Django Shoots First 4K (1966)

 

        Studio Canal are releasing director Alberto De Martino’s DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST, one of many Italian westerns to bear the Django name yet having little to do with Sergio Corbucci’s Franco Nero-starring masterpiece of 1966. In fact this was one of the first out of the gate in the wake of the huge success of that film, managing to get released in the same year. And just because it capitalises on Corbucci’s film doesn’t mean it’s without interest, especially if you’re a fan of all things Euro from that period.

Glenn Garvin (Glenn Saxson), known as Django down in Mexico (according to a line of dialogue), meets a bounty hunter on his travels who just happens to have Garvin’s dead father strapped to the back of his horse. Garvin shoots the bounty hunter and decides to claim the reward for himself. However, when he gets to town he learns that his father actually owned half of it, which now naturally falls to Glenn. Also naturally, the owner of the other half, Ken Kluster (Nando Gazzolo) has no intention of letting him have any of it.

Made during the peak period of the Italian western (at least according to Alex Cox in his commentary and he’s probably right), DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST offers plenty for aficionados of the genre - a revenge plot, a town that will be familiar to viewers of DJANGO and THE GREAT SILENCE and many others, sweeping landscape vistas, and a bunch of familiar faces including Erika Blanc (THE DEVIL’S NIGHTMARE) and Fernando Sancho, best known to horror fans as the evil Mayor in Amando De Ossorio’s second Blind Dead film RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD. There are plenty of fights and shootouts, and if you’re a fan of BLAZING SADDLES you might find yourself wondering if Mel Brooks was inspired to make his film by some of the characters and scenes here, especially the final punch up.

Studio Canal’s 4K transfer provides a nice vivid transfer with the option of English and Italian dubs. Extras include the previously mentioned commentary by Alex Cox which is very good, and if you’re new to the genre and want to explore more take note of all the titles Cox throws at you during his talk because they are all worth watching. There are also new interviews with Saxson (16 minutes), Blanc (16 minutes) and co-star Evelyn Stewart (23 minutes). The disc also comes with a 12 page booklet with a new essay from Peter Raleigh.

Alberto De Martino’s DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST is out in 4K from Studio Canal in both UHD and Blu-ray editions, and on Download, on Monday 24th August 2026

The Hellbenders (1967)

"Great Downbeat Western from the Director of DJANGO"

Studio Canal are releasing a 4K restoration on Blu-ray, with extras and a set of art cards, of Sergio Corbucci's THE HELLBENDERS, one of the films he made in between his classic DJANGO (1966) and THE GREAT SILENCE (1968), . 

The American Cilvil War has just ended, but Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotton) and the remains of his regiment of confederate soldiers known as the Hellbenders, is determined to help the South rise again with the aid of the money they steal from their former enemies during a raid and which they store in a coffin they then claim belongs to a confederate captain.

They've even brought along Kitty (Maria Martin) to pretend to be the captain's widow, but when things don't work out and she ends up stabbed by one of Jonas' sons they pick up Claire (Norma Bengell) from a nearby town to play the part. Will they make it back home with the money? Or will one of the numerous hindrances they encounter stop them?

THE HELLBENDERS fits into that transitional period where westerns were becoming bleaker and more brutal but hadn't yet reached the grim depths of movies like Don Medford's THE HUNTING PARTY (1972). The film doesn't suggest you should take any sides, but instead just watch as Colonel Jonas' party tries to get through a post-war landscape with a stack of hidden cash.

An Italian-Spanish co-productions, fans of European cinema of the period will enjoy spotting familiar faces such as Norma Bengell (Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES), Ennio Girolami (TENEBRAE, THE BRONX WARRIORS) and Julio Peña (WEREWOLF SHADOW, HORROR EXPRESS). The music score is by Ennio Morricone (credited as Leo Nichols) and the film is written by Albert Band (ZOLTAN HOUND OF DRACULA ) and Ugo Liberatore (DAMNED IN VENICE). 

Extras on Studio Canal's Blu-ray include a commentary track by cult director (and Italian western expert) Alex Cox who covers much of what is also to be found in Howard Hughes' 20 minute piece on the making of the film and its antecedents. There's a 22 minute interview with assistant director Ruggero Deodato (of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST infamy) from 2021, and a seven minute introduction to the film from French critic Jean-Baptiste Thoret who, as with Cox's commentary, argues that THE HELLBENDERS is the third Corbucci western that could be considered a classic. There are also a couple of trailers and a still gallery.

Sergio Corbucci's THE HELLBENDERS is out in a 4K restoration on Blu-ray from Studio Canal on Monday 6th October 2025

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Arrow have released Sergio Leone's epic, intense conclusion to his 'Dollars' trilogy in a four disc set in both UHD and Blu-ray editions with the versions of the film included being new 4K restorations from the original 2-perf Techniscope negative.

Running close to three hours whichever version you watch (more about that in a minute), THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY essentially has a very simple plot: a cache of stolen gold coins worth $200 000 is buried in a cemetery and three men played by Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach are all after it while doing their best to deter and double cross each other along the way. 

