Run, Man, Run BluRay review

Review of Eureka Entertainment's limited edition BluRay of Sergio Sollima's Run, Man, Run, released January 2023.

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The Movie

Under construction, come back later

The BluRay

Under construction, come back later

Eureka Entertainment brings this long-awaited classic to the world of HD in its Masters of Cinema series and this is a most welcome release. This movie was a holdout, unavailable on BluRay for such a long time, and it seems there was finally 4K scans done from available material in Italy to make such a release now possible (rumor has it another one is planned in Germany for later this year). Eureka also beat Indicator/Powerhouse to the punch whose The Big Gundown UK BluRay release (also much awaited) has been delayed by a few weeks it seems. The SWDb recommends fans to definitely get both, but let’s get into the details.

The picture quality is a relief, especially if all you know are the DVDs that are almost 15 years old by now. This new transfer offers rich blacks and vibrant colors, nice texture and nice details - even though it’s not always quite as super crisply resolved as I hoped from a 4K scan (especially in backgrounds and long/distance shots, where things get a bit fuzzy or edge enhancement gets to working). In parts, the picture is far too bright (white adobe rooftops etc.) but this is complaining on a very high level. All in all this looks quite fantastic despite what edge enhancement and digital touch-up had to perform on the original material that was surely not in best shape, else we would’ve seen such a release years ago. I remember the old DVDs, they looked fine but this is quite the quantum leap and finally a worthy home video release of this classic. The film look really comes out, the close ups are vivid and the wide angles convey quite the canvas.

The audio sounds quite convincing, too. I watched it in Italian for this review, and that track has some really nice depths and sounds very solid. The English track doesn’t sound quite as rich but is also nothing to complain about. There are newly translated English subtitles and they are very good.

There are a number of extras accompanying this release (once its limited run is over, you may have to say goodbye to those on disc two). To kick things off, there’s Stephen Thrower on Run, Man, Run, an 18-Minute video intro to the movie by the British film historian and author. That’s a very nice overview of all things Sollima, Millian and Chuchillo.

Centerpiece of this edition is the new audio commentary by authors Barry Forshaw (“Italian Cinema: Arthouse to Exploitation”) and Kim Newman (“Wild West Movies”). These two also did an audio commentary on Eureka's release of Revolver, Sollima’s intense crime drama starring Oliver Reed. This commentary is entertaining from the start, full of interesting insights and covers tons of ground. I recommend watching this last as I found it to be pleasantly analytical which will be of most value after you’ve devoured all the rest of the extras including the booklet (more on that further down). Then there’s the alternate Opening Credits (these are the English language ones, while the print of the film shown are the original Italian ones). The trailer included here is in so-so quality and it is the English language one, however a trailer with barely any dialogue. There are unfortunately no other, international, trailers included.

Now, on the bonus disc (which according to the product description may get scratched for possible re-issue run of this film) the biggest “extra” is of course the drastically shortened US/UK version (for some reason described as theatrical even though the booklet is not the only source that mentions this never had a theatrical release there) that clocks at exactly 84:03 on here (with restored English audio, not sure if I mentioned this but Milian and quite a few others spoke English for the purpose of the shoot and Milian for example dubbed himself). It’s presented just as well from a 4K scan restoration. From what I can tell, it looks fairly identical.

There’s another audio commentary here (bit of a shame it couldn’t also be put on top of the uncut version) with Howard Hughes (SWDb readers should be familiar with some of his work, e.g. “Once Upon a Time in the Italian West”) and Richard Knew, that I found to be often more scene specific than the other commentary, however just as in depth, with Howard leading the trivia here. It is quite a valuable addition to the rest of the extras and fans should definitely ensure they get this limited edition for this track alone.

There’s an extra not carried over from the Blue Underground DVD, and that’s “Run Man Run: 35 years running” which was an interview featurette with Milian and Sollima, but it may well be that these have found their way into other featurettes in different shape. The French DVD also had an interview with Sollima ad the old German DVD also had some alternate credits sequences while the Italian DVD a featurette called "Venti di coltelli" interview with Donald O'Brien. Maybe Plaion Pictures will do one better when they will release it this year (that’s what the rumor mill says). It would be (or would have been) nice to have something of an ultimate edition, but as the SWDb’s current effort of cataloguing interview featurettes shows, it’ll always be a bit of a treasure hunt for fans to track down all the editions for a full coverage of interviews. By the way, as far as I know there are currently no plans for any USA releases of this film with the licensing situation so confusing around these titles, so don’t get your hopes up and invest in a multi region Bluray player!

There’s also a 36 page booklet, with two excellent texts by Howard Hughes. The first is on the film, Sollima’s work and Milian’s role in particular, the second is on the sub genre of the Zapata Westerns. Tony Stella’s beautiful artwork graces the limited slipcase and reversible sleeve of this edition which is numbered at 3000 copies and I expect it to go fast.

Verdict

Under construction, come back later

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Written by Seb, published January 9, 2023. Advance press copies of the release were made available to us. The pictures used in this article are not indicative of the picture quality on these discs.