I am trying to decide between the recent Kino Lorber 4K restoration with all the new English-friendly extras or the 10 years older Ripley’s Italian disc which I could get from the UK and some people say is better but the extras aren’t English-friendly. Any advice or assistance would be greatly appreciated! 
Note: I already have the 2010 MGM disc but have been told it is not all that good in the past here on SWDb.
Ripley:
Kino:
The Kino doesn’t look like that all the time, but nobody can convince me it is correct. 
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Thanks, Sundance. It is not letting me view the KL screencap you posted for some reason. 
Sorry about that. I guess the site had some protection for linking. It should work now.
I went to see a screening at the cinema the other day and it looked similar to the Kino Blu-ray, which was a bit disappointing. At least it had the original mono track. My preferred version is Ripley’s. I have the DVD but I’m going to update to the Blu-ray eventually.
This guy kind of has me leaning towards Kino… https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/73105/fistful-of-dollars/
someone told me the original italian trilogy is supposed to have that yellow tint… that’s what Leone wanted.
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That’s what I read as well, then I look at forums and see people calling it “piss”…
I don’t own the KL one to compare, but the Ripley’s blu-ray is excellent.
I’ve heard that the Ripley version is the de facto way to go. But you better have the proper region player.
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It was my general understanding up to this point that the Ripley’s disc was blu-ray region free.
You’re right my man. My mistake.
Having seen the ‘Dollar Trilogy’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ in 35mm cinema presentations, just under 20 years ago, I can confirm there was no yellow tint on these prints. They looked like classic technicolor prints, quite dense and vivid, with a little grain evident.
I’ve a good memory for these things … anyone else remember how grainy ‘Star Wars’ was, before Lucas started tampering with it ? The desert scenes with optical wipes were really fuzzy also, almost like 16mm.
It’s quite possible that Leone could have discussed this post production printing, but presumably there would be laboratory records regarding any prints struck this way.
Trying to guess what a director may have wanted is rather pointless - maybe it was said in passing, as a whim after seeing ‘Heaven’s Gate’, who knows ?
For me it’s a bad idea to start monkeying around with colour after all these years, and the non tinted version looks much more accurate to what we’ve all seen for 50 years.
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Ripley actually wrote about their restoration in 2014.
Some quotes regarding the colors:
“After painstaking technical work and countless tests, an almost completely faithful reproduction of the photographic and sound quality of the film could be achieved. Particularly, it was possible to saturate the vibrant colors of the film, once again offering the public the original photographic beauty.”
“…with the use of negative and positive experimental films that made it possible to saturate and virtually faithfully reproduce the charm of the original colors of the copies printed and distributed in 1964, especially the reds and blacks.”
Ritrovata did write an answer (in Italian only) but as far as I can see just trying to justify their decision to make a new restoration and not commenting on the colors at all.
http://corrieredibologna.corriere.it/bologna/notizie/cultura/2014/22-maggio-2014/per-pugno-dollari-restauro-che-divide-cannes-223263958208.shtml
Some discussion:
And here’s a nice comparison from that discussion:
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Seems to be a lot of frame info missing on the MGM version … fringes of the poncho and the two buildings extreme right and left. 
Edit: At 1:04
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Seems MGM have the most yellowish GBU blu-ray, and the least yellowish FoD blu-ray.
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I don’t like the yellow version either… it’s a little weird and feels too much unatural.
I will try to get my hands on that Ripley version… seems to be the ultimate version 
I just ran the RHV alongside the MGM (two players connected to video projector) and the superior quality of the Italian blu is striking. Not surprising, as the MGM was from inferior sources.
I’ve not yet viewed Kino’s 4k scan of the negative (have temporarily mislaid that disc) but, judging by those screen captures, the colour grading will undermine any improvements in definition.
Review of best Leone releases as of 2017: https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/sergio-leone-blu-ray-thread.325032/
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Does the Ripley’s disc let you choose your language for the menu functions when you pop it in or do you have to learn some Italian? I am leaning towards Ripley’s now after the overwhelming amount of positive feedback for that one…and it also works for me because I can get it for less than the Kino.
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The Ripley version is around 10 seconds shorter than the MGM print… I heard about some “Cave scene” that was originaly cut by Leone but later re-inserted. I’m not an expert on this so…