The Sergio Leone Anthology (A Fistful Of Dollars / For A Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad And The Ugly / Duck, You Sucker)

A+ purchase

The Sergio Leone Anthology of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY and DUCK, YOU SUCKER is something of an essential release. These were the 4 Sergio Leone "Spaghetti Western" films released in the United States by Unite Artists. DUCK, YOU SUCKER is perhaps not a true "Spaghetti Western" in the formula of what often and loosely defines the genre, but it definitely belongs here. As we came out of the nineteenth century and entered the next, DUCK, YOU SUCKER is perhaps a result of what came before. Visually, it fits the genre.What more can be said about these films that has already not been said? On a personal level, I love these films. I saw the trilogy over and over again many times while I was in grade school. Come high school, I loved the genre, but saw it lose popularity by the time I was a senior near graduation. DUCK, YOU SUCKER was released just about the time I graduated. I could see the end was near, but that film touched on many social issues that almost seemed rather timely. Somewhere, when I was a freshman or sophomore I had seen ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. Even though that film is not in this set, it haunted me when I saw it and still haunts me to this day. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST also was different from the trilogy. With each film Leone explored the American West and the West below the border with slightly different perspective, yet with a style still familiar. There is always that loneliness of the main characters that seems to remain.For me, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE is the definitive Spaghetti Western. It seems to define it all. Visually it just captures the Spaghetti mythology with its operatic story, music and finale.

AUGUST 29, 2007 marks the *2nd* anniversary of Hurricane Katrina for all us down here along the Gulf Coast.On a much, much brighter note, it's also an important date for all spaghetti western buffs. Today is the *30th* anniversary of the *only* airing (mercifully!!) of the infamous prologue to 'Fistful' before it's network TV premiere.The prologue itself is 4:46 in length and stars Harry Dean Stanton and an obviously-waaaaaaay-too-short stunt double in place of Clint. It was shot on what looks like a budget of 10 pesos in one of my fave places in all of Mexico, Cuernavaca (the capital of the Mexican state of Morelos).Why the need for such a prologue you ask? Very simply, network TV censorship at the time didn't allow such 'immoral' violence to air without some sort of explanation for it.BOTTOMLINE: If you're a true fan of All Things Sergio And Clint, the prologue is a MUST SEE!!

There are two great directors of western cinema, Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone. Once Upon a Time in the West is one of my all-time favorites. I bought TGTBTU for $5 at Walmart and had been on the lookout for the other two Dollars films to complete the set. But everytime I saw them they were overpriced or sold as a two-movie set on one disc. I'm a huge fan of Amazon and was browsing the westerns one day and came across this gem--for $37.99.I couldn't pass it up. Not only do you get the two-disc sets for each Dollars film, you get an extra movie with Duck, You Sucker! It comes in a nice box set and a collectable booklet. It's hours of fun you can watch over and over. It's a steal and I highly recommend picking it up.

Really, these Leone movies are all about style, and Leone's vision of a cruel, cruel world, where you win not by being good, but by being tough, and smart, and not so bad that Karma (The Man With No Name) takes notice of you. Because, once he does, you are finished. "Duck, You Sucker", does not have Eastwood, and was a welcome addition.It was great to finally have two disc editions of the movies to accompany TGTBTU, and if you cannot take all of this Leone at once, then by all means, spread out the viewing over a reasonable time period. What's missing from Leone's vision? The sappy heroes from, say, The Searchers. Leone's movies have a modern sensibility and humour about them, that is truly timeless. Why don't I give this 5 stars? Well, the first two movies in The Man with No Name series, are sometimes a bit weak in plot and structure, and they don't deserve 5 stars, might even deserve just 3, but TGTBTU is one of the best types of it's movie ever made, and as a package, this set is incredible. You really notice the restoration when you compare the early 1999 dvd releases to these, especially the color correction.From what I understand, there is a lot of missing footage concerning TGTBTU, and the set has some still shots and story boards of "The Sorocco Sequence" that had me wondering if future demand and technology could create those lost scenes, scenes that would add the one element the movie is missing, Eastwood and a woman, together, and the small desert town interlude that finds them together, before the reckonings to come. Still, a great effort, squeaky voice of elderly Eli notwithstanding!

I've been a fan of the Sergio Leone westerns for more years than I care to count, particularly the 'man with no name' trilogy starring Eastwood, followed very closely by 'Duck You Suckers'. I've seen these movies many times, but never in their entirity until now. After 40+ years, we now have complete versions in this anthology - not to mention a lot of background material that I thoroughly enjoyed watching as well.This collection is a must if you're a Clint Eastwood fan, A Sergio Leone fan, or just someone who likes the old spaghetti westerns and wants to see the whole movie, uncut by censors or chopped up to show on TV between commercials. Great set! Go for it!

I have but one complaint and it's that my boxset didn't have the booklet inside. Besides that it's damn near the best collection. I had Fistful, Few Dollars and The Good individually but misplaced them so being able to buy them in a set is awesome. Plus this set addes Duck, You Sucker which is also a must have! They include the special feature discs which overall killer.

I paid for the Blu ray set and got the DVD set which is basically half the value. Not pleased.And cannot be played in UK due to "Playback prohibited by area limitation". They must be returned.

Excelente articulo para los fanáticos de Clint Eastwood y de las películas de western. Pero deberían de especificar la región del DVD para ver si es funcional en otros países.

Excelente edición, nada que decir. Solo tengan en cuenta que es para la region de Américas y y en Europa solo lo puede leer un lector o ordenador desbloqueado (se puede hacer buscando por Internet). Es así que se anuncia, entonces no hay engaño.Por lo demás, absolutamente recomendable.

Beautiful package! A treat for any hardcore Leone fan. And... it has flaws. Flaws that maybe lower it from 5 stars to 4. Flaw 1: Why not either a package with all of Leone's films (he only directed 6, after his Swords and Sandals training films) or, at least, a package with all the westerns. I'm assuming they left "Once Upon a Time in the West" out because these 4 are all U.A. films and "Once Upon" is Paramount. Flaw 2: Not having Christopher Frayling do the commentary for "Good, Bad and the Ugly". Whenever Richard Schickel has an insight that I never knew before he usually credits it to reading Frayling's books. He's pleasant, but this was a real missed opportunity. I know that Frayling wasn't available at the time to do the commentary but he actually offered to do an alternate one before they actually released this set and they refused his offer. No one knows Leone and the Italian film industry and the American western like Frayling. Flaw 3: Minor flaw... inserting the 7 excised scenes from the Italian release back into "Good, Bad and the Ugly" and having Clint and Eli finally record their dubbing. They sound older and there's a difference in the voices... more reverb or something. These scenes make the film unwieldy and, in my opinion, they should have stayed in the Special Features, under Deleted Scenes and they still don't explain how Angeleyes ended up as a Sgt. running a Union Army POW camp. That's it. That's all the flaws. Watching the Clint Trilogy and "Duck, You Sucker" and all the special features and commentaries was a pure joy. And, of course, I ordered "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Once Upon...America" separately to complete my own set. Now I just have to find a copy of "The Colossus of Rhodes" and I'll be happy.

This is a great package for Sergio Leone's fans and it comes with lot's of specials.Our box broke when we removed the plastic seal, but since we bought the set probably two or more years before we opened it, we couldn't complain :)