But (and it's a big one), this story is played out against the backdrop of the American Civil War, depicted with the kind of  operatic grandeur and sweeping excess the likes of which we will likely never see filmed in quite this way ever again. Add in a memorable music score by Ennio Morricone (conducted by Bruno Nicolai) and arresting widescreen location photography and it's not surprising this one is so widely regarded as a classic. 

How about horror connections? Well in the cast we have Luigi Pistilli from YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY, TRAGIC CEREMONY and others, Frank Braña from RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD, PIECES and SLUGS, Antonio Casale from AUTOPSY and WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE, and Victor Israel from every Spanish horror film ever (pretty much), while Sergio Salvati (Fulci's DP on THE BEYOND and others) was the assistant cameraman and Mickey Knox (STAGEFRIGHT AQUARIUS) worked on the English translation of the screenplay.

Arrow's set consists of four discs. Disc one has the 'International Cut' of the film which runs 162 minutes and has an invaluable commentary from Tim Lucas. Disc two has the 'Extended Cut' (179 minutes) which you can make run even longer if you opt for the 'extended torture' sequence of Eli Wallach or shorter if you prefer to leave out his scene in the grotto that was cut by Leone himself shortly after release. Commentary duties on this version are by Leone biographer Sir Christopher Frayling on one track and Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel on the other.

Disc three has enough extras to keep you busy for a weekend, with a vast amount of newly recorded material that includes film critic Fabio Melelli talking about the circular nature of the trilogy (19 minutes), Lee Van Cleef biographer Mike Malloy discussing the actor's contribution to the film (12 minutes), and interviews with co-writer Furio Scarpelli's son Giacomo (29 minutes), DP Tonino Delli Colli's son Stefano (22 minutes), production and costume designer Carlo Simi's daughter Giuditta (6 minutes), assistant cameraman Sergio Salvati (27 minutes), stuntman Fabio Testi (14 minutes), editor Eugenio Alabiso (28 minutes), post production supervisor Enzo Ocone (28 minutes), guitarist Bruno Battisti D'Amario (8 minutes), legendary vocalist Edda Dell'Orso (14 minutes) and Ennio Morricone biographer Alessandro de Rosa (28 minutes).

Lovely Jon contributes a fascinating 29 minute visual essay about the recording of the score, carefully and clearly relating the conflicting accounts of various personnel interviewed. As well as that all the extras from the previous 2003 MGM release have been ported over and there are the usual trailers and still galleries, Disc four is exclusive to Arrow's limited edition  and contains Sad Hill Unearthed, a 2017 documentary about efforts to restore the graveyard set along with a making of and other extras (not provided for review). Finally the set comes with a book with new writing on the film, a double sided poster and reversible sleeve.

Sergio Leone's THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is out in a four disc limited edition set from Arrow in both UHD and Blu-ray editions now.

Red Sun (1971)

Studio Canal are releasing a 4K restoration of Terence Young's EuroWestern on Blu-ray, DVD and on 4K UHD as a steel book:

Link (Charles Bronson) robs a train with Gauche (Alain Delon) who makes off with the money. He also makes off with a gold Samurai sword belonging to the Japanese Ambassador to the US. The ambassador charges Link and his one surviving Samurai - Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune) - with returning the sword in seven days or Kuroda will have to commit Hara-Kiri, and include Link for good measure. 

A French-Italian-Spanish coproduction from the early 1970s, RED SUN really should be more fun (or at least more interesting) than it actually is. After all we're now in the era of the ultra-violent American Western, with Bronson himself starring in Michael Winner's CHATO'S LAND the same year. As a result RED SUN feels dated before its time and the music score by Maurice Jarre doesn't help. This was the era of Morricone, or avant garde composers like Dee Barton (HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER) but Jarre frequently goes for some old-fashioned heroic-style scoring.

There is some fun to be had, especially if you're a fan of EuroHorror from the same period. The explosives expert at the beginning is played by Julio Peña from HORROR EXPRESS (Inspector Mirov) and Paul Naschy's WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN (he's the doctor at the start). José Jaspe, also from HORROR EXPRESS (as Koñev the conductor) is the driver of the train in this. Anthony Dawson (Director Terence Young's DR NO, Hammer's CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF and Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER) is one of Delon's gang, as is Luc Merenda (TORSO and PENSIONE PAURA). 

Extras consist of 20 minutes of documentary film-maker Steven Okazaki talking about Toshiro Mifune, and a 9 minute extract from a French TV series called Pour Le Cinema which provides an on-set report which is worth watching to see director Terence Young explaining the film in French. The Blu-ray edition includes four art cards:

Terence Young's RED SUN is out on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD steel book from Studio Canal on Monday 9th September (4K on 29th September) 2024

The Complete Sartana (1968 - 1970)

"Or...If you Meet Sartana, the Angel of Death, Light the Fuse, Pray for Death, Trade Your Gun For A Coffin, and Have a Good Funeral...Sartana Will Pay!" 

