refined and memorable compositions of āIl Maestoā Ennio Morricone, and you have an intricate re-working of āDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydeāā¦Good becomes bad, and visa versa.
A āSpaghettiā that deserves intense scrutiny, for it dares to ask us all the question: 'What would you do in similar circumstances? Would you hold on to your grandiose idea of morality, or set it aside, merely to be used at your convenience?
āFace to Faceā is a beautiful tale that deserves repeated viewings, and all with an open mind. It is a gem among films of any genre, and from any country. It deserves to be treated as an adult fairy tale. In the best tradition of mythical fairy tales, it warns us about the dangers of stepping over the edge into territory that we are emotionally unprepared to deal with.
Cheers, amigo!
Great post and agree with pretty much everything you said. I just wish the deleted scenes were kept in, Iād probably rank it close behind The Big Gundown then (which is my 4th favourite spag).
Iām with you. I much prefer Run Man Run to be honest. Itās far more stylish in my opinion.
Same. Run Man Runās not as intellectual as the other two, or even Revolver and Devil in the Brain, but I think it succeeds in being bloody good fun and entertainment, the latter of course is what cinemaās supposed to be.
Taste is complicated !
Actually I really prefer Face To Face, and have found Run Man Run occasionally rather boring after 3-4 watchings and possibly irritating with Milian maybe a bit overplaying. Maybe the āZapataā element of the story also effects me negatively. I donĀ“t like revolutionary/war themes in SWs.
A couple of years ago I downgraded Run Man Run to 5/10 and havenāt watched it since then. But sooner or later I will rewatch it and can not completely rule out a future modified opinion.
My interpretation of the matter is that Fletcherās personality change doesnāt necessarily occur within a few days; Heās probably supposed to have spent some weeks, or even months with the gang by the time he tries to force himself upon Maria. But yes, it would have been nice if more of that process had been shown. Considering the high amount of reported cut footage - some 25-30 minutes according to some - Iām sure there was more focus on his development originally.
I agree, I certainly donāt think it was just after two days. It is things like that though that make me wish Sollimaās version is available, Iād pay a lot of money to see it. Another one that gets me is
we never see how Milian escapes from the prison, and it canāt be with the aid of Sambrellās character because they let him out before hand.
What donāt you like about it? I think it has a couple of flaws (like pretty much every film) but I think itās one of the best of the genre. Itās just on the flex of being in my top 20.
For the moment I can only point out the "Zapata"story relation and Milianās for me a bit irritating character, but since it was a couple of years ago I watched it last time I donāt exactly remember. Anyhow I would prefer other leading characters (and another story I guess )
I started to rewatch the Mercenary (Zapata related?) recently but gave up after maybe 10-15 minutes. I donāt like the look of Nero in that movie. Just my tasteā¦
Both these SWs though have Morricone music which I usually like very much.
I just spent 1 hour, half of the running time of Run Man Run then giving up. The Cuchillo character is sufficient for me to become too irritated. He reminds of a comedian, and the underlying zapata related story is not what I want either. Itās a pity with such nice cinematography with the different Almeria locations and some nice music, even if the zapata/Mexi style main theme is not my cup of sangria
Strange how we can love the same genre and disagree so much. I think Cuchilloās one of the great characters of the genre, certainly one of my favourites outside of Leoneās films. Yeah heās flamboyant and a bit loud at times but Milian plays him so perfectly, and heās often funny so much that I love every second I see him.
So Iām guessing you donāt like Big Gundown either?
I donāt think the Cuchillo character is so funny, rather very irritating, but I do agree that Milian succeeds in portraying such a character. He is also very successful in the portraying of the antihero in Django Kill but THAT character, and especially the story, mood etc, appeal to my taste so much I rate it 8/10 and in my SW Top 10.
The Big Gundown I also rate that high (8/10 for SW Top 10), IN SPITE of that Cuchillo character but there he is not that pronounced clown IMO, and of course that SW is very good due to other important factors as well for example including other entertaining characters very well played by Lee Van Cleef, Nieves Navarro, and a story more in my taste and,also important, much better Morricone music - one of his best with no āzapataā style but his own type of progressive rock precursor as I like to call it. (a musical genre that was introduced around 1969-1970).
Run Man Run though has some fantastic Morricone themes as well, for example around 32 minutes into my 2 hour DVD (if not Bruno Nicolai has contributed to/with that special piece).
Milianās character in Face To Face, returning to the forum thread topic, is also more appealing to my taste and I donĀ“t question him to be a very skilled actor. I even accept his wig there