Sergio Leone’s epic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo) is the greatest ‘spaghetti western’ ever made, though it has a long and convoluted editing history, with three different cuts supervised by Leone and numerous revisions by MGM. Fortunately, the 4k and blu-ray editions released by Arrow this year are the definitive English-language versions of the film.
When Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo premiered in 1966 in Italy, it included a sequence set in a grotto, which was deleted by Leone for pacing reasons before the general theatrical release. Then, in 1967, Leone removed more than ten minutes of footage for the international version, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. VHS and laserdisc releases were direct transfers of the original theatrical versions (albeit with some missing shots), but later DVDs, blu-rays, and UHDs are restorations and reconstructions.
MGM first attempted to reconstruct the international theatrical version for a 1998 DVD release, though some sequences were sourced from Italian prints, leading to inconsistencies with the 1967 version. In 2002, MGM created a new, extended version utilising all extant footage, including the grotto sequence that Leone himself had removed before the Italian theatrical release. This 2002 version also featured new foley effects and newly looped dialogue in some scenes.
For blu-ray and DVD releases in 2014, MGM remastered their extended version and altered the colour grading, adding an incongruous yellow tint to the image. The extended version was remastered again for new blu-rays and DVDs released by Kino Lorber in 2017, when the yellow tint was removed. 2017 also saw the second attempted reconstruction of the international theatrical version, though this followed the flawed template of the 1998 attempt.
The film was released again by Kino Lorber on 4k UHD and blu-ray in 2021, this time with an almost flawless reconstruction of the international theatrical version (the only inconsistencies being in the title sequence). Reconstruction credits were added to the end credits sequence of this release, and to all UHD, blu-ray, and DVD editions released since 2002.
When Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo premiered in 1966 in Italy, it included a sequence set in a grotto, which was deleted by Leone for pacing reasons before the general theatrical release. Then, in 1967, Leone removed more than ten minutes of footage for the international version, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. VHS and laserdisc releases were direct transfers of the original theatrical versions (albeit with some missing shots), but later DVDs, blu-rays, and UHDs are restorations and reconstructions.
MGM first attempted to reconstruct the international theatrical version for a 1998 DVD release, though some sequences were sourced from Italian prints, leading to inconsistencies with the 1967 version. In 2002, MGM created a new, extended version utilising all extant footage, including the grotto sequence that Leone himself had removed before the Italian theatrical release. This 2002 version also featured new foley effects and newly looped dialogue in some scenes.
For blu-ray and DVD releases in 2014, MGM remastered their extended version and altered the colour grading, adding an incongruous yellow tint to the image. The extended version was remastered again for new blu-rays and DVDs released by Kino Lorber in 2017, when the yellow tint was removed. 2017 also saw the second attempted reconstruction of the international theatrical version, though this followed the flawed template of the 1998 attempt.
The film was released again by Kino Lorber on 4k UHD and blu-ray in 2021, this time with an almost flawless reconstruction of the international theatrical version (the only inconsistencies being in the title sequence). Reconstruction credits were added to the end credits sequence of this release, and to all UHD, blu-ray, and DVD editions released since 2002.
If these various edits and restorations are too bewildering, the good news is that they have now all been superseded by the new Arrow 4k and blu-ray releases, which use seemless branching, giving the viewer the option to add or remove the additional footage from the MGM extended version. They also include an accurate restoration of the US theatrical release print.
The Arrow discs also feature the longest extant version of the film, running for 181 minutes (almost two minutes longer than any previous print). This version includes two extra sequences: reaction shots of the Angel Eyes character’s arrival, and a shot of Blondie finding an animal skeleton in the desert. The skeleton sequence had previously been available as isolated bonus footage from Kino Lorber, though Arrow has integrated it back into the film for the first time. The Angel Eyes reaction shots have never been available on any video release before.
The Arrow discs also feature the longest extant version of the film, running for 181 minutes (almost two minutes longer than any previous print). This version includes two extra sequences: reaction shots of the Angel Eyes character’s arrival, and a shot of Blondie finding an animal skeleton in the desert. The skeleton sequence had previously been available as isolated bonus footage from Kino Lorber, though Arrow has integrated it back into the film for the first time. The Angel Eyes reaction shots have never been available on any video release before.
