GRINDHOUSE RELEASES ‘THE BIG GUNDOWN’ TUESDAY!

(Updated 12/12/2013 -- see SHANE story)

Grindhouse Releasing will release their new beautiful Blu-Ray edition of THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966), directed by Sergio Solima, and starring Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian, on Tuesday, December 10^th.  Lee is a lawman-for-hire who agrees to track down a child-killer, Tomas, but of course, things are not as ‘black & white’ as they are first presented. Scripted by Sergio Donati and Solima, GUNDOWN is considered a high point in the careers of all four men; it is one of the finest of Spaghetti Westerns, and will finally be shown in its complete length for the first time in the United States.  The 4-disc set consists of a Blu-Ray of the expanded 95 minute U.S. cut, featuring three new scenes; a DVD version of the U.S. 95 minutes cut; a DVD of the 110 minute director’s cut of LA RESA DEI CONTI, the original title, in Italian, with English subtitles; and a music CD featuring the marvelous score by Ennio Morricone!  There’s even a companion booklet with liner notes by Joyner, and by Euro-music expert Gergley Hubai. 

Court, Bob Murawski and me

There are other special features, including interviews with Sergio Solima, Tomas Milian, and Sergio Donati, and I had the pleasure of doing audio commentary on GUNDOWN with fellow Western writer and film historian C. Courtney Joyner (keep an eye out for his new Western novel, SHOTGUN), under the direction of Oscar-winning editor Bob Murawski (you can read about that adventure HERE  ), and I’m as eager to see the finished product as anyone else.

GET A GREAT TAX DEDUCTION, AND ‘TREASURES 5 – THE WEST’

As 2013 comes to a close, many of us are looking for a way to do good, and to save on our income taxes.  If you liked the sound of ‘TREASURES 5 – THE WEST’, which I reviewed in last week’s Round-up (if you missed it, HERE is the link ) from the National Film Preservation Foundation, you can contribute to the important mission  of film preservation, and get yourself this wonderful video set, or a different set.  The NFPF is a non-profit public charity, affiliated with the Library of Congress, and for a contribution of $200 or more, you can have your well-deserved tax deduction, and the set of discs of your choice.  For details, visit this site: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1397805

ROUND-UP’ ON THE AIR AND ‘AROUND THE BARN’ ON SAT. DEC 14TH!

Bobbi Jean with her commendation from the L.A. County

Board of Supervisors

On Saturday, December 14th, I will be a guest of Nancy Pitchford-Zhe and Bobbi Jean Bell on their Saturday morning show on  KHTS AM 1220, ‘Around The Barn.’  Heard every Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m., they discuss western culture, music and lifestyle.  Nancy is the founder and director of Heads Up Therapy on Horseback, and Bobbi Jean is the lady behind the Outwest Western Boutique and Cultural Center in Santa Clarita:http://www.outwestmktg.com/ 

The topic for Saturday will be ‘It’s all about Gene Autry!’ and Karla Buhlman, President of Gene Autry Enterprises, and I, will be in-studio guests.  Karla is a very interesting woman (you can read my Round-up interview with her HERE  ) , and it’s perfect timing for me, as on Sunday in the Round-up, I’ll be reviewing the just-issued DVD set, THE COMPLETE GENE AUTRY TV SHOW.  

If you’re not in the immediate listening area for KHTS 1220 AM, you can hear the show on-line starting at 9:00 a.m. at www.hometownstation.com, and if you’d like to call-in with a question, you can do so at 661-298-5487.  And if you want to sleep late on Saturday, you can listen to the podcast later.  You’ll find all of the Around The Barn podcasts HERE http://hometownstation.com/podcasts/around-barn .

DON’T MISS ‘SHANE’ SATURDAY AT THE AUTRY

All year, folks attending the monthly ‘What Is A Western?’screenings at the Autry were asked to vote for their all-time favorite Western with the winner to be screened in December.  The big winner was SHANE (1953), the George Stevens-directed classic based on the novel by Jack Schaefer.  Starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin and Brandon De Wilde, it is one of the most wholly satisfying films in the genre.  Among other memorable performances are the evil Jack Palance, the conflicted Ben Johnson, and the heroic-as-only-a-doomed-little-guy-can-be Elisha Cook Jr.  If you haven’t seen this, in 35mm, on a big screen, you should.  It starts at 1:30 in the Wells Fargo Theatre.  

LOOKIN’ FOR HELP TO FILM ‘NIETZSCHE OUT WEST’!

I’ve had a couple of very interesting emails from a Swedish-born filmmaker named Sven Anders.  He attended the recent Almeria Western Film Festival, where he worked to promote some interest in a Western version of Nietzsche’s ZARATHUSTRA , “an attempt to put some new wine in old boots, if you like,” to be shot on the Western sets in Spain. 

He tells me he pitched the idea to two of the Festival’s guests, Spaghetti Western stars Robert Woods and Nicola Di Gioia, “an idea which went down well with these charming western icons.”  He started a group-funding campaign through Indigogo, but has had, frankly, not much of a response.  He asked me to share his proposal with the Round-up readers, and I am doing so.  See what you think:  http://indiegogo.com/projects/el-encendero

DON’T FORGET THE BEST WESTERN CALENDAR I’VE EVER SEEN!

Just a little reminder that if you’re Christmas-shopping for someone with a sagebrush-and-pulp frame of mind, you should check out the beautiful Vintage Westerns calendar from the folks at Asgard Press (if you missed my review, HERE is the link). And don’t forget the 10% discount on any calendar for Round-up readers.  Here’s the link:  http://www.asgardpress.com/?promocode=HWR13

And here’s the promo code: HWR13

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

And speaking of TCM (okay, nobody was), have I mentioned that the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here?








THAT’S A WRAP!

Next Sunday I’ll have my review of the new COMPLETE GENE AUTRY SHOW DVD collection, and a book review or two, among other things.  Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright December 2013 by Parke – All Rights Reserved