California (aka California addio / 1977 / Michele Lupo) review

[Rate California]

Rate California

5 Stars

 4 (10.3%)

4 Stars

 18 (46.2%)

3 Stars

 9 (23.1%)

2 Stars

 3 (7.7%)

1 Star

 5 (12.8%)

Total Members Voted: 32

[scherpschutter]

Not a scratch on the disc but it still gets jumpy at the dialogue between emma and Harmstorff in the ghost town. I am pissed off!

I have the same thing with my German Compañeros DVD: not a scratch, but it has a lot of macro-blocking on the menu
This only happens on one player, on the second player ... it's worse: it simply stops, saying 'cannot read disc'
On my PC it plays marvellously
Go fish ...

[ENNIOO]

If you have the facilities to copy a movie, sometimes doing a dvd r of the disc can solve the problem.

[scherpschutter]

If you have the facilities to copy a movie, sometimes doing a dvd r of the disc can solve the problem.

Thanks

Seems logical (although I couldn't explain why ...) but I had not thought of it
Have the possibilities, Will try tomorrow
(This sounds like a loose remake of that old series: Have Gun will Travel - when I was small, I thought Richard Boone played in this a character called Will Travel !)

Still leaves me with the question what is exactly wrong with such a disc
Is it evidence that the DVD is a bootleg (and that the source caused problem) ?
If so, making a copy can't possibly be the solution

[korano]

My copy of California is Franco Cleef so it is a bootleg. And unfortunatley for me, it is a rental and I don't have the facilities t copy. If I did I coul et into some trouble because the store s togh about this. Iwatch a lot of movies on my computer but it doesn't work here either. Neither in any of my DVD players. I rented this same copy about a year ago and itworked fine. I guess now, I'll have to buy the movie and finish it. But I did like it a lot more.

[ENNIOO]

Still leaves me with the question what is exactly wrong with such a disc
Is it evidence that the DVD is a bootleg (and that the source caused problem) ?
If so, making a copy can't possibly be the solution

Yes... if a source fault then out of luck I reckon.

[korano]

If the releasing companies cpy of is disc had faults, why would they release it?

[scherpschutter]

If the releasing companies cpy of is disc had faults, why would they release it?

Good question ...

Still I've seen so many defective discs that I'm sometimes wondering if companies are really thinking about what they're doing
Apart from really defective discs, I have had discs with awful image quality, hardly any sound, chapters in the wrong order (really, I don't make this up) etc.

[ENNIOO]

Human error and some others are looking for some quick cash and / or do not give a shit.

Wild East for example has issued discs with widescreen ratio issues. If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death and Gentleman Killer are just two examples:

Sundance explains:

http://www.sundances.net/spaghetti/eurowestern-dvd-list/s/se-incontri-sartana-prega-per-la-tua-morte-if-you-meet-sartana-pray-for-your-death-1968/


http://www.sundances.net/spaghetti/gentlemankiller.php

[Ming]

I thought this was excellent.
By far the best acting from Gemma I've seen so far, in by far the best film I've seen him in so far.
Very melancholy in mood, with more emotional depth than most spaghettis. It often felt like the US revisionist westerns of the seventies.
I liked the soundtrack too, which was as downbeat as the film.
Great ending, especially the bit with the bottle. In fact outstanding all round & definitely top 20 material for me - just outside my top 10 actually.

[Dillinger]

I can't remember this bottle thing. Give me a clue!

[Ming]

I can't remember this bottle thing. Give me a clue!

It's at the end when Gemma's character finds the girl. An outstanding moment, in slo-mo to boot.

[autephex]

Sorry if this has been covered somewhere already.. I was thinking about buying the NEW release of this, anyone know if this is better than the Franco Cleef version?

[Dillinger]

I only have the NEW. It's great!

[autephex]

Cool... I had just read something that the print was not so great

[Bill san Antonio]

Sorry if this has been covered somewhere already.. I was thinking about buying the NEW release of this, anyone know if this is better than the Franco Cleef version?

NEW vs Franco Cleef. FC doesn't seem to have correct aspect ratio.

[Stanton]

Cool... I had just read something that the print was not so great

It's not so great. Compared to Koch DVDs it's weak. Still not bad and the best around.

[autephex]

NEW vs Franco Cleef. FC doesn't seem to have correct aspect ratio.

Thanks for the screenshots Bill, that's very helpful. Looks like NEW wins this round by quite a bit, looks pretty good

It's not so great. Compared to Koch DVDs it's weak. Still not bad and the best around.

Cool.. what I had read was that "the print comes from one of the last existing 35mm reels in germany"

[ENNIOO]

I was a little dissapointed with the NEW print as was expectiing a Koch style print, but far better than the Franco Cleef version.

[Stanton]

Cool.. what I had read was that "the print comes from one of the last existing 35mm reels in germany"

That's maybe the problem, the last print and it's not in the best condition. I think they simply couldn't get a better one.

Nevertheless, good enough if you like the film. I don't.

[Dillinger]

They say similar things on the back of my I sell my skin dearly. In that case this statement really stands for a movie in bad condition...