Blu-ray Movie Reviews

In A Fistful of Dollars, Clint Eastwood stars as a drifter who manipulates two rival gangs with the ultimate goal of destroying both. In the second installment, our hero takes on El Indio (Gian Maria Volonte), the territory's most ruthless bandit. The best film of the three concludes the series with Eastwood partnering with two gunslingers in order to obtain a fortune in gold. He discovers that teamwork isn't one of their better personality traits and staying alive isn't guaranteed.

Director Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns reinvented the genre from the early days of John Wayne. His style showed the grittier aspects of the Wild West where there's a fine line between good and bad and his no-nonsense storytelling made Clint Eastwood a superstar.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encodes on a BD-50 discs
• Abhorrent edge enhancement
• Unnatural complexions
• Second film looks the most natural of the three
• Inconsistent detail

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Mono soundtracks
• Decent ambient effects
• Discrete effects don't always match what's on screen
• Poor ADR is very common

All have been digitally scrubbed in one way or another, but the video engineers seemed to have gone overboard in the third film. The most natural looking is the second film and I wish all three looked that good. The audio is consistently good in all three films although the sound of the dialog doesn't particularly fit the environments, but this has always been an issue with the films.

Bonus Materials

The three movie set is loaded with supplements that include numerous featurettes about the films, trailers, radio spots, feature length commentaries, and deleted scenes too numerous to list.

If you're a fan of westerns, these films should certainly have a place in your movie collection. Leone proved to be one of the best directors of his time and Eastwood is one tough hombre. The video presentations are a mixed bag and the audio is serviceable considering its age.

Click here to email any comments or questions!

Release Date: June 1, 2010
Studio: Fox

A Fistful of Dollars
Movie: 7/10
Picture: 7/10
Sound: 7/10

For a Few Dollars More
Movie: 7/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 7/10

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Movie: 9/10
Picture: 6/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics