The building of a railroad goes not only through the old West but also through the happiness of the widow who inherits the grand scheme that killed her husband. As rival interests seek to gain control two killers move in to protect her in Sergio Leone’s intensely slow but endlessly fascinating Spaghetti Western. Long awaited on DVD, Paramount have taken a Leone-sized time to bring it out, but the wait for this two-disc special edition has been worth it.

How Does She Play?

The word ‘wow’ tells you all you need to know. Picture is gorgeous with no print issues and a mesmerising palette of rich colours to dazzle you with. The accompanying 5.1 sound mix brings out the best in the haunting music score.

The Commentary

Film historians Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr Sheldon Hall make up the bulk of the contributions to the commentary track. Both do occasionally slip into describing what’s going on screen but stick with them as many facts are revealed along the way. These are broken up with the addition of awe-struck and practical comments from directors like John Carpenter and Alex Cox that help give insight into just how much some people get out of this movie.

The Documentaries

Three heavyweight documentaries make up the bulk of the impressive second disc. For Leone newcomers, his biographer Sir Christopher Frayling is on hand with the basics in An Opera of Violence. This programme also neatly condenses the stagnation of the Italian film industry before Leone shook not only it up but also the until then exclusively American preserve of the Western. Even if you know nothing about Leone, you soon will thanks to interviewees like John Carpenter, Alex Cox, and John Milius who all sum up Leone’s impact in no uncertain terms.

The Wages of Sin documentary concentrates on the shoot for Once Upon a Time in the West and benefits tremendously from entertaining interviewees such as lead actress Claudia Cardinale and cinematographer Torino Delli Colli. Anecdotes fly thick and fast about the problems of matching the yellow coloured Spanish locations to the material shot in the distinctly red coloured Monument. Nicely edited in between are more critical observations from Carpenter and Cox.

The documentaries end with Something to Do With Death, which examines the impact of the film and on the various versions that were released. Leone’s greatest works often seemed to fall foul of distributors, as you’ll also find out on the excellent Once Upon a Time in America DVD.

An informative featurette on the growth of the American railroad along with a production stills, a trailer and cast profiles round off disc two. There’s also a short but striking gallery of shots of the film locations then and now. It’s an idea that should be used more often on DVD and you’ll find a similar approach on the three-disc release of Giant.

Wait no longer. Enjoy this spic DVD release and the fact that the UK version is every bit as good as the US discs.

EXTRA FEATURES

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.