Review: Savage Guns – Four Classic Westerns Vol 3

After watching all the films in the newest Arrow western genre box set, I’m not going to go through each film and talk about the plot etc, but I have to admit that churning out basically what Arrow have concisely written on their website seems…daft.

So: In Paolo Bianchini’s I Want Him Dead (1968), American actor Craig Hill (The Bloodstained Shadow) stars as an ex-Confederate soldier who vows revenge after his sister is raped and murdered, in so doing setting him on a collision course with a dastardly plot to disrupt peace talks between the North and South.

Next, in Edoardo Mulargia’s El Puro (1969 a.k.a. The Reward’s Yours… The Man’s Mine), western icon Robert Woods (My Name is Pecos) gives arguably his greatest performance as a legendary gunfighter forced to emerge from hiding after the bounty hunters on his tail murder the tender-hearted barmaid (Rosalba Neri, Smile Before Death) who offered him a new life.

Then, in Mario Camus’ Wrath of the Wind (1970), genre superstar Terence Hill (They Call Me Trinity) shows his darker side as an assassin who finds his conscience when he and his brother (Mario Pardo, Knife of Ice) are hired by a ruthless landholder (Fernando Rey, The French Connection) to kill the leaders of a growing labour movement.

Finally, Fabio Testi (What Have You Done to Solange?) and Tomas Milian (Don’t Torture a Duckling) star in Lucio Fulci’s Four of the Apocalypse (1975), in which a quartet of misfits go from sharing the same jail cell to embarking on a savage odyssey that will lead to torture, rape and cannibalism (yes really). Preyed upon by a ruthless bandit, the foursome fight for their lives – until the time comes for revenge.

Of course after nicking Arrow’s blurb about each film, what can I say about them all? They all have the usual amazing introduction by by journalist and critic Fabio Melelli, his intro and history and insights into each film are the perfect introduction and really do make the film ‘better’ if that’s possible.

As with the other Arrow western box sets, each film is quirky, unusual and a great watch. In fact and surprisingly, I thought the poorest film in the set was the one starring Terence Hill!

Another great set from Arrow and I’m looking forward to the next one!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all four films
• 2K restorations of all four films from the original 35mm camera negatives, with El Puro newly restored by Arrow Films for this release
• Italian and English front and end titles on all four films
• Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks on all four films
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
• Optional 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
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films 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 – I WANT HIM DEAD

• Brand new audio commentary by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
• The Man Who Hated Violence – brand new interview with director Paolo Bianchini
• Cut and Shot – brand new interview with editor Eugenio Alabiso
• Nico Unchained – archival interview with composer Nico Fidenco
• English theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

DISC 2 – EL PURO

• Two versions of the film: the 98-minute cut, presented in Italian and English, and the longer, 108-minute version, assembled from the original camera negative and an archival print and presented in both Italian and a newly created hybrid English/Italian mix*
• Brand new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• Brand new interview with actor Robert Woods
• Brand new, in-depth appreciation of the soundtrack and its composer, Alessandro Alessandroni, by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon

DISC 3 – WRATH OF THE WIND

• Alternate, 106-minute Spanish-language version of the film, featuring additional and extended scenes not found in the Italian or English versions
• Brand new audio commentary by author and critic Howard Hughes
• The Days of Wrath – brand new interview with camera operator Roberto D’Ettorre Piazzoli
• They Call It… Red Cemetery! – a short film from 2022 by filmmaker Francisco Lacerda, serving as a love letter to the spaghetti western genre
• Alternate “Revenge of Trinity” opening titles, newly restored for this release
• Image gallery

DISC 4 – FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE

• Brand new audio commentary by author and producer Kat Ellinger
• It Takes Four – previously unreleased interview with production manager Roberto Sbarigia
• Brand new, in-depth appreciation of the film by author, critic and Lucio Fulci scholar Stephen Thrower
• Brand new, in-depth appreciation of the soundtrack and its composers, Franco Bixio, Fabio Frizzi and Vince Tempera, by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
• Newly restored theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

* For some scenes and dialogue lines in the long version, the Italian audio is either lost or was never produced. These are presented in Spanish with English subtitles.

Released 19th December.

Review by Tina from discs kindly supplied by Arrow Films.