Cheap box sets

[Bad Lieutenant]

A handy shopping guide for the poor and needy among us.
Database article:
http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Cheap_box_sets
Feel free to add loads of information. I like stuff that's cheap 

[Lode]

Oh my gosh, do NOT buy this crap. It is mostly fullscreen and CUT! We should warn about this.

[Bad Lieutenant]

Oh my gosh, do NOT buy this crap. It is mostly fullscreen and CUT! We should warn about this.

That's not totally true. Best Entertainment's Klaus Kinski Collection is something I'd recommend, if you don't mind German audio that is. Most prints look pretty good and are widescreen. Only $10.000 Kopfgeld is of lesser quality, while Adios Companeros is fullscreen. I bought it for 13 euros (incl. shipping). I'd say that's a pretty good deal. Besides that, I want movies like Ein Einsamer Kehrt Zurück in my collection, but I'm not going to spend a bundle on lesser spaghetti westerns like that.

[Lode]

$10.000 Kopfgeld - cut (http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=28038&vid=158472)
Ein Einsamer kehrt zurück - cut (http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=17296&vid=158477)
Sartana - Töten war sein täglich Brot - cut (http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=31690&vid=166456)
Adios Companeros - ? (http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=28043&vid=158475)
Mörderbestien (no western) - cut (http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=6909&vid=158470)
Drei Amen für Satan - cut (http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=10754&vid=158473)

I just do not trust Best Entertainment, Carol Media etc. They release crap.

[Sebastian]

nevertheless, great idea that page. for an overview.

and SHOULD you buy that crap, PLEASE use our Amazon links (which need to be added)

[Søren]

We also have to remember that some of the crap is just not available in any better form at the moment.

[Col. Douglas Mortimer]

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Van-Cleef-Collection/dp/B000TAPCBI


Ultra Cheapo Lee Van Cleef Collection. Sounds like a great deal but can you really trust the quality of these public domain stuff?

[Bad Lieutenant]

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Van-Cleef-Collection/dp/B000TAPCBI


Ultra Cheapo Lee Van Cleef Collection. Sounds like a great deal but can you really trust the quality of these public domain stuff?

It's from St. Clair Vision, the same company responsible for The Spaghetti Western Collection, which is relatively good. However, I assume this LVC Collection has more fullscreen prints.  It has some interesting non-westerns though.

[scherpschutter]

It's from St. Clair Vision, the same company responsible for The Spaghetti Western Collection, which is relatively good. However, I assume this LVC Collection has more fullscreen prints.  It has some interesting non-westerns though.

Haven't seen the list, but I suppose COMMANDOS is on it; along with DESERT BATTLE one of the better italian war movies.
I have been looking for a widescreen DVD some time ago, but wasn't able to find one.

[Squonkamatic]

I've got a bunch of these, some of them are actually worth having even though the companies who make them are for the most part the worst kind of commercial bootleggers. Diamond Ent. has an impressive 5 disc set called "The Spaghetti Western Collection" that has some really interesting material on it, though it's all ripped off from other bargain sets or recycled from VHS. There's another company called Mill Creek (formerly Treeline Films) aka Digital 1 Stop -- the guys who make the 50 movie garbage box sets -- that have two really impressive collections, the better of which is called "Gunslinger Classics" that has a lot of stuff that I've never even seen on VHS. You have to put up with a lot of singing cowboys but it's a treat to have so many films there on the shelf whenever you want them. As others have pointed out the majority of the prints are cut, poorly maintained and heavily compromised fullscreen transfers. The opinion that others I have discussed them with and I have arrived at is that much of what they are sourcing are old television prints that they obtained broadcast tapes of and transferred without any archival attention to quality. They are definitely a "buyer beware" endeavor and you usually end up getting what you pay for, which in this case ends up being crappy versions of wonderful movies who aren't served well by the presentations.

I used to be enthusiastic of these kinds of releases just for being able to simply see the movies, as of late however I've had a change of heart about this kind of DVD distribution, the main problem is that since most of the material isn't protected by watermarks etc it gets recycled from cheapo company to cheapo company. And the presence of $1 DVDs of movies discourages the bigger companies from being enthusiastic about making authorized re-releases that would be more representational of the movies in their pristine state.

[Silver Wolf]

Ein Einsamer kehrt zurück - cut (http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=17296&vid=158477)

Damn... this means that Wild East's The Return of Clint the Stranger is cut too, right? I don't remember it having any restored scenes not present in German DVD release(s).

[Lode]

Why should this mean that Wild East's is cut also? It has nothing to do with eachother.

[Silver Wolf]

Why should this mean that Wild East's is cut also? It has nothing to do with eachother.

"Nothing to do with eachother"... Wild East release uses German DVD as master for both picture and sound. They just made it NTSC (good conversion) and changed the on-screen title.

[Lode]

They do?

[Silver Wolf]

I had both versions, sold German single DVD release when I noticed that Wild East double bill uses it as master. Version in Best Entertainment Klaus Kinski box is same as single DVD release but with slightly worse picture quality and no english dub.

