My Name is Nobody – Tobis Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1973
Director: Tonino Valerii
Writers: Sergio Leone, Fulvio Morsella, Ernesto Gastaldi
Cast: Terence Hill, Henry Fonda, Jean Martin, R.G. Armstrong, Karl Braun, Leo Gordon, Steve Kanaly, Geoffrey Lewis, Neil Summers, Piero Lulli, Mario Brega

Release Date: January 25th, 2013
Approximate running time: 116 Minutes 27 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: FSK 12 (Germany)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono German
Subtitles: English, German
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: 6,71 Euro (Germany)

"The Wild West is coming to an end, and a lively youngster who calls himself Nobody is emulating his great role model, the famous gunslinger Jack Beauregard. He drives his now tired idol into an unequal duel with the "Wild Horde", a gang that spreads fear and terror. But Beauregard can always count on his admirer's inventiveness." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

My Name is Nobody comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.5 GB

Feature: 17.1 GB

For a transfer that is not 11 years old, there is definitely room for improvement. That said, Tobis Entertainment’s transfer is superior in every way when compared to Image Entertainment’s 2013 Blu-ray release. Source debris is minor, never intrusive, colors look good, image clarity is strong, and compression is very good.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in German. For this review, I only listened to the English-language track. It sounds clean, clear, balanced, and robust when it should. Included are removable English and German subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a German theatrical trailer (3 minutes 48 seconds, DTS-HD mono German, no subtitles), U.S. theatrical trailer (2 minutes 41 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a restoration featurette titled Dusted “Nobody” Before and After the Restoration (34 minutes 44 seconds, DTS-HD stereo German with removable English and German subtitles), and a documentary titled Nobody’s Perfect Leone’s Dirge to the Old Time Western  (73 minutes 22 seconds, DTS-HD stereo German with removable English and German subtitles). 

The restoration featurette not only discusses My Name is Nobody’s restoration, but this extra also covers My Name is Nobody’s other home media formats and other technical issues. The documentary is a well-rounded overview of Sergio Leone’s westerns, and it is greatly benefited by the wonderful recollections from Terence Hill.

Other extras include trailers for A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and They Call Me Renegade.

Summary:

Directed by Tonino Valerii, whose other notable films are Day of Anger, My Dear Killer, A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die, and Go Gorilla Go.

An aging gunslinger named Jack Beauregard is befriended by a young gunslinger named Nobody, who idolizes him. Wanting his hero to go out in a blaze of glory, Nobody sets a plan in motion for Jack Beauregard to face off with the 150-strong outlaw gang, The Wild Bunch.

My Name is Nobody is Sergio Leone’s response to the Spaghetti western comedy that rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Though he produced My Name is Nobody and also co-wrote the screenplay, he would hand over the directing responsibilities to Tonino Valerii, who had previously worked with Leone as an assistant director on For a Few More Dollars. My Name is Nobody reflects Sergio Leone's distinctive visual style, despite taking on different roles. Also, when compared to Tonino Valerii’s other westerns, his direction here is not representative of what to expect from him as a director. That said, the My Name is Nobody premise bears a strong resemblance to Tonino Valerii’s 1967 western Day of Anger, which also features an aging gunslinger who takes on a younger apprentice in a father-son-like relationship.

My Name is Nobody jumps right in with an exceptional opening. Three gunmen take over a barbershop and position themselves as they wait to ambush Jack Beauregard. This sequence is a masterclass in creating tension. As a clock ticks in the background, the tension builds to a fever pitch that erupts in a hellfire of bullets. Though there are an ample number of tense moments, early on, My Name Is Nobody establishes its slapstick roots, letting the viewer know that this is not your typical Sergio Leone western. The most memorable comedic moment is a scene in a bar where a drunk person tosses glasses over his head and shoots them before they hit the ground.

Henry Fonda, who had previously worked with Sergio Leone in Once Upon a Time in the West, stars as Jack Beauregard. Unlike his previous collaboration with Leone, in which Fonda played a sadistic heavy, this time around he is playing a character that is the mirror opposite. By the time My Name is Nobody started filming, Henry Fonda was already in the twilight of his career. He had already established himself as a legend in the world of cinema; he's the perfect choice to portray the larger-than-life character of Jack Beauregard.

Cast opposite Henry Fonda is Terence Hill, who was riding high on the success of My Name Is Trinity and Trinity Is Still My Name. Terence Hill, by the time of his casting, was Italy’s biggest box office draw because of films like My Name Is Trinity and Trinity Is Still My Name. Terence Hill's portrayal of Nobody is just an extension of his Trinity character. Henry Fonda and Terence Hill team up effectively, each leveraging their unique strengths as the straight man and fall guy, respectively.

Ennio Morricone once again delivers another superlative score. He composed themes for the lead characters before filming began, just like he had done previously for other Sergio Leone films. More Than The Walkyries, the music cue that plays when Jack Beauregard takes on the wild bunch perfectly complements this moment. An example of Ennio Morricone's genius as a composer, the playful main theme, should not be overlooked.

No one came closer than Sergio Leone to matching his unique style in Spaghetti westerns. It is amazing watching Sergio Leone adapt his style to the Spaghetti western comedy. There is an amusing scene that takes place in an Indian graveyard in which nobody is reading the names on the tombstones, and he comes across the name Sam Peckinpah (who is referenced more than once in My Name is Nobody). Also, Nobody, unlike Sergio Leone’s previous protagonists, is motivated by revenge or money; he is only along for the ride as he watches his hero Jack Beauregard ride off into the sunset. Ultimately, My Name Is Nobody is a must-see film if you're a fan of Spaghetti westerns, and it is this genre's last great hurrah.

Tobis Entertainment gives My Name is Nobody, a strong release that comes with a good audio/video presentation and two excellent extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer