In 2014 a private collector purchased and shipped an
original 35mm print from Italy in order to examine the colour.
Once the print was scanned, it was discovered to be a one
of a kind treasure, with new footage and differences not present in ANY home
video release (worldwide).
Multiple sources were checked against the print, 8mm
films released in the 70's, multiple vhs and pal copies from around the world
dating all the way back to the early 80's. The new footage and in some cases
new audio from this particular print simply doesn't exist anywhere else, even
on other vintage 35mm Italian prints.
The differences discovered so far on a preliminary
examination are as follows:
1. Extra footage (3 new closeup shots) in the early scene
where Angel Eyes visits the farmer (see Part 1)
2. A fragment of a scripted deleted scene at the end of a
reel
3. The complete beating scene (including portions that
were damaged on the print MGM used as their reference and included as a bonus
feature on DVD and BLU)
4. Various music cue and sound effect differences.
5. Longer character titles in the final scene.
Presented below is the deleted scene fragment which
finished the 3rd reel, along with what's left of the start of the 4th reel
where the music cues are different on this print (perhaps because of where the
music was placed during the deleted scene). Since the fragment was at the tail
of the reel (the most wear and tear on prints occur at the heads and tails of
reels, since thats where they are handled the most), it was torn and is missing
some frames. The start of the 4th reel was heavily damaged and incomplete, it's
unknown if the deleted scene continued there at one time but it is possible.
Something to note is that the deleted scene begins with a optical dissolve, the
fact that an optical dissolve was printed and incorporated most likely means
the scene was only dropped at the last minute.
The deleted scene was part of the desert sequence, and
this fragment is only the first 15 seconds or so of the scene. Although the
action differs from the script, the presence of the bones (seen nowhere else in
the existing desert scenes) point towards this being the beginning of the
scene. The scene as written in the Italian script went as follows: (thanks to
author Peter Hanley for the information):
Blondie is now seen in the distance. His steps are heavy
and sluggish. The heat has worn Blondie down. Nevertheless, he seems to have
noticed that Tuco has fallen into a light sleep under his sunshade . . .
Blondie looks around as if he is searching for something. About 10 meters in
front of him is a white, gnawed animal skeleton. Blondie’s eyes appear to be
hypnotized by this sight. He encroaches towards the skeleton. Close-up:
Blondie’s hand appears in the frame and he grasps a club-like bone. The camera
zooms on to Tuco, who suddenly turns, grabs his revolver and fires a shot. The
bone flies out of Blondie’s hand and Tuco threatens him saying, “Don’t try that
again. Now, get going!” Blondie sets off again.
The music cue at the start of the 4th reel on this print
(for the "boot scene") differs from all known Italian releases,
dating back as far as 1980's vhs, which all used the same "Italian
mono" mix.
The mix referenced in the video clip below is the 2014
English mono mix prepared by Chase audio, which uses music and sound effects
sourced from the Italian mono mix. The music portion that leads into the boot
scene on the Italian mono mix and 2014 MGM English mono mix is a
"drone" music not available on any (official or bootleg) soundtrack
release.
The 2002 American 5.1 mix (present on all American home
video releases since) is unique in that it used the music present on the music
and effects track for the "boot scene" instead of the
"drone" music. The music used on the 5.1 mix during the boot scene is
repeated from earlier in the desert sequence. The 5.1 music track (in this
scene) differs from the one on the 35mm print AND all other sources. I consider
the 2002 5.1 mix "revisionist" because they replaced a lot of the
vintage sound effects with new versions. Although I make mention of it here for
completists sake, I don't consider it to be a valid comparison source. *NOTE*
Please see the comments section for more information
The bottom line is that the music track placement used on
this 35mm print is unique, no matter what source you compare it to.
The colour correction on the new footage is only an
approximation of the original colour, the print is 50 years old and is
literally covered in grime and dirt. Some preliminary digital cleanup has been
applied to remove dust and scratches on the deleted fragment, where you see
lines or jumps in the shot, the frames were lost or damaged over the years. The
4th reel music portion comparison is presented "as-is".
[End]
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