Fort Yuma Gold / Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun) – Mill Creek Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Italy/France/Spain, 1966 (Fort Yuma Gold), Italy/Spain, 1968 (Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun))
Directors: Giorgio Ferroni (Fort Yuma Gold), Paolo Bianchini (Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun))
Cast: Giuliano Gemma, Dan Vadis, José Calvo, Ángel del Pozo, Andrea Bosic, Nello Pazzafini, Benito Stefanelli, Antonio Molino Rojo, Jacques Herlin, Furio Meniconi, Riccardo Pizzuti, José Manuel Martín (Fort Yuma Gold), John Ireland, Robert Woods, Ida Galli, Claudie Lange, Gérard Herter, Tiziano Cortini, Ennio Balbo, Roberto Camardiel, George Rigaud, Rada Rassimov (Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun))

Release Date: March 12th, 2019
Approximate running times: 99 Minutes 49 Seconds (Fort Yuma Gold), 100 Minutes 13 Seconds (Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun))
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono English (Both Films)
Subtitles: N/A
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $14.98

"Fort Yuma Gold - After the end of the Civil War, the fanatic Southern Major Sanders (Jacques Sernas, La Dolce Vita) continues to fight and plans to attack Fort Yuma, home to a gold reserve. A captured Confederate soldier (Montgomery Wood, A Pistol for Ringo), agrees to lead Union solders to stop Sanders but their real mission and the charms of the beautiful Connie Breastfull complicate the situation and could cause more bloodshed. Damned Hot Day of Fire - The creator of the Gatling gun and his famous invention have been kidnapped and are being held from the Union for a million dollar ransom. Hoping they won't fall into the hands of the Confederates, Captain Chris Tanner (Robert Woods; Battle of the Bulge, 4 Dollars of Revenge) must find and stop the villianous Tarpas (John Ireland; Spartacus, All the King's Men)." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 2.5/5 (Fort Yuma Gold, Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun))

Fort Yuma Gold and Damned Hot Day of Fire aka Gatling Gun come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.6 GB

Feature: 21.7 GB (Fort Yuma Gold), 21.7 GB (Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun))

There has not been any cleaning for these two transfers; there is print debris, scratches, and other source imperfections. Flesh tones and colors are inconsistent, image clarity is also lacking, black levels are mediocre, and there are compression-related issues.

Audio: 1.5/5 (Fort Yuma Gold), 2.5/5 (Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun))

Fort Yuma Gold comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English. 

Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun) comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English. It should be noted that there is some dialog in Italian and it comes with non-removable English subtitles.

Both audio tracks have not been cleaned up; they both have source-related imperfections. Dialog is not as crisp as it should be, and range-wise, they both are lacking, sounding flat and at times muffled. That said, as bad as both tracks are, the audio track for Fort Yuma Gold is the weaker of the two audio tracks.

Extras:

This release comes with no extra content, just a menu where you can choose either film.

Summary:

Fort Yuma Gold: Directed by Giorgio Ferroni, whose other notable films are Mil of the Stone Women, The Trojan Horse, and Night of the Devils. Fort Yuma Gold is one of four Spaghetti westerns that Giorgio Ferroni directed; the other three are Blood for a Silver Dollar, Wanted, and Two Pistols and a Coward.

The narrative revolves around a captured confederate soldier who assists union soldiers to prevent an attack on Fort Yuma.

By 1966, the Spaghetti western genre was reaching the apex of its popularity, with hundreds of films being made a year. And though there have been some films that stand apart from the rest, the limited number of scenarios leads to a feeling of deja vu. Case in point: Fort Yuma Gold, a film that has two Spaghetti western staples: gold and setting the story during the Civil War.

Besides directors who became known for their work in the Spaghetti western genre, there are also actors like Giuliano Gemma (Day of Anger) who are synonymous with the spaghetti western genre. From 1965 to 1969, Giuliano Gemma appeared in 12 Spaghetti westerns. Though I have not been overly impressed by most of his performances, when it comes to physical action, he always more than holds his own. Performance-wise, the rest of the cast ranges from adequate to good.