[Bad Lieutenant]

Spaghetti Westerns 20 Movie Pack coming May 6, 2008

SPAGHETTI WESTERNS 20 Movie Pack includes works made primarily in Italy and other European locations. (Note that "Apache Blood" is an American film.) Half of these have not been previously issued by MCE and are marked (*) on the list below.

MILL CREEK box sets offer good-to-average-quality audio and video transfers of public domain material at a most reasonable price. An excellent companion piece would be their MEAN GUNS 20 Movie Pack, which offers 18 films not already in this DVD pack.

.
Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(3.4) Apache Blood (1975) - Ray Danton
(4.6) (*) Between God, the Devil and a Winchester (Italy/Spain-1968) - Gilbert Roland/Richard Harrison
(5.7) (*) Beyond the Law (Italy/W Ger./Monaco-1968) - Lee Van Cleef/Antonio Sabato/Gordon Mitchell/Lionel Stander/Bud Spencer
(5.5) China 9, Liberty 37 (Italy/Spain-1978) - Warren Oates/Sam Peckinpah
(6.9) Death Rides A Horse (Italy-1968) - Lee Van Cleef/John Phillip Law
(6.1) (*) The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe (Italy-1972) - Klaus Kinski/Chen Lee
(5.0) (*) Find a Place to Die (Italy-1968) - Jeffrey Hunter
(6.1) (*) Fistful of Lead (Italy-1970) - George Hilton/Charles Southwood/Erica Blanc
(4.0) God's Gun (Italy/Israel-1976) - Lee Van Cleef/Jack Palance/Richard Boone
(5.1) Grand Duel (Italy/France/W. Ger./Monaco-1972) - Lee Van Cleef
(5.3) Gunfight At Red Sands (Spain/Italy-1963) - Richard Harrison
(5.1) It Can Be Done Amigo (Spain/Italy/France-1972) - Bud Spencer/Jack Palance
(6.2) (*) Johnny Yuma (Italy-1966) - Mark Damon/Lawrence Dobkin
(5.3) (*) Man from Nowhere ("Arizona Colt") (Italy/France-1966) - Guiliano Gemma
(6.0) (*) Minnesota Clay (France/Spain/Italy-1965) - Cameron Mitchell
(6.1) (*) Sundance and the Kid (Italy/Spain-1969) - Giuliano Gemma/Nino Benvenuti
(4.7) This Man Can't Die (Italy/Spain-1972) - Guy Madison/Rik Battaglia
(4.0) Trinity And Sartana (Italy-1972) - Robert Widmark
(4.2) (*) Twice a Judas (Italy/Spain-1969) - Klaus Kinski/Antonio Sabato
(3.7) White Comanche (Spain-1968) - Joseph Cotten/William Shatner

[Søren]

Saw this announced earlier but could have sworn that The Tramplers was part of it then.... Bloody Hell.

[Bad Lieutenant]

Saw this announced earlier but could have sworn that The Tramplers was part of it then.... Bloody Hell.

I'm not sure it's accurate. It's a quote from someone and I don't know if it's reliable. What is your source, if I may ask?

EDIT: Never mind, here's a copy paste from Mill Creek website:

Spaghetti Westerns 20 Movie Pack
Item ID MV20040
Content Video
Language English
Category 20 Movie Packs
Genre Western
Format 5 DVD
Run Time 32 Hours 8 Minutes
Rating NR - Not Rated
 
 
Order Date Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Street Date Tuesday, May 06, 2008
MSRP 14.98
UPC Code 683904200402
Carton Qty 30
Synopsis: Available now from Mill Creek Entertainment, a collection of classic Westerns featuring some of your favorite stars including Lee Van Cleef, Richard Harrison, Jack Palance, Joseph Cotten, Klaus Kinski and many more! You'll be thrilled at the action, suspense and drama involved with these twenty films specially selected for this DVD set. Hours of entertainment await you in this fine collection of cinema features that cover tales of the Old West!
 
Included
1. Apache Blood
2. Between God, the Devil and a Winchester
3. Beyond the Law
4. China 9, Liberty 37
5. Death Rides a Horse
6. Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe, The
7. Find a Place to Die
8. Fistful of Lead
9. God's Gun
10. Grand Duel, The
11. Gunfight at Red Sands
12. It Can Be Done Amigo
13. Johnny Yuma
14. Man from Nowhere
15. Minnesota Clay
16. Sundance and the Kid
17. This Man Can't Die
18. Trinity and Sartana
19. Twice a Judas
20. White Comanche
 

[Søren]

I'm not sure it's accurate. It's a quote from someone and I don't know if it's reliable. What is your source, if I may ask?

Read the news on the other spaghetti board. It was noticed that The Tramplers and Twice A Judas was the two titles not previously out in any of those cheap collections, but alas now Tramplers is gone . The information you got is reliable, corresponds with what Mill Creek states:

http://www.millcreekent.com/ViewProductDetails.asp?productid=407

But last time I visited that link, The Tramplers was part of the deal. Think they maybe changed it for Gunfight at Red Sands but not sure. Would sure have liked The Tramplers better.

[Phil H]

Where is this one on sale at?  I have similar cheap sets but there are a number of titles on this one I don't have.  I checked Amazon.uk and Deepdiscount and no sign of it.