Arrow Video is set to release Vengeance Trails: Four Classic Westerns on limited edition Blu-Ray in the UK on 26th July 2021.
In the mid-1960s, the runaway success of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars” trilogy gave rise to an explosion of similar productions as filmmakers by the dozen sought to capitalise on this new, uniquely Italian take on the western, characterised by their deeply cynical outlook, morally compromised antiheroes and unflinching depictions savage violence. This specially curated selection gathers together four outstanding examples of the genre from the height of its popularity, all centred around a theme of revenge.
In Lucio Fulci’s (Zombie Flesh Eaters) Massacre Time (1966), Franco Nero (Django) and George Hilton (The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail) star as estranged brothers forced to band together against the powerful businessman (Nino Castelnuovo, Strip Nude for Your Killer) and his sadistic son who’ve seized control of their hometown. In Maurizio Lucidi’s (The Sicilian Cross) My Name is Pecos (1966), Robert Woods (Johnny Colt) stars as the eponymous Mexican gunslinger, returning to Houston to settle a long-standing score against the racist gang boss (Pier Paolo Capponi, The Cat O’ Nine Tails) who wiped out his entire family. In Massimo Dallamano’s (What Have You Done to Solange?) Bandidos (1967), Enrico Maria Salerno (Savage Three) plays a former top marksman who, years after being maimed by a former protégé (Venantino Venantini, City of the Living Dead), teams up with a fresh apprentice (Terry Jenkins, Paint Your Wagon) to get his revenge against the man who betrayed him. Finally, in Antonio Margheriti’s (Cannibal Apocalypse) And God Said to Cain (1970), the inimitable Klaus Kinski (Double Face) stars as a man who has spent the last decade in a prison work camp for a crime he didn’t commit and who, upon his release, immediately sets out to wreak vengeance on the men who framed him.
Featuring a wealth of key Euro cult talent both behind and in front of the camera, Arrow Video presents these four classic westerns in sparkling high definition restorations, three of them produced specially for this release, alongside a plethora of brand new bonus materials.
4-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentations of all four films
• 2K restorations of all four films from the original 35mm camera negatives, with Massacre Time, My Name is Pecos and Bandidos newly restored by Arrow Films for this release
• Restored lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
• Galleries for all four films
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by author and critic Howard Hughes
• Fold-out double-sided poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original artwork and a slipcover featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
DISC 1 – MASSACRE TIME
• Alternate US dub
• New commentary by authors and critics C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke
• New documentary featuring a new video interview with actor Franco Nero and an archival video interview with actor George Hilton
• New video interview with film historian Fabio Melelli
• Italian trailer
DISC 2 – MY NAME IS PECOS
• New commentary by actor Robert Woods and C. Courtney Joyner
• New interview with actor George Eastman
• New interview with actress Lucia Modugno
• New documentary featuring a new interview with Fabio Melelli and an archival interview with cinematographer Franco Villa
• Italian trailer
DISC 3 – BANDIDOS
• New commentary by author and critic Kat Ellinger
• New interview with assistant director Luigi Perelli
• New interview with actor Gino Barbacane
• New interview with Fabio Melelli
• Alternate end title sequence
DISC 4 – AND GOD SAID TO CAIN
• New commentary by author and critic Howard Hughes
• New documentary featuring a new interview with Fabio Melelli and a new audio interview with actress Marcella Michelangeli
• New interview with actor Antonio Cantafora
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