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torture of Tuco at the hands of Angel Eyes midway through the film.) You cannot see either of these versions as they were seen at the time anymore. They exist, and outside of their time on screen in the late 1960s, they never have. there is some extremely obscure VHS release that I know Ross says, has never been an accurate depiction of either of those definitive The history on home video is extensive, owing to its fame and popularity. There were some versions of tape in the 1980s. In 1990, it was put out on laserdisc, and in 1998, it was put out on DVD, as a hybrid of the Italian and international versions, with shots a dde some ubtr ac ted, the guys complain.

In 2002, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer unveiled a spectacular new restoration of the movie, which they touted as Extended The goal of this cut was to add the scenes missing from the 1967 international version, only with the proper English voices, as until then they had only been seen dubbed. To accomplish this, they brought in Eastwood and Wallach, as well as a soun dalike for Van Cleef (who died in 1989), and had them record the missing dialogue, 35 years later. got 70-something Clint Eastwood, 90-something Eli Wallach and someone who was not Lee Van Cleef to dub the Scott says. it sounds like two very elderly men and someone who is not Lee Van Cleef voicing The restoration had other problems. Several scenes that MGM alleged were from the original Italian cut actually differed in key respects; the Tuco torture scene, in particular, had been radically changed.

For the sake of extending the movie, they added an entirely new scene that Leone had shot but left, by choice, on the cutting-room floor the scene in any Scott insists, which never approved at all. the scene in which Tuco recruits his brothers in the cave after Blondie leaves him to die, and it does seem out of place, even to novice eyes.) Plus, much-vaunted new 5.1 audio mix was an outrageous hack job. took all the sound effects, especially the gunshots and the cannon shots, and replaced them with completely modern sounds that sound like the originals at Scott says. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but mixed like Master and Commander. It was around this point, Ross says, that started getting In the late 2000s, at the dawn of another technological change, there was a Blu-ray release of the 2002 restoration.

Then in 2014, there was another restoration, this time with the original mono audio track. Still, problems persist. still using the bastardized extended cut, and no 1967 version anymore Ross says. Added to which is another new issue altogether: In an effort to address the colour, they added way too much yellow, turning every passing cloud in the sky into what Ross describes as tufts of The sound, meanwhile, though thankfully mono, sounds and were so frustrated that finally, in 2017, a boutique Blu- ray label called Kino announced they were going to put out their own Ross says. were excited, because they said they were going to include the 1967 cut, they were going to include a proper mono audio track, they were going to fix the Things seemed like they might be right at last.

But somehow, devastatingly, Kino screwed it up. the worst-looking version of the film ever Scott says, downcast. was Which leave admirers of the film with much faith that it will ever be done properly, by anyone. have Ross says. are fans who own excellent quality 35mm prints who have called distributors and offered to let them use it as reference.

I know holding it up. Why not listen to such a vocal fanbase? This is Quentin favourite movie. Distributors get it right. Studios get it right. The men and women tasked to restore the thing get it right.

But who might? Well, guys who obsess over the film guys like Devan Scott and Will Ross. Which is maybe why, without anything remotely resembling permission to do so, they have decided to do the impossible and fix The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, even if only for themselves. begun to cobble together the ideal version of the movie using the materials at hand. They started with the laserdisc. They bought one on eBay.

the closest thing we can find to the 1967 Scott says. it only has one deviation, which is a close-up of a not a cannon, a wall Ross interjects. A wall exploding after a cannon Scott and Ross took the laserdisc to a local arts collective that happened to have a laserdisc player. They hooked it up to a wall projector, and hooked the audio up to a sound recorder, and then recorded the audio and taped the movie off the wall. With this copy as a visual reference, they took images from the restored Blu-rays some from the 2014 MGM Blu-ray, some from the Kino version, some from obscure 2009 Italian that had a couple of images the others did not and assembled a makeshift cut.

Over the years, the movie has undergone enough restorations and high-definition releases in different versions that a savvy eye can pick and choose the best components from each: a shot that was done well here, a reverse-shot done better there. Some of the most pernicious gremlins, such as the bogus Tuco recruitment scene Leone never wanted, have been deservedly excised from the Scott-Ross cut. Shots have been trimmed or expanded to be as consistent as possible with the original theatrical version. In some cases, as in the shot of the cannon with the missing frames (they could see them in the laserdisc copy), they resorted to Photoshop and did the restoring themselves, by hand. They have spent countless hours lingering on the details most people notice.

Their diligence, their super-zealous rigour, is what elevates their work above the amateur tinkering of the hobbyist and into the realm of serious care. The result, they feel, is very good. Although not Ross concedes, close within a few seconds of the original With the means and raw materials at their disposal a few hundred thousand dollars, give or take, and the original negatives or a few good-quality 35mm prints they could do the whole thing from scratch and perfect it definitively. To diehards like Scott and Ross, this has been more than a mere passion project. The point is to enjoy the movie as it was meant to be enjoyed, as Sergio Leone intended not how some distributor decides it ought to be seen.

They are reclaiming The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from the people who have proven incapable of doing it justice. Though they have the rights to release their version, a certain cosmic justice simply in knowing that been done. They only hope someday a distributor does it too. Weekend Post nationalpost.com WP7 NATIONAL POST, SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2019 feature Why not listen to such a vocal fanbase? this is Quentin favourite movie. happening? DEVAN SCOTT Vancouver filmmakers Devan Scott and Will Ross have spent countless hours restoring their favourite film..