Another area where Spaghetti westerns often excel is their scores. Though there are two composers listed, Ennio Morricone and Gianni Ferrio, Ennio Morricone's contributions are recycled from the score he wrote for Malamondo. Gianni Ferrio’s notable film scores are Massacre at Grand Canyon, A Bullet for Sandoval, Death Occurred Last Night, The Bloodstained Butterfly, and Death Walks at Midnight.

When it comes to action sequences, this is one area where Fort Gold Yuma always delivers. The most memorable moment is a torture scene where the protagonist is restrained and forced to look up at the sun. This scene also plays a role later on when the protagonist, who has regained their sight, fakes their blindness to get the upper hand on his captors.

Despite the familiarity of the premise and its cliched characters, it is an engaging story that does a good job holding your attention. Also, pacing is very good, as it does a great job balancing action and exposition. And a solid shootout finale that takes place during a mine shift is a very satisfying climax. Ultimately, Fort Yuma Gold is a well-made and entertaining Spaghetti western that fans of this genre should enjoy.

Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun): Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun) is one of four spaghetti westerns directed by Paolo Bianchini; the other three are God Made Them... I Kill Them, I Want Him Dead, and Hey Amigo! A Toast to Your Death.

The narrative revolves around a wrongly accused man who has been accused of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to death. In order to clear his name, a friend arranges for his temporary release from prison so he can find the inventor and the missing weapon.

Despite Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun) having a solid premise and an opening where things start off strong, it is a fairly routine Spaghetti western with no big surprises. Also, there is not enough action and too much exposition.

When it comes to the cast, it is filled with many recognizable faces from European genre cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. That said, the weakest link, performance-wise, is Robert Woods (The Other Side of the Mirror) in the role of the protagonist, a man named Chris Tanner. His performance lacks the charisma that the best spaghetti western leads all have. The most memorable performance is by John Ireland (Run, Man, Run) in the role of Trapas, the ringleader behind the kidnapping.

From a production standpoint, despite there being more negatives than positives, There are a few standout moments, notably a nighttime graveyard shootout. Another strength is Piero Piccioni’s (10th Victim) score, which does a good job enhancing the mood. Ultimately, Damned Hot Day of Fire (Gatling Gun) is a by-the-numbers film that falls into the lower tier of the Spaghetti western genre.

Though this release can be found cheaply, its horrendous audio/video presentation makes it an easy pass.

Written by Michael Den Boer

The Night of the Devils: Limited Edition – Raro Video UK (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/Spain, 1972
Director: Giorgio Ferroni
Writers: Eduardo Manzanos, Romano Migliorini, Gianbattista Mussetto, Eduardo Manzanos
Cast: Gianni Garko, Agostina Belli, Roberto Maldera, Cinzia De Carolis, Teresa Gimpera, Bill Vanders, Umberto Raho, Luis Suárez, Sabrina Tamborra, Rosita Torosh, Stefano Oppedisano, Maria Monti

Release Date: October 23rd, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 89 Minutes 17 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £16.99 (UK)

"A nameless, mentally ill man (Garko) is found wandering in the woods, his mind lost in a fever dream of gruesome, sexual imagery. After being admitted to a psychiatric hospital, the man flashes back to his nightmarish encounter with a backwoods family whose dynasty holds a centuries-old curse, What follows is a night of unrelenting horror." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, “High Definition digital transfer from the original camera negative".

The Night of the Devils comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.1 GB

Feature: 24.1 GB

The source used for this transfer is exactly the same source that Raro Video used for their 2013 Blu-ray release, although it is a much stronger encode. The source has been cleaned up and is in great shape. Flesh tones look correct, colors look very good, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is solid, and the image looks organic. Also, there does not appear to be any digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (LPCM Mono Italian), 4/5 (LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, an LPCM mono mix in Italian and an LPCM mono mix in English. The tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. The English-language track has some sibilance issues, most noticeable whenever the score is playing. That said, dialog comes through clearly, ambient sounds are well-represented, and range-wise, these tracks generally sound very good. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival interview with film critic and horror expert Chris Alexander (5 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with composer Giorgio Gaslini titled Fear and Jazz (32 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with camera operator Nino Celeste titled Celestial Light (17 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Cinzia de Carolis titled The Child of Darkness (13 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Agostina Belli titled The Angel and the Devils (24 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Gianno Garko titled The Devils Among Us (22 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary by Alan Jones and Kim Newman, reversible cover art, and a 24-page booklet (limited to 3000 copies) with cast & crew information, an essay titled From the Shadows of the Past: Italian Gothic Revival in Giorgio Ferroni’s The Night of the Devils written by Rachael Nisbet, an archival essay titled Giorgio Ferroni and The Night of the Devils written by Chris Alexander.

