I’m not exactly a fan of westerns in general, only enjoying the more mainstream or obvious like Unforgiven and A Fistful of Dollars, but these two Ringo movies were well produced and lead actor Giuliano Gemma had great charisma.
A Pistol for Ringo/The Return of Ringo
(1965)
Genre(s): Western
Arrow Video | NR – 102 min. / 97 min. – $39.95 | April 24, 2018
Date Published: 04/10/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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ABOUT THIS RELEASE |
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Directed by skilled craftsman Duccio Tessari (The Bloodstained Butterfly), the original Ringo films represent a high-water mark in the annals of the spaghetti western genre, introducing an iconic hero and boasting gripping set-pieces with unforgettable musical scoring by Ennio Morricone. Giuliano Gemma stars in the titular role in A Pistol for Ringo which sees our clean-cut hero infiltrate a ranch of Mexican bandits to save a beautiful hostage (LORELLA DE LUCA). In Return of Ringo the gunslinger, now a veteran of war, disguises himself as a Mexican in order to take revenge on outlaws who have stolen his property and taken his wife. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5 |
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This release contains a 44-page essay booklet. Features include Audio Commentaries on both films, by C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parks exploring the history of spaghetti westerns and what the Ringo films meant; They Called Him Ringo (21:52; HD) is an archival interview with actor Giuliano Gemma and Lorella De Luca; A Western Greek Tragedy (26:32; HD), an old interview with Lorella De Luca and camera operator Sergio D’Offizi; Revisiting Ringo (37:56; HD) which is a new interview with critic and fan Tony Rayns; and lastly there is a Gallery containing original promo images and Original Trailers for both movies. |
VIDEO – 4.75/5 |
| Both A Pistol for Ringo and The Return of Ringo received restoration work, taken from the original 35mm 2-perf Techniscope camera negatives and scanned in 2K resolution, where thousands of instances of dirt, debris and scratches were removed. I was rather impressed with the transfer, detail was sharp throughout and colors were incredibly vibrant without appearing oversaturated, and underneath there was still fine natural film grain that only added to the original theatrical feel. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| As with the picture, both films received upgraded audio. You have an option of Italian and English PCM Mono tracks, the former being the default option. I switched back and forth and found the Italian version to be better as the English one, particularly with the dialogue, was a bit too strong. Even so, it’s a fine lossless audio track. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, I’m not exactly a fan of westerns in general, only enjoying the more mainstream or obvious like Unforgiven and A Fistful of Dollars, but these two Ringo movies were well produced and lead actor Giuliano Gemma, going under the name of Montgomery Wood, had great charisma. This two-film Blu-ray release from Arrow Video offers up excellent video and audio transfers and a satisfactory selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.