{"id":27728,"date":"2023-12-24T01:52:44","date_gmt":"2023-12-24T09:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=27728"},"modified":"2023-12-24T01:52:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-24T09:52:44","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-savage-guns-4-classic-westerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=27728","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: SAVAGE GUNS: 4 CLASSIC WESTERNS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray set from Arrow Video is now available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seemingly every Spaghetti Western enthusiast is familiar\nwith Sergio Leone\u2019s \u201cMan with No Name\u201d trilogy starring Clint Eastwood as well\nas the epic masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in the West<\/em>. But this era\nproduced far more titles from Italy and Spain than many would expect. In fact,\nat one point in a commentary track for this Blu-ray set, it is noted that 75\nSpaghetti Westerns were produced in 1968 alone. While many of these films\nweren\u2019t of the highest quality, there were plenty of strong productions that\nsimply had difficulty standing out or finding proper North American\ndistribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Arrow Video package Savage Guns: 4 Classic\nWesterns<\/em> contains a collection of titles that may not be immediately\nfamiliar, but are still solid examples of European-made Old West films. It\ncontains I Want Him Dead<\/em> (1968), El Puro<\/em> (1969) aka The\nReward\u2019s Yours\u2026 The Man\u2019s Mine<\/em>, as well as Wrath of the Wind<\/em> (1970)\naka Trinity Sees Red<\/em> aka The Wind\u2019s Fierce<\/em>, and Four of the\nApocalypse<\/em> (1975). All are interesting and a couple are well above average.\nArrow Video has given them excellent new 2K restorations, with two cuts of two\nof the features, Italian and English audio tracks and tons of bonus features.\nIt was a lot of fun to be introduced to these pictures and learn more about\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I Want Him Dead<\/em> came at the height of the genre\u2019s\npopularity. It\u2019s also the slickest and most impressive movie in the set. The\ntale is set near the end of the Civil War and follows gunslinger Clayton (Craig\nHill), a man who discovers that his sister (Christina Businari) has been\nmurdered by thugs led by Jack Blood (Manuel Mart\u00edn). After finding his\nsibling\u2019s body and hunting for answers in a bar, he gets into an altercation\nwith a customer and kills the person in the process. As it turns out, the man\u2019s\nbrother is the town\u2019s sheriff (Remo De Angelis), who now wants revenge on\nClayton. Along the way, the lead befriends and falls for a woman named Marisol\n(Licia Calderon). As Clayton\u2019s journey unfolds, he also discovers that Blood\nhas been hired by a businessman named Mallek (Andrea Bosic) to interrupt and\ncause chaos during peace talks between the Union and Confederate leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While some elements are familiar, the film is paced like a\nbullet and zips by in a flash. The camerawork is well above average, with some\ncreative shots (the movie begins with Clayton seeing a gunman reflected in his\nmorning coffee) and is expertly edited. This film is also quite violent, adding\na sense of danger to the proceedings. At one point, a moving camera mimics a\nfist driving itself repeatedly into the lead\u2019s face as he receives a beating.\nThere is also a thrilling chase on horseback and the movie culminates in\nseveral exciting shootouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes with a movie expert commentary track, a featurette\nwith an Italian Spaghetti Western historian talking about the films, a\n30-minute interview with the director, a discussion with the editor, an\narchival talk with the movie\u2019s composer, as well as a trailer and still\ngallery. In the director interview, he reminisces on his unusual career, made\nlargely of commercial pictures. He notes that he would have preferred to make\ndifferent kinds of movies, but that the first offer made to him by producers ultimately\ngot him typecast directing these types of projects. The filmmaker also notes\nthat he isn\u2019t a fan of violent stories, but that he and the crew tried to make\nevery element as inventive as they could on their limited budget. Editor\nEugenio Alabiso notes in his interview that he co-edited For a Few Dollars\nMore<\/em> and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly<\/em>, so he knew how to piece\ntogether action scenes in a dynamic manner. The commentary track also notes the\nstylishness of this effort. They also note the title\u2019s interesting message,\nthat the path of vengeance seems to create an unending cycle of killings in\nretribution for the previous deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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El Puro<\/em> is quite as strong, but does have plenty of fun elements. Pictured above, this story features a wanted gunman with a drinking problem named Joe Bishop \u2018El Puro\u2019 (Robert Woods). There\u2019s a bounty on his head, and a team of assassins tracking his movements. Naturally, his alcoholism means that he hasn\u2019t much hope in outrunning his pursuers. However, he makes a friend in a woman named Rosie (Rosabela Neri), who takes him in during a rough spell. When the killers arrive and murder her, El Puro decides to avenge her death and square off against the gang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are two cuts available of this western and the longer\nversion adds an extra 10 minutes to the proceedings. It isn\u2019t a great film (the\nclimax is over far too quickly), but it does offer some nice locations and a\ncouple of interesting story twists. El Puro definitely showcases the main character\u2019s\nunusual, relaxed style during a gunfight. The film\u2019s solid lead performance\nfrom Woods helps tremendously, as does the eccentric cast of the oddball gang,\nsome of whom are playing against type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Blu-ray comes with an informative critic commentary\ntrack as well as another discussion with the Italian Spaghetti Western\nauthority. He lends some insight into the strange story of child actor Giuseppe\nValerio Fioravanti who appears in the movie and later became a terrorist\nresponsible for the deaths of over 80 people. Additionally, there is an\ninterview with American star Woods on his acting career in Europe. The genial\nfigure describes how much fun he had working with the cast and crew. He