The Specialists / Gli specialisti (Sergio Corbucci, 1969)

[Novecento]

@Companero_M

German DVD release of Gli specialisti: Fahrt zur Hölle, ihr Halunken (“Go to Hell, You Scoundrels”), Kinowelt, 2008; running time: 99 min 02 s (PAL), 103 min 10 s (film), 103 min 16 s (NTSC).

That’s the one I have. Is 50s missing then or was the 104mins a generous rounding up?

@The_Man_With_a_Name

It’s a bit muffled now and then but it was fine most of the time. It seems like there was parts of it that had to be cut due to sound problems, so it goes into French for very brief moments and then back to English.

How about the actual dubbing itself - not the audio quality but the quality of the voice actors? I’m assuming the French version has Johnny Halliday’s own voice (I’m not too familiar with what he sounds like in real life)

[stanton]

@Novecento

That’s the one I have. Is 50s missing then or was the 104mins a generous rounding up?

This kind of data is always rounded up.

[Novecento]

Thanks - that’s what I figured.

[JonathanCorbett]

@Novecento

That’s the one I have. Is 50s missing then or was the 104mins a generous rounding up?

99:02 is the French version which - not counting the colourful closing credits (+100 sec) - is 80 seconds shorter than the Italian one (Medusa DVD).

Ten seconds at the very beginning, about sixty seconds showing close-ups of hot-headed crowd towards the end of the film and ten seconds from the butt-naked scene are missing.

[The_Man_With_a_Name]

The dubbing was fine for me.

[Novecento]

@JonathanCorbett

99:02 is the French version which - not counting the colourful closing credits (+100 sec) - is 80 seconds shorter than the Italian one (Medusa DVD).

Ten seconds at the very beginning, about sixty seconds showing close-ups of hot-headed crowd towards the end of the film and ten seconds from the butt-naked scene are missing.

Oh interesting - so the French DVD is cut after all! I’m assuming then also that the German DVD is cut (I vaguely remember reading that they were from the same source)?

[JonathanCorbett]

The German DVD is from a French master.

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@Hud

Maybe this has been discussed before but the English version THE SPECIALIST had cool, colourful end credits (different from the Italian and French releases I’ve seen

@Bill_san_Antonio

Another “alternative ending” is the final scene with ending credits as the version on dvd doesn’t have them.

Now the question is whether these were the original Italian closing credits too.

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@scherpschutter

The italian text says (I only translate the second paragraph, the first one is a description of the film, full of spoilers):
Noteworthy also is a brief presence of Toto, Mario Castellani, in the role of Blackstone’s judge.

Totò’s straight man

straight man

[scherpschutter]

@JonathanCorbett

Totò’s straight man

Thanks. Didn’t know that, the word isn’t in my dictionary
In Dutch we use an odd term for such a straight man: aangever (literally: “the one who offers/hands over” - the idea is that he offers the other the opportunity to be funny)

Term taken from this guy (and his straight face)?

Totò

[stanton]

@JonathanCorbett

@Novecento

That’s the one I have. Is 50s missing then or was the 104mins a generous rounding up?

99:02 is the French version which - not counting the colourful closing credits (+100 sec) - is 80 seconds shorter than the Italian one (Medusa DVD).

Ten seconds at the very beginning, about sixty seconds showing close-ups of hot-headed crowd towards the end of the film and ten seconds from the butt-naked scene are missing.

That’s disappointing.

Are this scenes anywhere in the net?

[JonathanCorbett]

I haven’t found them, in any case

At 1:28:29 (French version runtime) between burning money and watching “hippies” is placed this scene consisting mainly of close-ups of citizens (that Corbucci ironically intended as the Specialists, always ready to be accomplices of lynch rule)

From Database Review:

Who are those specialists? The citizens from Blackstone, specialists in lynching? In the Italian language version there’s a small reference to this idea, Hud referring to the citizens as ‘specialists’.

@furango

When I was syncing the english subs I noticed besides I have to move them 1min aside for the “money burning scene” that I also when the “hippies” starts to shot at Hud and til them say “With his damned jacket…” I have to move the subs again 10sec. Suggesting that they shot at him abit longer on the Mudusa disc than SPO

At 1:33:38 these ten seconds are skipped (pics 2,3 & 4)

The seconds at the beginning (see first pic above) are rather irrelevant, just a slightly different way to start the film.