Summary:

Directed by Giorgio Ferroni, who is most known for directing Mill of the Stone Women. The screenplay was adapted from Aleksei Tolstoy’s story The Wurdurlak, which had been previously adapted in Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath. And though The Night of the Devils uses the same source that Black Sabbath’s The Wurdulak segment does, the result is two films that could not be further different despite using the same source.

The narrative revolves around a mentally ill man, now in a psychiatric hospital, who remembers the events that led to his madness.

Though there are gothic horror elements throughout The Night of the Devils, it is also a film where psychology plays a large role in the story at hand. In the opening moments, before any characters are known, we are introduced to an injured man who is wandering aimlessly in the woods. Then there is an abrupt cut to the same man restrained wearing electronic gadgets hooked to his head as a series of images are shown in rapid succession. These images include naked flesh, body mutilation, and a beating heart that is removed from a chest. This opening setup does a superb job establishing the protagonist's fractured state of mind and why they might not be the most reliable narrator.

After this initial setup, most of the narrative is told via a lengthy flashback that provides some insight into what happened to the protagonist before he ended up at the psychiatric hospital. In this section of the narrative, the protagonist remembers a superstitious family whom he came after when his car broke down in the middle of nowhere. And though everyone else who lived in this region left long ago, something sinister has kept this family from leaving.

The performances range from good to very good, with most of the performances falling into the latter category. That said, the most memorable performance is by Gianni Garko (Cold Eyes of Fear) in the role of Nicola, the mentally ill man who is unable to come to terms with what he saw in the woods. Other notable cast members are Cinzia De Carolis (The Cat o' Nine Tails) and Agostina Belli (Scent of a Woman, 1974) as two daughters of the patriarch of the superstitious family. In the case of the latter, her character forms a bond with the protagonist that comes to a head in a shockingly bittersweet ending.

From a production standpoint, The Night of the Devils is a film that often exceeds the sum of its parts. The premise is well executed, pacing is never an issue, and the phenomenal ending provides perfect closure to the events that preceded. Other strengths are an exceptional score by Giorgio Gaslini (Deep Red) and visuals overflowing with atmosphere. Not to be overlooked are Carlo Rambaldi’s (A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin) exceptional special effects. Ultimately, The Night of the Devils is one of the high water marks of Italian gothic horror cinema.

Raro Video UK gives The Night of the Devils its best home video release to date, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Mill of the Stone Women: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/France, 1960
Director: Giorgio Ferroni
Writers: Remigio Del Grosso, Giorgio Ferroni, Ugo Liberatore, Louis Sauvat, Giorgio Stegani, Pieter van Weigen
Cast: Pierre Brice, Scilla Gabel, Wolfgang Preiss, Dany Carrel, Herbert A.E. Böhme, Liana Orfei, Marco Guglielmi, Olga Solbelli, Alberto Archetti

Release Date: December 13th, 2021 (UK), December 14th, 2021 (USA)
Approximate Running Times: 95 Minutes 36 Seconds (Italian Version), 95 Minutes 37 Seconds (English Export Version), 89 Minutes 51 Seconds (French Version), 94 Minutes 29 Seconds (US Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Versions)
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian (Italian Version), LPCM Mono English (English Export Version), LPCM Mono French (French Version), LPCM Mono English (US Version)
Subtitles: English (Italian Version), English SDH (English Export Version), English (French Version), English SDH (US Version)
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £39.99 (UK), $59.95 (USA)

"Young art student Hans von Arnam (Pierre Brice, Night of the Damned) arrives by barge at an old mill to write a monograph about its celebrated sculptures of women in the throes of death and torture, maintained and curated by the mill’s owner, the hermetic Professor Wahl (Herbert Böhme, Secret of the Red Orchid). But when Hans encounters the professor’s beautiful and mysterious daughter Elfi (Scilla Gabel, Modesty Blaise), his own fate becomes inexorably bound up with hers, and with the shocking secret that lies at the heart of the so-called Mill of the Stone Women." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (Italian Version, English Export Version, US Version) 3.75/5 (French Version)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The original 35mm negative was scanned and restored in 2K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. Additional 35mm intermediary elements were scanned and restored in 2K for the opening titles in the English export version.