suggests\nthat on smaller projects, there\u2019s more of a communal feeling with everyone\nworking hard to make the best movie possible. Publicity materials are featured\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Speaking of communities standing as one, Wrath of the Wind<\/em> (pictured above) is a unique effort that adds socio-political elements to its story. In fact, the movie barely qualifies as a western. The story is set in the early 20th<\/sup> century and follows Marco (Terrence Hill) and Jacobo (Mario Pardo), two hitmen. They are hired by a wealthy farmer to assassinate a figure who is inciting rebellion among local workers. These cold-blooded killers initially do what they\u2019re told, but soon begin to regret their decision after spending time with struggling, abused peasants like Soledad (Maria Grazia Buccella). By the end of the film, Marco ends up facing off against a sinister landowner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie contains very interesting scenery that includes as\nmuch marsh as desert. It gives the final product a grimy, authentic feel.\nDuring this period, starring actor Hill was also on the verge of becoming\nfamous in Europe and he gives a convincing portrayal of a stone-cold killer who\nbegins to have a change of heart. The climax is particularly striking as the\nlead confronts one of the villains with a horrific delivery, as is the traincar\nfinale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two versions of this feature on the Blu-ray, the\nlonger of which featuring a lengthier opening and some other extended scenes.\nThe disc features a film historian interview and a separate movie expert\ncommentary. Both note that the co-production between Italy and Spain was made\nduring the rule of dictator Francisco Franco and that it subtly tries to\ninspire resistance against the horrific ruler of the country. Bizarrely enough,\nthe movie was marketed as a comedy for its release in some European markets.\nThe disc also features an interview with the camera operator, alternate titles\nand an image gallery. And, there is a fun 2022 short film about a showdown in a\ncemetery that is inspired by Spaghetti Westerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth Blu-ray contains Four of the Apocalypse<\/em>, a\nwestern from horror legend Lucio Fulci (Zombie, City of the Living Dead, The\nBeyond, House by the Cemetery<\/em>). This title came in 1975, near the end of\nthe Spaghetti Western period. Inspired by gritty new westerns like McCabe\nand Mrs. Miller<\/em>, it follows gambler Stubby Preston (Fabio Testi) as he\nattempts to make a new start in Utah. After a major setback, he is forced to\nteam with pregnant prostitute Bunny (Lynne Frederick), a black man named Bud\n(Harry Biard), and the alcoholic Ben (Michael J. Pollard).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They try to endure harsh conditions together, but meet with\nterrible problems at every turn. At one point, a Charlies Manson-like figure\nnamed Chaco (Tomas Milian) joins them, but he turns out to be a violent\npsychopath. The group are drugged and experience strange hallucinations as\nwell. They eventually escape from Chaco, but tragic experiences continue for\nthe foursome and several meet a nasty end in this very harsh and unforgiving\nworld. Stubby eventually crosses paths with Chaco once again and the two battle\nto the death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The cast are excellent and the movie is very skilled at\nshowing just how brutal life was for those moving to the west. There are plenty\nof Fulci touches, like gauzy lighting, the use of close-ups as well as\nwince-inducingly violent scenes. The drug scenes also have a surreal,\npsychedelic quality. All of this will feel familiar to horror fans who enjoy\nthe director\u2019s later work. It seems that the filmmaker was really gearing up to\nswitch genres at this point in his career (Zombie<\/em> aka Zombi 2<\/em>\nwould follow only a few years after this production).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This title comes with the same kind of features as the\nprevious disc, including a movie expert commentary, a featurette with a Fulci\nexpert and another on the score and its composers, an interview with the\nproduction manager and publicity materials. The general consensus is that this\npicture was the strongest of Fulci\u2019s westerns projects and that he was likely\ninspired by the story\u2019s harshness. Those who worked with him on it note that he\nwas having a good time and was even amused at shooting some of the nastier,\nmake-up intensive moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the bonuses are interesting and show how the\nmoviemaker was already very skilled at this point in his career. One can also\nsee that he honed certain elements that would later be used in a different\ngenre. It\u2019s a fascinating effort that will be of as much appeal to horror\nenthusiasts as to western fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Savage Guns: 4 Classic Westerns <\/em>is a\ngreat package that presents hard-to-find titles with great picture upgrades and\ntons of bonus materials. There are a couple of really effective efforts in this\nset, and the others are just as interesting even if they are quite as strong.\nAll of the movies were new to this reviewer and I\u2019m very glad that I had the\nchance to catch up with them. If it sounds like your cup of team or if you\u2019re\neven just a Fulci completist, then this set is definitely well worth picking\nup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray set from Arrow Video is now available for purchase. Seemingly every Spaghetti Western enthusiast is familiar with Sergio Leone\u2019s \u201cMan with No Name\u201d trilogy starring Clint Eastwood as well as the epic masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in the West. But this era produced far more titles from Italy and Spain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":27734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[98,99,100,106,1836,3067,3073,3365,6781,7255,7779,9580,10042,12758,17711,17712,18787,18788,24510],"class_list":["post-27728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-98","tag-99","tag-100","tag-106","tag-arrow-video","tag-blu-ray","tag-blu-ray-review","tag-box-set","tag-el-puro","tag-fabio-testi","tag-four-of-the-apocalypse","tag-i-want-him-dead","tag-italy","tag-lucio-fulci","tag-savage-guns","tag-savage-guns-4-classic-westerns","tag-spaghetti-westerns","tag-spain","tag-wrath-of-the-wind"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27728\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}