As Tim Lucas says in our FB Group: "I must admit that I never saw THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY on the big screen, yet I could understand when I saw previous frame comparisons why people complained about the yellow bias of the previous release. It was clearly overdone - like suffusing the film with gold when it's about a search for gold. But looking at the comparisons you've posted, I think the desert scenes with the bluer skies look cool when they should look warm, which I think the Kino Lorber color grading presents more successfully, even if it isn't quite what people remember. There is certainly a richness of color in this presentation that I associate with proper Technicolor, which I think looked flatter in earlier DVD releases - like the blue suffusing the exterior when "Bill Carson's" girlfriend gets dropped off the wagon. A number of people are pleased by the mono mix, but I think the 5.1 mix here is pretty spectacular, with the dialogue centrally anchored while the cannon fire and other explosions carry a satisfyingly deep charge." (Thanks Tim!)

The score by the iconic Ennio Morricone (La 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.) and the main theme is probably his most recognizable music.  Both versions are offered in the same 3 audio choices in DTS-HD Master tracks; there is an English 5.1 surround or the option of an English mono track or Italian mono track. All in 16-bit - I would have thought 24-bit was an authoring no-brainer. The score sounds beautiful - very deep. The dialogue syncs have always been noticeable but dialogue is crisp and clear. I only used the English mono - briefly testing the surround and Italian track. There are optional English subtitles on the Region 'A' Blu-ray discs.

Extras are listed above. There are many duplicates from MGM's previous releases (but they are in SD, and show constant jitter but, for me, were fully watchable on my OPPO), and the extended cut has the two, previous, commentaries from Film Historian Richard Schickel and a second by Sir Christopher Frayling. My favorite supplement was the new audio commentary by Tim Lucas on the US Theatrical cut. He's on form again filling the film's running time with endless details on the production, Eastwood, Leone including highly interesting minutia that fans will appreciate. Full value here. There is also alternate and deleted scenes, lengthy galleries, featurettes and documentaries. Plenty to enjoy. The package has a reversible sleeve art (see alternate cover below).

Leone's film, his last collaboration with Eastwood, is a deconstruction of the romanticism of the Old West with unsavory characters and an emphasis on carefree violent personal acts. It' a western classic and it's highly significant to have it transferred in restored 4K with abundant extras and the new Lucas commentary. For pasta-western fans this will be one of the best releases of the year.... for other, simply, essential. Absolutely recommended!

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The Extended Version Collector's Set DVD is simply impressive. Beautifully presented, fat and balanced colours, great 5.1 sound, along with the original 1.0 Italian mono for the purists. Add to that a very insightful commentary. I only all DVDs were presented like this.

A second DVD is full with additional material. Starting with 80-minutes of newly produced documentaries reflection upon the many aspects of this film, it also presents us with 2 deleted scenes, reconstructed as material was damaged or lost.

While the two versions differ 16 minutes 5 seconds, most of the newly inserted material is present on the MGM DVD from 2001 in form of deleted scenes. An example of a deleted scene from the 2001 DVD and its present form on the 2004 DVD is shown above in the menu section. Where the deleted scenes are in Italian, the restored and inserted scenes have been newly dubbed by the actors. It is strange to watch the new version, when one has seen the "original" so many times, and the some of the new scenes do feel abrupt. Personally, I am holding on to my "original" version, as the two versions are so different.

Another significant difference about the 2004 DVD is the frame of the image. While some scenes are cropped up to 4%, some scenes reveals more image than the 2001. So this cropping may be a side effect of some sort of scanning.

* NOTE: The posters are taken from the DVD's poster gallery.

 - Henrik Sylow

From a very cursory glance - the new versions skin tones are VERY red and the older version has a yellowish tinge to the image.

Gary Tooze

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (UPDATE) - Now that I have seen the three-hour film print, I have discovered that the actual film restoration is a true restoration and far, far superior to this DVD set. Though still not a three-strip Technicolor print, the lack of grain, color consistency and lack of redness on the print are impressive. The DVD is a poor representation of how saved and upgraded the film is. If a dye-transfer source could be found, all Sony/MGM would need to do is matrix the print into the three strips if the Technicolor format was revived and use a theoretical old Technicolor print in pristine shape to change and recreate the color. As for the sound, the theater showed it in Dolby SR, but I heard sound and fullness NOT on the DVD's Dolby 5.1 mix, so the sound mix is actually better too. I grossly underestimated how downtraded the DVD set was and now that Sony has delayed the previous DOLLARS films in the U.S. market, they should reissue all three as DTS Superbit Deluxe titles and do the stunning
restoration work proper justice. That should extend to DUCK, YOU SUCKER aka A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE, which they also had saved and fixed. Now I want to see a new print of Paramount's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST to compare!

Nicholas Sheffo from FulvueDrive-In.com