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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(mouse over the image to see the Old UK MGM DVD title)
(aka 'C'era una volta la rivoluzione' or 'Once Upon a Time... the Revolution' or "A Fistful of Dynamite" or "Giù la Testa")
directed by Sergio Leone
Italy 1971
Having already, in Once Upon a Time in the West, taken energetic liberties with the typical (John) Fordian Western, it's not surprising that Leone should have taken a sideswipe at another of the director's stereotypes, the revolutionary Irishman, in the second part of his trilogy of political fables. But the specific IRA background of Coburn's Sean is as ultimately unimportant as the specific Mexican setting: with characteristic flamboyance, Leone is more concerned to build a composite of the all-purpose, all-causes revolutionary 'John Doe' from Sean's informed commitment and the naïve brute force of Steiger's Juan. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: October 29th 1971
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
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We can confirm that the May 2008 - single disc edition released by MGM is an exact duplicated of the first disc from the 2-disc Collector's Edition. Same menus, same extras, same image and audio (same VOB files) |
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Comparison:
MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL vs. MGM (Europe) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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Box Covers |
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Identical to the SE - French and German editions (see comments) available here:
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The NTSC 2-disc Collector's Edition is also available in The Sergio Leone Anthology (A Fistful Of Dollars / For A Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and Duck, You Sucker) | ||||
Distribution |
MGM Region 1 - NTSC |
MGM (UK) Region 2 - PAL |
MGM (Norway) Region 2 - PAL |
Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 2:36:45 | 2:27:30 (4% PAL speedup) | 2:30:25 (4% PAL speedup) | 2:36:56.407 |
Video |
2.35:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.73 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
2.36:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
2.35:1 - 1080P
Dual-layered
Blu-ray
Disc Size: 47,120,466,196 bytesFeature: 39,791,677,440 bytesVideo Bitrate: 27.95 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
MGM (NTSC CE)
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Bitrate:
MGM (UK) (Old)
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Bitrate:
MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) |
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Bitrate:
Blu-ray |
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Audio | English DD 5.1, English (mono), DUBs: French (5.1), Spanish (mono) | English DD 2.0 mono (224 kb/s), French DD 2.0 mono (224 kb/s), German DD 2.0 mono (224 kb/s) |
English DD 5.1 (448 kb/s), Spanish DD 5.1 (448 kb/s), German DD 5.1 (448 kb/s), Polish (Narrated) DD 2.0 stereo (192 kb/s), Audio Commentary DD 2.0 stereo |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1839
kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1839 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /
1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps
2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
Audio Discrepancies |
HERE (OLD) is a nine second long audio clip that
demonstrates the lack of expletive used in dialogue from one
edition to the next.
HERE (SE) is the 2nd. Different music used in the same scenes (2 minutes long) HERE (OLD) and HERE (SE) |
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Subtitles | English (Hoh), Spanish, None | French, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Greek, Finnish, Norwegian, English (Hoh), German (Hoh), None | Croatian, Danish, English (Hoh), Finnish, German (Hoh), Greek, Portuguese, Slovenian, Spanish, None | English (Hoh), None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: MGM (US) Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: June 5th, 2007 Chapters 28 |
Release Information: Studio: MGM (UK) Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: MGM (Norway) Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: Chapters 32 |
Release Information: Disc Size: 47,120,466,196 bytesFeature: 39,791,677,440 bytesVideo Bitrate: 27.95 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
• Audio Commentary by Filmmaker Alex Cox |
Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. There was an MGM Blu-ray that came out in 2014, HERE, but we don't have it to compare. We can't see anywhere that it is a new 4K restoration. This is either the MGM sourced or Italian Masters. This looks darker and more blue-leaning so probably the MGM source - not the earthy Italian.
Kino Classics have given us a big step up from previous
DVD releases. The
dual-layered disc has a decent bitrate for this
157-minute film. Skin tones are suitably warm and detail
advances
compared to previous DVDs. There is some
grain textures in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio frame. This
doesn't have the heavy yellow that the 4K restored
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Kino does.
This looks okay in-motion although flat with no depth -
certainly advancing over SD - tighter, better
contrast... it was not particularly dynamic but I wasn't
distraught with the HD appearance. There were a brief
few 'wow look at that..." moments - usually from
the many close-ups - but they didn't dominate my
viewing. I wouldn't say that there are artifacts but it
can look blotchy when zooming-in. Overall, underwhelming
and we 'd like to compare to another 1080P release.
