Review: Blood Money – Four Western Classics Vol. 2

Blu-ray: Blood Money – Four Western Classics Vol. 2

• $10,000 for a Massacre

• Vengeance is Mine

• Find A Place to Die

• Matalo!

What’s this!?
Arrow releasing a box set of Spaghetti westerns we haven’t seen before! BOOM!

And what’s that?! Film 1  – 10,000 dollars for a Massacre is sort of …Django? Well actually is IS Django.

Django only chases criminals with bounties of $10,000. Any less and they’re too easy for him to capture. He’s asked to find Bandito Manuel Vasquez (Claudio Camaso) who’s kidnapped a local businessman’s daughter, get her back, get a bounty. However, when Django meets Manuel, he agrees to join him robbing a coach filled with gold for one last big payoff, then he can move to the city with his ‘tart with a heart’ girlfriend Mijanou (Loredana Nusciak).

The 2 men, Django and Manuel, aren’t as opposite (or even the goodie and the baddie) as you’d think, in fact you could seven say this has a certain homoerotic vibe to it, with Django teasing Manuel into killing a man to  increase his bounty is quite.. ‘tense’.

You never know if Django is playing Manuel along to get the kidnapped girl back, or if he’s truly evil and into the money – you’ll have to watch to find out!

Vengeance is Mine

Gianni Garko is back as John Forest, a bounty hunter with a past that includes spending 10 years in prison for a murdering his father. But he didn’t do it, his jealous psycho brother Clint (Claudio Camaso) did, and he vows to make him pay.

Riding through town, John notices a poster offering a $6,000 reward for none other than his brother Clint … he’s robbed a stagecoach of its gold with his 2 mates. John wants revenge AND to collect that reward, but the dying wish of his mother is that Clint be brought to justice but not killed, and that if gunfire is exchanged between the brothers, that John must not fire the first shot.

It’s obvious both men are tortured souls. Clint has transformed from a well-off young man to a money-hungry killer, while John, once a convict, is offered a second chance at a happy life with girlfriend Annie (Claudie Lange) and her young son. Will John kill Clint? Will he find the happiness he deserves?

The first 2 films in this set are really excellent

Find A Place to Die

Unusually starring  Jeffrey Hunter (Captain Pike in Star Trek) as a ex-confederate soldier down on his luck in Mexico, asked to help Lisa Martin (Pascale Petit) save her husband Paul who’s stuck under a truck outside their goldmine miles away after a shootout with evil bandito Chato. The weakest and most slow-paced of the 4 films, it follows all the usual tropes; Gold, evilness, gunfights, bright red blood, vistas…with the added bonus of Pascal’s boobs.

Matalo!

Opening with a blurry shot of an outlaw as he is led to a hangman’s noose, he is rescued just in time by a band of Mexican bandits who more or less kill the whole town. Once they’ve escaped, and the convict hands over payment for his saving, he shoots everyone and retrieves the gold. All this has the most amazing soundtrack, late 60’s rock guitar which really ‘goes’ with the story.

The criminal – Burt (Corrado Pani) meets up with his gang in a ghost town and plans, and robs, a stagecoach. They are joined there by one of the partner’s girlfriend and it’s pretty obvious she’s slept with all of them and continues to play each man off each other. Her boyfriend hides the money which sets in motion a story of weird old women and cowboys with…Boomerangs.

Very much a film of its time, but with a great central performance by Pani and an interesting storyline, this concludes a really great set of films from Arrow. They all look fab and the extras are brilliant. Particularly the introductions to each film by journalist and critic Fabio Melelli, who not only gives you a history of the film, but also the actors and makes a great ‘base’ before viewing.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentations of all four films
• Brand new 2K restorations of all four films from the original 35mm camera negatives by Arrow Films
• Original Italian and English front and end titles
• Restored lossless original Italian and English soundtracks
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
• Brand new introductions to each film by journalist and critic Fabio Melelli
• Galleries for all four films
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by author and critic Howard Hughes
• Fold-out double-sided poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original artwork and a slipcover featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

DISC 1 – $10,000 BLOOD MONEY

• Brand new audio commentary by author and film historian Lee Broughton
• Tears of Django – newly edited featurette with archival interviews with director Romolo Guerrieri and actor Gianni Garko
• The Producer Who Didn’t Like Western Movies – brand new interview with producer Mino Loy
• How the West Was Won – brand new interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
• Theatrical trailer

DISC 2 – VENGEANCE IS MINE

• Brand new audio commentary by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
• Cain and Abel – newly edited featurette with archival interviews with actor Gianni Garko and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
• In Conversation with Nora Orlandi – newly edited archival interview with the film’s iconic composer
• Movie After Movie – brand new interview with producer Mino Loy
• Theatrical trailer

DISC 3 – FIND A PLACE TO DIE

• Brand new audio commentary by author and critic Howard Hughes
• Sons of Leone – newly edited archival interview with director Giuliano Carnimeo
• Traditional Figure – brand new, in-depth appreciation of the soundtrack and its composer, Gianni Ferrio, by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon

DISC 4 – MATALO! (KILL HIM)

• Brand new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• A Milanese Story – brand new, in-depth interview with filmmaker Davide Pulici, discussing the career of Matalo! director Cesare Canevari
• Untold Icon – brand new, in-depth appreciation of the soundtrack and its composer, Mario Migliardi, by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
• Theatrical trailer

Released 24th July 2023.

Review by Tina from discs kindly supplied by Arrow Films via Fetch Publicity.