As good as it gets, I think. Sounds a bit hissy during some of the scenes that were reinserted but I donāt think thereās a better release available.
Yeh - way better than the old Japanese DVD which was the best English option until the Explosive release
I wonder if they used the same source that Cultcine used. My first copy was hissy throughout the entirety of the run time. He later emailed me saying he got a cut version on vhs and used a majority of that, the cut scenes remained hissy, but most of it sounded great. Not sure if it was uncut or not as far as the entire run time. I read in another thread that the Explosive Media release had missing scenes, but read elsewhere it was uncut and dipped into Italian every once and a while.
So is the Explosive blu ray currently the best version available of this film? I am currently going through my collection and getting rid of stuff I donāt need to keep any more, also why Iāve been posting screen comparisons of films, and Iām trying to wrap my head around all the different version of this title.
Seems several of the good quality blus are cut versionsā¦ which is the best full version of the film?
I canāt say itās the absolute best version with certainty but Iāve watched Face to Face via a bootleg years ago (I think it was the now defunct CultCIneās version), the Explosive DVD and the Explosive Blu and itās definetely the best version Iāve seen so far. Iām pretty sure itās the full version as well.
1 Like
Thanks, Bill. I have the Explosive DVD and was trying to figure out what the best blu isā¦ also wondering what the chances are of new blus appearing soon since this film is constantly being re-released. Iām in the US and the KL blu seems to be cut
Explosive is the way to go.
Unearthed @lordradish 's review
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.
2 Likes
Interesting comparison! Welcome back autephex!
1 Like
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.
12 Likes
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).
1 Like
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.
1 Like
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.
4 Likes