Italian war movies aka Macaroni Combat

I think it is there under a different title, but I don’t think it’s a high quality release

https://www.amazon.de/Sturm-Feuervögel-Ivan-Rassimov/dp/B003WM7XJY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1492542684&sr=1-1&keywords=dreckige+teufel&linkCode=ll1&tag=italowestern-21&linkId=92faeebab30fb77d7c04e8fd8522f1d7

Used to occasion to give it a profile in the GCDb The Seven Red Berets - The Grindhouse Cinema Database

Thanks. Looks like it will be tough to find. I have two widescreen VHS copies that are very good condition.

Never heard of that one. It’s available on You Tube and Dailymotion, not very good quality though

I wonder how many of these Macaroni Combat movies were made. They were not as popular as the spaghetti western, but they were shown regularly in Dutch cinemas when I was young, so I guess there must be at least some 60-80 of them.

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I’d definitely be interested in compiling an ultimate overview, e.g. in the GCDb, or I am sure somewhere someone has done that work already. There’s also a book if I am not mistaken

I’ll do some research on the net tomorrow. If there’s a book like Giusti’s book on SWs I’d certainly be interested.

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There is an english fandub from a Czech DVDRip on CG, but the quality is not that great as you can see here.

Not much better than the upload on You Tube. The source might be the same

My VHS looks better than that. I ordered Desert Commandos today but I doubt the quality will be any good. I just want to get all available DVD releases for these films.

I bought this 6-movie blu-ray set some time ago. 5 Italian combat movies and The Wild Geese:

https://www.amazon.de/Ultimate-Mercenary-Collection-Uncut-Blu-ray/dp/B00OHKHLRE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=italowestern-21&linkId=25e85de58a47c0b72fc163a7fd958342

If you want quality it seems bizarre limiting yourself to a lesser format like dvd, but we’ve been there before :slight_smile:

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I do have a Blu-ray player now since there were certain films I wanted that I couldn’t get on DVD. So far the Blu-rays have been a mixed bag like DVD. Depends on the transfer.
Looks like a nice set but there’s quite a few releases of those movies. I’m looking for the WW2 ones mostly.

Eh. No. On dvd maybe but not on blu-ray. It really is a nice set and even on the worst of days most blu-rays are superior to the dvd releases. It’s your funeral though :slight_smile:

Actually, quite a few of them already got Blu-ray releases but I don’t think DVDs looks as bad as you think. There’s many films I have on DVD and I don’t feel the need to upgrade. Of course, if there’s any Blu-rays available of the films I’m looking for, I’ll purchase them. I found another budget DVD of From Hell to Victory. Doubt the picture quality will be any good though.

I can only find blu-ray releases for The Wild Geese and The Commander (cut on Arrow blu-ray) but the places I check aren’t fail-proof of course :slight_smile:

And you misunderstand, I don’t think dvds look bad, I still pick up dvds when I have to, I’m just saying that their blu-ray counterparts usually (not always mind you) look a lot better. That is also why I’m frustrated when a company performs an ultra-deluxe 4K restoration and someone asks if it will be on dvd as well :slight_smile:

There are exceptions. I bought some Bruce Lee Blu-rays and they should have called them BLUE-rays. The Big Boss, Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon all had a horrible blue filter on the prints and looked far worse than my DVDs. The only improvement was the Game of Death Blu-ray, which was better looking than the DVD.

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Ok way of topic guys :wink:

As for the list Simon posted, that’s really useful. I’ll use that to fill the gaps at the GCDb together with Peter

Working already on my first Macaroni review for the GCDb
I’ll concentrate on those movies that have not been reviewed yet

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I haven’t seen Battle Force but I didn’t know Umberto Lenzi could direct such a boring movie as From Hell to Victory, probably the only 70s film of his that I didn’t like… the region 4 DVD looks good though

I’ve always been looking for Macaroni Combat films and, as others have mentioned here, the two Severin releases of The Inglorious Bastards and Eagles Over London are the best you can get. Both are available on Blu Ray, however the IB collector’s edition DVD set had a CD with what’s left of the soundtrack.

As for everything else, here’s what I’ve got that hasn’t been mentioned:
The Battle of El Alamein - This is the DVD I have. I picked it up because as far as I know it’s the only version in widescreen. Letterboxed, but 2.35:1 nonetheless.

Commandos - Lots of different versions, from what I can tell the St. Claire Vision is the longest American release, but there’s still footage that’s exclusive to the German print. A composite would be your best bet with this one.

Last Days of Mussolini - More of a war drama than an action focused film, so no surprise it’s been overlooked, but it was released by the now-defunct NoShame US label on DVD. Their releases market a bit high now, considering they’re all OOP.

Probability Zero & Sullivan’s Marauders - This double feature was released by Code Red and as such is only readily available at their site, when Bill (the label owner) gets more in stock. No, these aren’t DVD-r’s, they’re pressed discs, he’s just a small one man operation. I’ve linked the amazon listing, which I think is wildly inflated, along with his storefront. If he’s not got any copies listed, just hop onto the blu-ray.com forums and ask in the Code Red thread. Sullivan’s Marauders is another name for Commando’s, btw, and this is the American theatrical cut on the disc.

Dogs o’ War Collection - I grabbed this set cause most of the films are MC. I don’t remember what, off the top of my head, but it’s a cheap box set so if most of em are VHS rips, I wouldn’t be surprised. 40 bucks is a total ripoff though, so I’d look for the set elsewhere if you want to grab it

https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-OWar-Collection-European-Front/dp/B000MGBSJO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=spaghetti-western-20&linkId=7d2c14c1fe41f87d1f3534e0d396e48d

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Thanks for the list. I ordered a Mill Creek set since it had a few macaroni combat films in. I also got an Australian DVD of the Battle of El Alamein but it’s fullscreen. Still watchable though. The UK DVD of Desert Commandos is terrible quality.