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Gian Maria Volonté

Gian Maria Volonté

7 films on Best Blurays3 in 4K4 in HD

Gian Maria Volonté photo

Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor. He is perhaps most famous outside of Italy for his roles as the main villain in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (credited in the USA as "Johnny Wels") and For a Few Dollars More. In Italy and much of Europe, he was notable for his roles in high-profile social dramas depicting the political and social stirrings of Italian and European society in the 1960s and 1970s, including four films directed by Elio Petri - We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1971), The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971) and Todo modo (1976). He is also recognized for his performances in Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge (1970) and Giuliano Montaldo's Sacco & Vanzetti (1971). Description above from the Wikipedia article Gian Maria Volonté, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Biography from Wikipedia via TMDB

Leading role · Director: Elio Petri

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Radiance Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Leading role · Director: Francesco Rosi

Video format: HD Streaming

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Amazon HD Streaming

Sources: letterboxd.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Radiance tried to license it in 2023 but failed https://letterboxd.com/radiancefilms/list/failed-licenses-2023/ so not expecting home media release any time soon.

Leading role · Director: Elio Petri

Video format: HD Streaming

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Channel HD(?) Streaming or DVD

Video Notes:

Janus have restored DCP but no Blu-ray release yet

Leading role · Director: Jean-Pierre Melville

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Audio Notes:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray marginally better

Leading role · Director: Sergio Leone

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:
  • Arrow's English mono is from the soundtrack negatives, with light noise reduction but still the highest quality anywhere. The main title is restored from the 1985 LaserDisc analog mono.

  • The 1985 CBS/Fox LaserDisc for untouched English mono despite element defects and an incomplete print used. The main title on this LaserDisc is the highest quality version known to exist.

    The Arrow 5.1 is a careful upmix from their mono restoration to create a purist multichannel mix.

  • The Italy mono exists in lesser quality but Arrow performed additional restoration work to improve what they could.

Leading role · Director: Sergio Leone

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber, see caps

Best Audio:

1984 Key Video Hi-Fi VHS

Supporting role · Director: Mario Monicelli

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Italy Rai Blu-ray

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