Tag Archives: Sergio Leone

Once Upon A Time in the West comes to 4K in May

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The 1969 Sergio Leone film “Once Upon A Time in the West” is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on May 14th via Paramount Presents – as spine number 44 in the series. The movie, co-written by Dario Argento, starred Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, Gabriele Ferzetti, Woody Strode, Keenan Wynn, and Jack Elam.

UPDATE: Tech specs for the release include a 2160p video presentation in Dolby Vision or HDR10 forms of high dynamic range and lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround as well as a Dolby Digital Mono sound mix. This has received a new restoration as noted below (from a product description):

“Restored from the original camera negative by Paramount’s archive team, L’immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation. Special thanks to Martin Scorsese for his consultation on this restoration.”

The release will include both the 4K and Blu-ray Disc counterpart as well as presumably a digital code (copy) of the film – although not yet confirmed. You can find a glimpse at the fold-out poster and packaging below. The 4K UHD Blu-ray is available now for preorder over at Amazon. The bonus materials set to be included are listed below.

  • Commentary by the Hosts of the Spaghetti Western Podcast –NEW!
  • A Look Back with Leonard Maltin—NEW!
  • Commentary with contributions from directors John Carpenter, John Milius & Alex Cox, film historians Sir Christopher Frayling & Dr. Sheldon Hall, and cast and crew
  • An Opera of Violence
  • The Wages of Sin
  • Something To Do With Death
  • Railroad: Revolutionising the West
  • Locations Then & Now (Gallery)
  • Production Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer

1964 Sergio Leone film A Fistful of Dollars on 4K May

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The 1964 spaghetti western “A Fistful of Dollars” is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on May 31st via KL Studio Classics.  The film, directed by Sergio Leone, starred Clint Eastwood and Marianne Koch.

In terms of the 4K restoration, the movie has received “over 24 hours of extensive shot-by-shot color grading of the logarithmic restored 4K files provided by L’Immagine Ritrovata” according to Kino Lorber.  Tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray include a 2160p video presentation (without HDR) and lossless 5.1 and 2.0 Mono on a BD-100 disc.  The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with its Blu-ray Disc counterpart included.  You cannot yet find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon but stay tuned for an update on that.  In the meantime, you can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder directly from Kino Lorber.

The contents of this 2-disc set and bonus materials are listed further below, after the break.

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly finally comes to 4K in April

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The 1966 Sergio Leone directed spaghetti [Italian] western “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on April 27th via KL Studio Classics. The film starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach. The 4K release has been something that KL Studio Classics officially rumored (polled on) since 2017 and it’s now finally becoming a reality. The tech specs for the release include a video presentation in 2.35:1 aspect ratio without HDR (it seems) as well as DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and newly restored DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono sound on a BD-100 (100 gigabytes) UHD Blu-ray Disc. The theatrical cut of the movie has received a 4K scan and color grading, as mentioned below.

“162-Minute Theatrical Cut – Over 30 hours of extensive shot-by-shot color grading and a 4K scan of a 1967 IB tech print as the secondary source to restore the theatrical cut to its original glory.
A) The optical flip ending in Tuco’s neck back around the noose (14 frames)
B) Tuco Shoving the “open/closed” sign into the storekeeper’s mouth (5 seconds, 10 frames)
C) An extreme closeup of Blondie’s eyes shortly before Tuco’s gang comes barging in through the door (1 second, 14 frames)
D) The fade up to Tuco and Blondie riding up to the mission after Tuco forced Blondie to walk through the desert (1 second, 3 frames)
E) The tail end of the shot of the train station (2 seconds, 1 frame)”

You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available to preorder over at Amazon. The full details regarding the bonus materials and contents for this upcoming 4K release of the film can be found below.

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Sergio Leone’s “For A Few Dollars More” 4K restoration on Blu-ray in March

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The 1965 Sergio Leone directed spaghetti western “For A Few Dollars More“ starring Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef has received a new 4K restoration and is coming to Blu-ray Disc on March 26th, 2019 via Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The tech specs for the release include 1080p video with a variety of lossless restored 2.0 Stereo, the original Mono, and 5.1 surround mixes. The upcoming “Special Edition” Blu-ray is available to pre-order now over at Amazon. Bonus materials set to be included on the release are listed below, along with details regarding the release.

  • BRAND NEW 2018 4K RESTORATION
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas
  • NEW On location in Almería and Granada with Filmmaker Alex Cox
  • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Sir Christopher Frayling
  • FAFDM: The Christopher Frayling Archives
  • A New Standard: Frayling on FAFDM
  • Back for More: Clint Eastwood Remembers FAFDM
  • Tre Voci: FAFDM
  • FAFDM: The Original American Release Version
  • Location Comparisons
  • NEW TRAILERS FROM HELL with Ernest Dickerson
  • NEW Promoting FAFDM: Posters & Lobby Cards
  • NEW FAFDM: On the Set
  • NEW FAFDM: Color Stills
  • NEW FOR A FEW Pictures MORE
  • Newly Restored 2.0 Stereo / Original 2.0 Mono / 5.1 Surround
  • 12 Radio Spots
  • Restored UA Logo
  • Double Bill Trailer
  • FAFDM Trailer 1
  • FAFDM Trailer 2
  • A Fistful of Dollars – Trailer
  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Trailer
  • A Fistful of Dynamite – Trailer
  • Death Rides a Horse – Trailer
  • The Mercenary – Trailer