Big Ben wrote:Cronenfly wrote:This UK release of The Great Silence from Digital Classics has a few extras featuring Alex Cox, is anamorphic, and has English as well as Italian audio, but looks now to be OOP. I've only glanced at my copy, but I think it is a fairly competent release/your best bet (if you can find it affordably) until Arrow or whoever else gives it the deluxe treatment.
It's a bit much for this American to spend right now but I'm pleased that it exists. My hope is that more Corbucci is restored and released in the near future and judging from rapta's comments it doesn't sound all that far-fetched.
rapta said previously that The Great Silence is a bit tied up rights wise which is a damn shame. Does anyone know just
how complicated the rights issues are?
To be fair, I did ask Arrow about 2 or 3 years ago now so things may have changed since then, but it doesn't look great if 88 Films are starting to release Corbucci titles. That said, you could argue if 88 did have it they would've announced it first, before things like The Mercenary and Navajo Joe (the latter especially being a particularly 'lesser' Corbucci). Anyway, besides rights it could be that the materials available are difficult to track down - the film is famously hard to get hold of in any great condition, even now. Hopefully there are enough forces at work to track down elements to get it restored, and they'd be wise to get Alex Cox involved as well (being one of his most favourite films, and knowing so much about the genre in general too).
Have actually been discussing Italian titles over on Blu-ray.com with a few others, and as it stands it looks slightly more likely Arrow may have got Sollima's Death Rides a Horse, which for me would be equally great news (these two films being some of my favourite of the genre outside of Leone's work). Apparently a representative for Kino has been saying somebody else has the US rights to it, and some have been theorising that Arrow might have acquired rights for both territories and have been restoring the film (or waiting on a restoration of it at least). Fran Simeoni of Arrow has said they have 'a staggering amount' of Italian titles coming out next year, and though he doesn't go into specific films or genres, that will certainly mean more gialli, poliziotteschi, and Spaghetti Westerns (and for Academy, hopefully some Petri or more Rosi). Hopefully even a Bava or two as well!