‘COMPANEROS’ ON BLU-RAY OCT. 28TH!
DJANGO’s star Franco Nero, and director Sergio
Corbucci, reteamed in 1970 for COMPANEROS, one of the most enjoyable of the
later Spaghetti Westerns, and BLUE UNDERGROUND’s stunning Blu-Ray edition will
be available October 28th. And
in the interest of full disclosure, C. Courtney Joyner and myself do the audio
commentary.
As Corbucci famously said, “Ford has John Wayne, Leone
has Clint Eastwood, and I have Franco Nero,” and all of their collaborations
are wonderful, imaginative exercises in filmmaking, the in-between one being
THE MERCENARY. COMPANEROS is full of
action and humor, and concerns the Mexican Revolution, and the different
motivations of the many characters on the same and on opposite sides of the
fight. The excellent cast includes Tomas
Milian as an oaf who has revolutionary greatness thrust upon him, and may or
may not be up to it; Jack Palance as the hired gun determined to stop them;
Fernando Rey as the professor who inspires the rebels; stunning German actress
Iris Berben embodying the spirit of the uprising – and representing the German
financial stake in the film; and Franco Nero as the mercenary gun-dealer who
cares only for money when the story starts.
The BLUE UNDERGROUND version has several additional minutes of footage
in the opening scenes which makes the movie much more logical than when it was first
released in American theatres.
The score by Ennio Morricone features a theme that
is not only stirring, but remarkably blood-thirsty when you get the
translation. The dazzling cinematography
is by Alejandro Ulloa, who also photographed Corbucci’s THE MERCENARY, SONNY
AND JED, and WHAT AM I DOIING IN THE REVOLUTION. The two-disc set from BLUE UNDERGROUND
includes a DVD with the film in English, an international trailer, talent bios,
and a 17 minute documentary, IN THE COMPANY OF COMPANEROS, featuring interviews
with Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, and composer Ennio Morricone. The Blu-Ray disc includes both the 114 minute
English-language version and the Italian 119 minute version (with optional
subtitles), everything on the DVD, Court’s and my commentary, more trailers –
amazing how different each is from the next – and a poster and still gallery. Click HERE to go to the BLUE UNDERGROUND site
and see the trailer.
COWBOY LUNCH @ THE AUTRY HONORS HAL NEEDHAM!
At the moment, Rob Word is at The Lone Pine Film Festival, sharing his Western knowledge and
moderating panels amidst the iconic western movie locations like the Alabama
Hills; but come Wednesday at 12:30 he’ll be at the Autry discussing a western
icon of the human kind, legendary stuntman Hal Needham.
Needham, who died in October of 2013, earlier in
that year received an Academy Award in recognition of his work as a stuntman
and stunt coordinator. He broke fifty-six
bones doubling for actors like Kent Taylor in ZORRO, Clint Eastwood in RAWHIDE,
Richard Boone in HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, Burt Reynolds in GUNSMOKE, and a hundred
other actors in a hundred other shows.
He shared a technical Oscar for development of the Shot-maker Elite Camera-car and Crane. And he directed twenty movies, including
HOOPER, the best, and funniest, movie ever made about stuntmen.
Lunch comes first, after which Rob will lead his ‘A
Word on Westerns’, with friends and coworkers of Needham’s reminiscing about
his magnificent career. These
third-Wednesday-of-the-month luncheons are always delightful and informative –
and absolutely packed – so get there early if you want a seat inside! You buy your own lunch, but the event is
free! Below are a pair of clips from two of Rob’s recent
luncheons to give you a taste!
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH JOINS ‘HATEFUL 8’ CAST
The role in Quentin Tarantino’s next Western, which
was played in the staged reading by Amber Tamblyn, will be portrayed on-screen
by Jennifer Jason Leigh. (You can read
Andrew Ferrell’s report on the staged reading HERE) She joins a cast which includes Kurt Russell,
Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Dern, Michael Madsen, Viggo Mortenson, Tim Roth, Walter Goggins
and James Remar.
AND THAT’S A WRAP!
On Friday night I had the pleasure of visiting the
set of Kurt Russell’s first western since TOMBSTONE, BONE TOMAHAWK! I’ll have more about that soon in the
Round-up! Have a great week!
Happy Trails,
Henry
All Original Contents Copyright October 2014 by
Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved
Kurt Russell? I am so there. And great clip on The Shootist. Sorry to hear it was difficult behind the scenes. John Wayne and Don Siegel are superstars to me.
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