The Grand Duel

The Grand Duel is an archetypal spaghetti western which boasts many of the genre s classic hallmarks including action-packed gunfights, wild stunts and an impressive climactic showdown...Genre stalwart Lee Van Cleef (The Big Combo, Day of Anger) stars as a gnarled ex-sheriff called Clayton who comes to the aid of young Philipp Wermeer (Alberto Dentice), a fugitive framed for the murder of a powerful figure called The Patriarch. Clayton helps Philipp fend off attacks from bounty hunters in a series of thrilling shootouts before the two make their way to Jefferson to confront three villains known as the Saxon brothers, and reveal who really killed The Patriarch.A complex tale of revenge penned by prolific giallo writer Ernesto Gastaldi (Torso, The Case of the Scorpion's Tail), The Grand Duel benefits from a beguiling central performance from Lee Van Cleef and assured helmsmanship from Giancarlo Santi (assistant director to Sergio Leone on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West). Add to this brew a memorable and tuneful score by composer Luis Bacalov (Django, Milano Calibro 9) and the stage is set for one of the grandest of all the Italian westerns.Special Contents:New 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negativeHigh Definition Blu-rayTM (1080p) presentationUncompressed mono 1.0 LPCM audioOriginal English and Italian soundtracks, titles and creditsNewly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrackOptional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrackNew audio commentary by film critic, historian and theorist Stephen PrinceAn Unconventional Western, a newly filmed interview with director Giancarlo SantiThe Last of the Great Westerns, a newly filmed interview with screenwriter Ernesto GastaldiCowboy by Chance, an interview with the actor Alberto Dentice AKA Peter O'BrienOut of the Box, a newly filmed interview with producer Ettore RosbochThe Day of the Big Showdown, a newly filmed interview with assistant director Harald BuggenigSaxon City Showdown, a newly filmed video appreciation by the academic Austin FisherTwo Different Duels, a comparison between the original cut and the longer German cut of The Grand DuelGame Over, an obscure sci-fi short film from 1984 directed by Bernard Villiot and starring The Grand Duel s Marc MazzaMarc Mazza: Who was the Rider on the Rain?, a video essay about the elusive actor Marc Mazza by tough-guy film expert Mike MalloyOriginal Italian and international theatrical trailersExtensive image gallery featuring stills, posters, lobby cards and home video sleeves, drawn from the Mike Siegel Archive and other collectionsReversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin