Lil Brutto

There's no doubt in my mind that your v2 regrade is a big improvement over the official 4K release. So much in fact that I can't even bring myself to watch the 2014 BD.

However, I am convinced that the colour timing of the Mondo BD is more in keeping with the original theatrical release. All the more reason why we need to get our hands on the IB tech print.

kk650 said:

The less colourful version with the grotto scene is now up on tehparadox.

Great job with the updated mono track btw!

 kk650,

Given that your regrade is the best available release of the 4K transfer and we won't be seeing a new release from the Italians for quite some time, would you be willing to regrade this latest version of yours (i.e without the grotto scene) to the Mondo colors?

Awesome! Thanks again, thehutt.

Some encouraging news about the IB tech print. The seller just replied that he will get me more info and pics.

I'm really disappointed.

In light of the recently posted screenshots and trailer of the Italian restoration that fail to put to rest this revisionist color controversy, I think it's more important than ever to acquire an IB tech print.

I've been buying and sell online (ranging from a few bucks to a few thousand bucks) for nearly 15 years and one thing I've learned is that, as a seller, you really need to respect the wishes of any prospective buyers and provide them with sufficient info to know what they're buying and ultimately feel comfortable with the transaction. Especially when the purchase price is in the hundreds to thousands. In my experience, if a seller is not forthcoming that's a big red flag and you're likely to be disappointed at the end. 

Poita had posted a WTB thread in another forum and I guess the seller responded that he could broker the deal for an IB tech print of the Italian cut. The emphasis, in terms of what Poita was looking for, was on the print having good colors. Based on the pics provided that seems to be the case. Not surprising I guess given its an IB tech print. What would be more reassuring is to have more info on the overall condition but that's where we've been hitting a roadblock. Since the seller is not the owner he hasn't been successful in fulfilling my request. The "old man" owner can't be bothered. Well, if you want someone to shell out $1600 I believe you have to make an effort. 

Anyways, if anyone here is willing and able to help facilitate this deal, whether it's an Italian member who can verify it's an IB tech print of good quality or even communicate more effectively with the seller, please let me know. I'm still willing follow through with this transaction. After all, opportunities like this don't come around every day. Let me know! 

GBU 35mm IB tech print update:

Unfortunately, the seller is unable to fulfil my request so I'm going to have to let this opportunity pass. I'm unwilling to send USD $1600 based on pics of 5 frames.

PDB said:

Looks different to that trailer. Seems to be pretty close to the MGM 4K. That's a disappointment.

It's actually closer to kk650's v2 regrade, which removed the blanket yellow/green tint and scaled back saturation, so that suggests MGM botched the transfer later on.

Nevertheless, let's hope the Italian BD will be more like the trailer.

suntech said:

Hey I hope I 'm not too late to the party but count me in for a donation toward the IB print purchase, just pm me the details on where to send the donation

 Thanks. I'm still waiting to hear back from the seller. I'll be in touch if he follows through with my request.

Some more screenshots of the restoration that will be screened in Italy:

http://www.ilcinemaritrovato.it/il-buono-il-brutto-il-cattivo

PM sent.

Check this out...

http://youtu.be/qMrZBXMGDbU

This brand new italian trailer for the re-release of gbu from the Leone film group looks nothing like the new mgm bluray...in fact I think it looks different from the mondo disc too.

---

Here is a quick and dirty comparison between the mgm 2014 blu, the italian mondo blu, and the new trailer released by the Leone film group. The footage from the Leone film Group trailer looks slightly different from the mondo release. Of course the MGM just looks terrible every time you compare a shot with blue sky!

https://imageshack.com/i/nflnpwdj

Further update on IB tech print:

I sent the seller's agent the following email yesterday...

"I am will to send payment but before I do I really need more info on the condition of the print. At this point all I know is that this is an IB tech print. Peter has sent me 5 pictures of some frames.

Can you please ask the owner for a description of the overall condition of the print? How long has he owned it? How many reels? How many splices? Frames missing? Sprocket damage? I would also like for you to send me pictures of the reels, individual sections where there's damage, individual frames, etc.

