Ennio Morricone
(November 10. 1928 – July 6, 2020)
The great composer Ennio Morricone has passed away at 91. Among his many terrific scores was the one for Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966).
Without his music, would spaghetti Westerns have been as impactful as they were?
His work that comes to mind with this news is Mario Bava’s Danger: Diabolik (1967).
Three lurid Mamie Van Doren pictures (did she make any other kind?) in one high-definition package. How cool is that?
The Girl In Black Stockings (1957)
Directed by Howard W. Koch
Starring Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, Mamie Van Doren, John Dehner, Marie Windsor, Stuart Whitman, Dan Blocker
A girl is brutally murdered at a Utah hotel and everybody seems to have some sort of motive. Look at that cast!
Guns, Girls And Gangsters (1959)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Starring Mamie Van Doren, Gerald Mohr, Lee Van Cleef, Paul Fix
Edward L. Cahn directs an armored car robbery picture that has both Mamie Van Doren and Lee Van Cleef in it. How could it miss? It doesn’t.
Vice Raid (1960)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Starring Mame Van Doren, Richard Coogan, Brad Dexter, Carol Nugent
Mamie’s a call girl sent to New York to get an un-corruptible cop in hot water. But when her sister is raped, Mamie has to turn to the framed cop for help.
Due in November, the longest of these movies is 75 minutes. Perfect.
Filed under 1957, 1959, 1960, DVD/Blu-ray News, Edward L. Cahn, Howard W. Koch, Kino Lorber, Lee Van Cleef, Mamie Van Doren, Marie Windsor
A couple months ago, Kino Lorber announced that they were preparing The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1967) for release — a set that would bring the original cut to Blu-Ray (in mono) from 4K. Though it’ll be the umpteenth time I’ve bought this movie on video, I welcome the original cut and audio in hi-def.
Now, they announced that the first two Eastwood/Leone pictures — A Fistful Of Dollars (1964) and For A Few Dollars More (1965) are getting the same treatment and will be coming later this year. They will standalone releases, not a set. I can’t wait.
Filed under Clint Eastwood, Ennio Morricone, Kino Lorber, Lee Van Cleef, Sergio Leone
Directed by Sergio Leone
Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach
Like a lotta folks, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is one of my favorite movies. I could sit down and watch it every day, easy. But I couldn’t stand that restoration from 2004. While it looked terrific (aside from that yellow-ish tint on everything), the reworked surround sound drove me nuts. Unfortunately, that was the version that made its way to Blu-Ray — so I’ve clung to the old MGM pre-2004 DVD.
Sergio Leone directing one of the greatest scenes in cinema history.
I was overjoyed to learn that for the picture’s 50th anniversary, the original version would be given the deluxe 4K treatment — in the original mono! The set from Kino Lorber also gives you the extended version, also in mono. A slew of extra’s, many carried over from the previous editions, will be included. I don’t care how many times you bought this in the past, this is essential. Coming this summer.
Directed by Giulio Petroni
Starring Lee Van Cleef, John Phillip Law
I’m rather picky when it comes to Spaghetti Westerns. While some of them are brilliant, you have to wade through a lot of crap to get to them. Death Rides A Horse (1967) is one of the brilliant ones. Van Cleef is excellent; John Phillip Law was about to make Danger: Diabolik (1968), so he’s at his supercool best; Giulio Petroni is one of the better directors for these things; and this has to be one of Ennio Morricone’s best Western scores.
It’s been available on DVD for ages, often pan-and-scan and looking like crap, so the upcoming Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber is good news indeed. They say to look for it this summer. Highly recommended.
