Dining On Blu-Ray Italian

60/70's Spaghetti Reheated For High-Def

It was spaghetti weekend at Greenbriar, an occasion sometimes for overeating, but I stopped after two lately released on Blu-Ray, The Big Gundown and My Name Is Nobody. Such was part-parcel of seemingly every week at the Liberty during the late 60's. Between stubble of these and biker pics played non-stop, you could go a month without seeing a clean-shaved face. After the Eastwood/Leones broke out, everyone began releasing Spaghettis, but imitators had not Clint or Sergio, so outcome varied. Lee Van Cleef clicking as Eastwood's friendly, then not-so-friendly, enemy from two Dollar purchases made it a cinch he'd be along in vehicles VC-customized, thus Death Rides A Horse, one or two Sabatas, and long unseen The Big Gundown, which Columbia released here after not-so-judicious cutting. I saw Gundown thus in 1968 and even reviewed it for local press, a job unwisely handed me at age fourteen that lasted for two of the godawfulest movie years a boy could sit through.

Columbia Maintains Lead In Ugly Lobby Card Category

I called The Big Gundown "surprisingly good" at the time, and in context of pretend Eastwoods, it was and remains so. There are two Blu-Rays now in circulation, one from Europe, the other generated here by Grindhouse Releasing. They both have alternate US/Euro versions. I watched the Grindhouse American one with Euro stuff put back in where possible (Italian-dialogue-only kept some of footage out). I get an impression that not many saw The Big Gundown when new, a lot of places getting it at drive-ins or no spot where reasonable comfort could be had. The Liberty, however, kept a big tent for everything no matter how raffish, so we had The Big Gundown for three days same as The Sound Of Music or Gone With The Wind on reissue. It's nice to see discard shows like The Big Gundown brought back on terms more favorable than what was accorded by original release, this a worthy western that Grindhouse has done honor by.

My Name Is Nobody has epic aspiration but goes on long. Sergio Leone had creative input of a sort that others will be more conversant on than myself. A lot of situations look as though Leone had a hand in. Henry Fonda, second-billed to Terence Hill, is the west's fastest gun who'd like to retire, but funnyman Hill of breakout Trinity westerns won't let him. A word about the Trinitys: I don't see anyone restoring them, but these things were massive hits on NC repeat basis, first as singles, then combined to always full-housing. TV spots for them became familiar as test patterns. Terence Hill drawing on guys, slapping them, drawing again, another slap, and so on --- doggone funniest thing since Frog Milhouse rode in on his ring-eyed mule. My Name Is Nobody disappointed locally for Trinity pal Bud Spencer being replaced by Fonda, surely an unkindest cut of all to the veteran actor. Nobody was made after spaghettis gave up being serious. Fast draws of the Euro-west would cede to further east reps of unreality, thus chopsocky popularized by Bruce Lee, another whose brand couldn't be duplicated by copyists.