Oh yes indeed - Spaghetti Western fans rejoice! For here we have, presented beautifully by Arrow Films for your entertainment, the five movies that make up the 'official' series of Sartana films made between 1968 and 1970. Let's dig in:

Disc One: If You Meet Sartana, Pray for Death (1968)

The first in the series, and the only one directed by Gianfranco Parolini ("Frank Kramer"), who after this went on to make the great SABATA trilogy with Lee Van Cleef and Yul Brynner. An enormous box of gold is stolen, but when it's opened there are rocks instead of the loot, which pretty much everyone in the cast wants, including William Berger, Klaus Kinski and a host of others. Gianni Garko plays Sartana, our Clint Eastwood wannabe title character who has a better costume (I think) but nowhere near the charisma. It's still fun watching him getting embroiled in a plot that becomes so complex by the end you'll wonder if it's possible for anyone left alive to double cross anyone else. For the second or third time. 

Extras include a commentary track by Mike Siegel, a new 22 minute interview with the director, and a useful and very well put together visual essay on the principle cast members of the series. 

Disc Two: I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death (1969)

Giuliano Carnimeo ("Anthomy Ascott") takes over directing chores for this and the other films in the series. The second Sartana film boasts such colourful character names as Slim Shotgun, Tracy Three Aces, Shadow, Buddy Bill, Butch Dynamite and Hot Dead (played by Klaus Kinski) and takes place in the towns of Hot Iron and Poker Falls. Everything is, of course, played completely straight, and this, combined with signs with mis-spellings and grammatical oddities lend a slightly Zucker brothers air to the proceedings.

Someone pretends to be Sartana and robs a bank. Every bounty hunter in Spaghetti Western land wants the $10 000 offered for Sartana's head. Will he prove his innocence? Will the denouement be more complicated than it really needs to be? Will Buddy Bill turn out to be the Artful Dodger 30 years on and badly in need of a shave? 

Extras include an interview with Italian screenwriting god Ernesto Gastaldi (who wrote this and one other in the series). There's also a commentary track by C Courtney Joiner and Henry Parke and a 24 minute interview with cast member and stuntman Sal Borghese. 

Disc Three: Sartana's Here - Trade Your Gun for a Coffin (1970)

George Hilton plays Sartana in this one & he's joined by fellow giallo standby Erika Blanc. It's all to do with stealing gold again, and this time Sartana, another bounty hunter called Sabata (!) in the Italian version (Charles Southwood), evil town boss Spencer (Piero Lulli) and the usual gang of Mexicans this timer led by Mantas (Nello Pazzafini) are after it. This film's gimmicks for Sartana are the number of places he finds to conceal his gun, and the fact that he has a penchant for boiled eggs. Neither as satisfying plotwise as the first nor as fun as the second, SARTANA'S HERE - TRADE YOUR GUN FOR A COFFIN is still a reasonable Sunday afternoon timewaster for spaghetti western aficionados. 

Extras include new interviews with actors George Hilton, Erika Blanc and actor and agent Tony Astin

Disc Four: Have A Good Funeral My Friend...Sartana Will Pay (1970)

Gianni Garko is back in the title role, and this time he's helping Daniela Giordano avenge the death of her uncle and preventing her from selling her 'worthless' land to the villains who know there's gold on it. Spanish horror star Helga Line is also in this one, and it has the best music score of the lot courtesy of Bruno Nicolai. In fact, everyone seems to have upped their game with this one, so that surprisingly the fourth Sartana film is easily the best of the lot. There's far less talk, a lot more action, plenty of creative fight choreography, and the plot just belts along. If you're planning to introduce someone to the Sartana series this might well be the one to start with.

Extras on this disc include a commentary track by C Courtney Joyner and Henry Peake, and an interview with screenwriter and stuntman Roberto Dell'Acqua

Disc Five: Light the Fuse...Sartana Is Coming (1970)

If you've been watching all the Sartana films so far or if you're just a fan of 1970s European exploitation films in general you'll spot a lot of familiar faces in the fifth Sartana film. Gianni Garko takes on the title role for the final time, getting himself locked up in prison so he can break out a chap called Grand Full who knows where half a million dollars in gold (aha!) has been stashed - in the very Spaghetti Western-sounding town of Mansfield.

With a weird clockwork robot called Alfie and possibly my favourite climax to a spaghetti western ever (it's so ludicrous it really is wonderful) LIGHT THE FUSE...SARTANA IS COMING is a fine way to end the series. It's not quite as good as the previous entry but both these final films are tremendously entertaining, and we get another Bruno Nicolai score to round things off nicely. 

Extras include more Ernesto Gastaldi, more Sal Borghese and archive interviews with Gianni Garko and Giuliano Carnimeo. 

So in summary. If you're a spaghetti western fan you're going to have a great time with this set, and if you're a spaghetti western obsessive you'll be in heaven with it. The transfers all look wonderful and you get the option of either Italian or English dialogue tracks with each film (and subtitles if necessary). 

The Complete Sartana is out from Arrow Films in a limited edition 5 disc Blu-ray set from Monday 25th June 2018