There's a lot of money at stake here and I don't want to take any risks. If you're unwilling or unable to fulfil my request then I'm afraid I won't be able to complete this transaction."

I downloaded the HDTV copy but it looks like it's from the 2009 BD. Can anyone who downloaded this same torrent please verify?

Mason said:

Will those who contribute to the IB tech get a copy of the print?

If there is only Italian audio on this print are you planning to make a fandub?

I'm not clear how this works. Perhaps poita, Andrea or anyone else involved in a similar project in the past can chime in?

TheHutt said:

The "3 bandidos" scene was missing from the 1998 release as well, see here, so it is filled with the Extended Edition material.

I'm pretty sure it's cut even further in the earlier LD editions. I'll double check as it has been a couple years since I compared the 98 vs 90/93 LD editions.

kk650 said:

Has anybody else come across anything?

 I haven't listened to the entire track but I did notice some sync and audio drop issues, which I've described in the audio thread.

kk650 said:

It's in a new thread of its own on tehparadox. It can be found at the top of the main release list.

 Lol sorry. I'm such a newb.

Right on, TheHutt!

I also noticed during the dining scene with Stevens that the sound of the wooden spoon hitting the serving bowl is out-of-sync and drops out briefly when AE releases the spoon.

This is the problematic segment where the early LD is cut so I know it was probably a bit of a challenge to insert the missing sound from another source. As you already know, the 90/93 LD is also cut during the scene where the 3 banditos approach Blondie's room.

I'm happy to provide you with a bit-perfect capture of the 1998 LD PCM mono. The 98 LD is an uncut version of the US/International release.

kk650 said:

Just letting you guys know that I've just released a less saturated version of my regraded release...

So glad you're still tinkering with this film. Where can we find your latest release? Your thread at tehparadox hasn't been updated yet.

PDB, would you be able to do a similar comparison of 1990 LD trailer vs. 4K?

I've never seen the hdtv version so I can't comment. I found the torrent and I'm downloading it now.

I came across something very interesting last night. The US theatrical trailer included on the 1990 MGM laserdisc is unique to this home release. It is from a different source than the other laserdisc releases (1993 box set, 1998) as well as the DVDs and BDs. The sky was still blue in this print (i.e. MGM took the yellow tint to an extreme on the BD) but overall it has a striking resemblance to the 4K BD, no? 

Pics taken of my TV screen using my phone.

UPDATE re: 35MM IB tech print purchase

As poita mentioned previously in this thread, I'm willing to purchase the print from the Italian seller for $1600. Shelling out such a big chunk of $$$ has obviously got me nervous but I'm slowly getting more info from the seller that's inching me closer to pulling the trigger. However, I cannot do this without your help in raising the funds necessary to cover the shipping cost and paypal fees (approx. $60 USD).

I've been contacted by 6 individuals, 3 of whom are able to donate $50 each and the other 3 have not specified a dollar amount yet. The seller has estimated the shipping cost to the USA to be 320 euros. This seems really high and I'd appreciated any suggestions of alternative shipping arrangements that would be cheaper. Needless to say we are not even close to our fundraising goal.

Is there anyone else who would like to contribute to this? Also, if individuals who have already expressed a desire to contribute can donate more that would be greatly appreciated.

Definitely a big improvement that relegates my 4K BD to collect dust on my storage shelf. I'd love to see how your new encode looks as I believe there still might be some room for improvement.

poita said:

Although, the price on these 3TB drives is good!

http://www.shoppingexpress.com.au/view/the-epic-hour/EpicHour?utm_campaign=Newsletter%20-%20ShoppingExpress&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Neto

Lil Brutto, maybe you could start a new thread titled '35mm transfer The Good the Bad and The Ugly' or something similar, and use the new thread for the 35mm project.

BTW, has the transaction for the print occurred yet?

Happy to start a new thread once we secure the print. 

I haven't contacted the seller yet. I'm hoping we can raise the funds necessary to cover the cost of shipping and digital media storage first. Since it seems he's not actively selling his print I'm hoping we have a few days to raise additional funds here. Based on the PMs I've received so far I think we'll have enough to cover shipping only.

I'll send you a PM with more thoughts soon.