MovieChat Forums > Giù la testa (1972) Discussion > Needs a new restoration

Needs a new restoration

posted 13 years ago by sandroalgra
4 replies | jump to latest

To make my long story short, we need: the right music, more swearing and perhaps more scenes.

For the Sergio Leone fans, 2012 is a year to look forward to, because that's when a new version of Once Upon a Time in America is set to premiere. It's supposed to feature 40 extra minutes and it's all based on an idea that came from Leone himself before he died.

This made me think 'What about "Duck, you Sucker!"?' It's another one of Leone's masterpieces that got heavily trimmed against Leone's will. It's been restored several times now and so far, the longest version is 157 minutes long. Even this version however, has it's shortcomings. The latest English restoration is featured in the double disc Special Edition release. The quality is far superior to previous versions but the transfer was done from a censored tape. A lot of the swearing has therefore been removed, some dialogue is different and Morricone's soundtrack has been altered in several scenes. This prevents the viewer from fully appreciating Leone's work. The Italian version is therefore the most complete release of this film.

The special edition also features a short documentary on a couple of deleted scenes. Some flicks of those scenes are shown in the same documentary whereas other scenes are represented by still pictures. I'm not sure whether the tapes survive as of today but all those scenes were definitely shot.

The final version of the film departs from the script in many ways. The exclusion of those scenes therefore creates a number of continuity errors. That's why I think they should seriously consider putting those scenes back in for a future release. If it doesn't work, then they should include them as bonus extra's. I'm aware of the fact that the dialogue has maybe never recorded (in English) since Leone's films were all shot without sound. Coburn and Steiger have both passed so they won't be able to dub their own voices. In that case, they could still use an impersonator. They did the same with Lee van Cleef's voice at the restoration of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.

In my opinion, if there's any film that needs to be longer, it's this one because it would make more sense that way. Does anyone agree/disagree?

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] sandroalgra 13 years ago

In particular those two,many deleted scenes have already been restored but there's still something else the current versions lack.

I got the chance to compare the Italian with the English version. Some shots in the English version have been trimmed making the Italian version a few minutes longer.

I've heard rumors (I'm not sure whether they're true) that there was a sequence after Juan kills the governor and distributes the money among the people. We see Juan jumping out of the train followed by a very abrupt transition to the next scene. The screen dissolves into another shot, which is something Leone never used. That's why some people believe the previous scene was originally longer.

I've also heard about another flashback in which John throws a bottle at a gramophone.

If these scenes (still) exist, they should investigate whether they were cut in favor or against Leone's will. The other scenes can just be left out as extras.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Marmadukebagelhole 13 years ago

No doubt the Italian version has many things in it that other release don't, but isn't it the case that the Italian version did not have the final flashback in any way, whereas French and British versions had a truncated final flashback?

Incidentally though I would be curious to see a version with the grotto massacre aftermath and Sean's discovery of Villega's betrayal reversed if one exists already. I don't know how I'd feel about someone making that alteration retropsectively though.