Kino has given us the option to listen to the film in either 5.1 or
stereo - DTS-HD Master (16-bit). No mono. We are trying to confirm if it
has the censored dialogue of the English.
The score by the iconic
Ennio Morricone (Luna,
A
Bullet for the General,
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!,
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion,
U Turn,
Stay As You Are etc. etc.) doing a wonderful job of setting
a pasta-western tone. It sounds great in the surround with a few
more-subtle separations. Kino add optional English (SDH)
subtitles - see sample below - on their Region 'A'-locked
Kino has provided the same extras previously released on the MGM disc. The only new extras are a commentary track by Alex Cox, a 5 minute "Trailers from Hell" with director Brian Trenchard-Smith, some image galleries and Trailers for 5 Leone westerns. The commentary by Cox is a solid addition, full of interesting tidbits. Though the previous Frayling commentary is also presented here. Though there are some moments of dead-air, it is also a track full of interesting information regarding Leone and the Spaghetti western genre.
Stalwart discerning Leone fans will decry the lack of mono - and the image may not be up to expectations. I suspect this requires a full restoration - which hopefully we can expect forthcoming. The two commentaries and many extras give this value. Great film! Colin Zavitz *** NOTE: Finnur says: "Hi, I did this comparison for you a while back for A Fistful of Dynamite. Since then I got my hands on the NTSC Region 1 Collector's Edition and managed to check the mono soundtrack featured on that edition. I discovered to much grief that it is just a fold-down of the 5.1 track (which, I suspect, is also the case with the other Sergio Leone films in the collection) and retains all the censored dialogue and incorrect music cues!" (Thanks Finnur) ADDITION May 2008 - NOTE: We can confirm that the May 2008 - single disc edition released by MGM is an exact duplicated of the first disc from the 2-disc Collector's Edition. Same menus, same extras, same image and audio (same VOB files). It's a great deal if you don't want the supplements (you still get the commentary). **** ADDITION: NTSC Collector's Edition - Region 1 - May 07': Essentially this is exactly the same as the European Special Edition but has the much desired mono track. It has been transferred (progressively and properly) in NTSC. Extras are exact as well. Differences are in subs (CE is more accurate translation) and dubs but the new CE gets a thumbs up! Good work excepting we are still waiting for the long version. So far the Anthology looks good! I'll leave you with Finnur's comments below. Gary W. Tooze
These two releases are both from MGM
and follow the familiar pattern of that studio's releases: First
a barebones release comes and all the fans buy that, then after
having that on offer for two years a Special Edition comes along
with lots of extras and improved quality and packaging and all
the fans go and buy it again! |
Recommended Reading for Western Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
The Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in
the Hollywood Western (Cinema and Society) by Michael Coyne |
The Invention of the Western Film : A Cultural
History of the Genre's First Half Century (Genres in American Cinema S.) by Scott Simmon |
The Western Genre by John Saunders |
Westerns: Films through History (AFI
Film Readers) by Janet Walker |
The Encyclopedia of Westerns (The Facts on File
Film Reference Library) by Herb Fagen, Tom Selleck |
Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in
Twentieth-Century America by Richard Slotkin |
Rio Bravo (BFI Film Classics)
By Robin Wood |
Red River (Bfi Film Classics) by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues |
Check out more in "The Library"
DVD Menus
MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - Disc 1
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MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - Disc 2
(MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
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Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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Capture of the flashback scene missing from the Original MGM DVD edition:
(MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP vs. MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
1) MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC TOP 2) MGM (Norway) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE 4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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More Blu-ray Captures
Box Covers |
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Identical to the SE - French and German editions (see comments) available here:
|
||
The NTSC 2-disc Collector's Edition is also available in The Sergio Leone Anthology (A Fistful Of Dollars / For A Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and Duck, You Sucker) | ||||
Distribution |
MGM Region 1 - NTSC |
MGM (UK) Region 2 - PAL |
MGM (Norway) Region 2 - PAL |
Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Report Card:
Image: |
Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Blu-ray |
Extras: | Blu-ray |