[Novecento]

@JonathanCorbett

At 1:28:29 (French version runtime) between burning money and watching “hippies” is placed this scene consisting mainly of close-ups of citizens (that Corbucci ironically intended as the Specialists, always ready to be accomplices of lynch rule)

From Database Review:

Who are those specialists? The citizens from Blackstone, specialists in lynching? In the Italian language version there’s a small reference to this idea, Hud referring to the citizens as ‘specialists’.

Thank you so much for posting that!

Is the scene when Hud makes this reference to the citizens as “specialists” the same one that was cut here that focuses on the citizens/specialists? It does seem weird to cut a scene that focuses on them since the film’s name refers to them.

What I still don’t understand is why the name started in the singular as part of a longer name for a Lee Van Cleef vehicle, then stayed in the singular (without the rest of the name) for the French release (Hallyday now playing the LVC role as “The specialist”), but then switched to the plural in the Italian release to refer to the citizens instead of Hud. Perhaps Corbucci just changed his mind along the way and decided it would be a funny twist? Perhaps this also explains why the French release excludes this scene focusing on the citizens?

[JonathanCorbett]

@Novecento

Is the scene when Hud makes this reference to the citizens as “specialists” the same one that was cut here that focuses on the citizens/specialists?

No, the reference is at the end of the first sequence with Hud.

@Novecento

What I still don’t understand is why the name started in the singular as part of a longer name for a Lee Van Cleef vehicle, then stayed in the singular (without the rest of the name) for the French release (Hallyday now playing the LVC role as “The specialist”), but then switched to the plural in the Italian release to refer to the citizens instead of Hud.

However, it must be kept in mind that talking about the origin of Gli specialisti the director did not mention those two previous projects, and in France the movie was released only in April 1970.

@JonathanCorbett

(…) citizens (that Corbucci ironically intended as the Specialists, always ready to be accomplices of lynch rule)

This was the director’s idea (“Gli specialisti is a film against the oppression from rich people”), but evidently the producers didn’t like a ‘decentralized’ title and so Hud, El Diablo and the Sheriff were presented as the Specialists on Italian posters, which makes no sense at all.

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[quote=“furango, post:157, topic:243”]
is cool when you see the rich poeple crying over the money and the poor poeple laughing… better impact why Hud burn it [/quote]

[Novecento]

@JonathanCorbett

However, it must be kept in mind that talking about the origin of Gli specialisti the director did not mention those two previous projects, and in France the movie was released only in April 1970.

Was it Giusti who suggested it might have been a fusion of the two? I’m going to have to look back at some of my Corbucci interviews.

@JonathanCorbett

This was the director’s idea (“Gli specialisti is a film against the oppression from rich people”), but evidently the producers didn’t like a ‘decentralized’ title and so Hud, El Diablo and the Sheriff were presented as the Specialists on Italian posters, which makes no sense at all.

Oh wow - I’d never seen that before! So essentially, even with the name retained in the plural, it still wasn’t used in the intended manner. The more I learn about this (including that whole medieval undertone mentioned above), the more interesting it becomes. This discussion is making me want to re-watch it.

[UglyOne427]

Does Anybody know if this has an english friendly dvd? I’ve seen the trailer and it looked really good, I’m usually in the mood to watch a Corbucci film once a month.

[Bill_san_Antonio]

No, as far as I know. You have to look for fan made versions. I think there’s several, I have english subbed version but there’s also a dubbed version.

[UglyOne427]

@Bill_san_Antonio

No, as far as I know. You have to look for fan made versions. I think there’s several, I have english subbed version but there’s also a dubbed version.

Thank You Sir. Ive checked amazon, ebay, and had no luck. Is your englsh subbed version for sale?

[Bill_san_Antonio]

Dunno, got it in a trade myself.

[stanton]

http://rarelust.com/specialists-1969/

This one has an English version and subs

[UglyOne427]

@stanton

his one has an English version and subs

Thanks. Can’t wait to see this!

[Carlos]

A film that for me is definitely deserving of its Alternative 20 place. I enjoy it more each time I see it. How reliable are the French closing credits, which most databases seem to have used? In the scene where the ‘no goods’ are introduced to the sheriff by ‘Buddy ?’, the other dark haired young man is called Apache, the blond as Rosencranz and the girl as Kit. So something is out of whack here. Who is Cabot? I’m not hearing that name or the gravedigger called Lord (Oscar in English). Perhaps these are in the French version (my French fandub does not have complete French audio)? Romero and the deputy are right but are the others?