grand duel keomo 2019

Clint Eastwood’s squint in Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy established him as superstar. But Lee Van Cleef, a prolific character actor who spent most of the ‘50s and ‘60s appearing on one TV show after another (seriously, his IMDB resume looks like a substitute teacher’s schedule), enjoyed a career resurgence just by association. After playing opposite the Man With No Name in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Van Cleef became a hot commodity among European producers who wanted a bit of that Leone mojo…but on a budget they could afford.

The Grand Duel (1972) doesn’t offer the actor much of a stretch performance-wise – his character’s clothes, dialogue and demeanor are much the same as Angel Eyes from Good, Bad & Ugly – but a nifty role reversal casts him as sage gunslinger helping an outlaw framed for murder to clear his family name. The script (by mystery specialist Ernesto Gastaldi) lifts more than a few elements from Once Upon a Time in the West including a showy dialogue-free opening sequence and a recurring flashback. But despite its Frankenstein-esque construction, the film manages to get a leg up on most other Spaghetti westerns of the era.

And a lot of that is due to Van Cleef, whose hawk-like features and funereal garb give him the appearance of a particularly wise old vulture just waiting to peck your eyes out. The film allows him straddle the line between black and white in a way that’s even more convincing than Clint. And director Giancarlo Santi makes sure there and plenty of dramatic close-ups and familiar showdowns (along with some less familiar aerial acrobatics!).

So why has The Grand Duel languished in relative obscurity? Well, besides an alternate title mucking things up (aka The Big Showdown) the film’s tone is inconsistent: light and jokey one minute, dead serious the next. Gastaldi’s script also tosses us right into the middle of a long-standing family feud and takes its sweet time explaining who’s who. Withholding that sort of information in a mystery is essential. In a Western it’s just plain frustrating.

But The Grand Duel deserves much more appreciation. And thanks Arrow Video's new 2K restoration, it’ll finally get it. The Blu-ray easily bests any previous edition as far as looks go and heaps on a ton of extras along with an illustrated collector's booklet.

Arrow has gotten back on the spaghetti western bandwagon in a big way, even revisiting Keoma (1976), essentially the genre's last gasp before hanging up the spurs for good. Franco Nero stars as the titular Indian half-breed badass with a score to settle with his no-good half brothers. After rescuing a pregnant plague victim, he returns to his hometown to take on the local boss hog and dispense a little John Wick-style justice.

With some of the best visuals outside to a Leone film, director Enzo G. Castellari creates an off-kilter atmosphere and disjointed storytelling style full of whiplash flashbacks and symbolic metaphors. The dialogue is a little too poetic (“I must go alone…because I am alone”), but Nero’s cold blue eyes are used to terrific effect. His blend of Eastwood looks and Bronson attitude make for an interesting character. Even Woody Strode pops up as a former mentor who pitches in to clean up the town in the rapid-fire finale. In fact, the only thing hurting Keoma's reputation is a warbling musical score performed by what sounds like the Schwarzenegger family singers; an off-key accompaniment that serves as a ridiculous Greek chorus to the onscreen action.

Arrow's new 2K restoration is nothing short of glorious throughout. The menu offers a choice of English or Italian versions, but either way you're stuck with that damn soundtrack! Extras include gobs of new material, including a commentary, interviews, video appreciation, introduction by filmmaker Alex Cox and collector's booklet with new writing on the film.