Sartana

It's understandable if spaghetti western fans are a little gun-shy about adding new titles to their collection. After all, the genre cannibalized itself to the point where it was hard to tell a Dollars knock-off from a knock-off of a knock-off. Arrow Video's 5-disc Complete Sartana box set is about at legit as things get in the Italian film industry, gathering the original If You Meet Sartana...Pray for Your Death and four other films in the series, the majority starring Gianni Garko (George Hilton takes over for the final entry) as the dapper, quick-draw, card-sharp whose nose for gold seems to put him in the middle of a dangerous situation wherever he goes.

While the series starts off as a Leone clone, things get more interesting with each sequel, particularly Light the Fuse...Sartana is Coming, with a script by giallo innovator Ernesto Gastaldi that blends the two genres brilliantly, layering a series of double-crosses so deep the plot becomes intentionally comical. While the films are all separate entities, the character of Sartana adapts to each adventure, combining the accidental heroics of Eastwood's Man With No Name with the light-hearted gadgetry of The Wild, Wild West. Hilton's time in the saddle (Sartana's Here...Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin) might be the most straight-up entertaining of the bunch, full of impressive action gags and a banquet of colorful villains to choose from.

While the Sartana name continued to be used and abused in a series of illegitimate sequels, the original five films, produced in a quick spurt between 1968 and 1970 offer up some of the most satisfying spaghetti western action out there. And Arrow's set, featuring brand-new 2K restorations (the original is the only film with even a hint of film damage) is one of those rare sure-things, stuffed with assorted interviews, audio commentaries and video essays that go above and beyond collecting the films themselves.... which must have been an incredible feat of legal wrangling. Passing up on this limited edition is like digging your own grave.