The film was confirmed and graded at R3Store Studios, London. The separate French and US versions were subsequently conformed at Arrow Films, using a combination of the original 35mm negative and additional scanned material supplied by Subkultur Entertainment via LSP Medien."

Mill of the Stone Women comes on two 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc One Size: 45.9 GB

Feature: 27.1 GB (Italian Version, English Export Version)

Disc Two Size: 45.7 GB

Feature: 22.1 GB (French Version), 23.3 GB (US Version)

The sources used for the transfers are in great shape, except for the source used for the French version, whose opening credits are not in as good of shape as the bulk of its transfer. Also, the main difference between these transfers is the quality of their opening credits sequences, which vary quality-wise. Color saturation is very good, image clarity and black levels look solid throughout, and grain looks organic.

Audio: 4/5

Each version comes with one audio option: a LPCM mono mix in Italian (Italian Version), a LPCM mono mix in English (English Export Version), a LPCM mono mix in French (French Version), and a LPCM mono mix in English (US Version). All four audio mixes are in great shape; the dialog comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, the score and ambient sounds are well-represented. It should be noted that there are some minor instances where background hiss can be heard. Included with this release are English subtitles for the Italian Version, English SDH for the English Export Version, English subtitles for the French Version, and English SDH for the US Version.

Extras:

Extras on disc one include image galleries: posters (11 images), stills and lobby cards (77 images), German pressbook (14 images), and US pressbook (19 images), US theatrical trailer (2 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), German theatrical trailer (3 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital mono German with removable English subtitles), alternate opening titles: UK Drops of Blood title sequence (1 minute 30 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and German title sequence (2 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital mono German with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Wolfgang Preiss tilted  A Little Chat with Dr. Mabuse (15 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with removable English subtitles), a featurette containing archival interviews with actress Liana Orfei and film historian Fabio Melelli titled Turned to Stone (27 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a visual essay on the trope of the wax/statue woman in Gothic horror by author and film critic Kat Ellinger titled Mill of the Stone Women & The Gothic Body (24 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork, six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction art cards and sixty-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Blood from Stone: Giorgio Ferroni’s Mill of the Stone Women written by Roberto Curti, an essay titled Multiple Mills: The Many Versions of Mill of the Stone Women written by Brad Stevens, contemporary reviews and information about the restoration/transfers.

Summary:

Though most of Giorgio Ferroni’s films are run of the mill genre films, He directed two exceptional horror films, Night of the Devil and Mill of the Stone Women. And in the case of the latter film, it is actually one of the earlier examples of Italian Gothic horror.

Despite the fact that Mill of the Stone Women contains all of the elements that are associated with Italian Gothic horror. The result is a film that stands apart from other Italian Gothic horror films because of its striking use of color, instead of black and white.

Two films that clearly influenced "Mill of the Stone Women" are House of Wax and Eyes Without a Face. With that, the father and daughter characters in Mill of the Stone Women bear a strong resemblance to similar characters in Eyes Without a Face.

All around, the entire cast is very good in their respective roles, especially Scilla Gabel (Modesty Blaise)'s portrayal of Elfie Wahl, a mysterious woman whose beauty is connected to blood transfusions. She delivers an alluring performance in the role of a seductress. Another performance of note is Herbert A.E. Böhme’s sinister portrayal of Professor Gregorius Wahl, Elfie’s father.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where the Mill of the Stone Women does not excel. The premise is superbly realized, the well-executed narrative is perfectly paced, and the finale provides a very satisfying coda. Another strength of Mill of the Stone Women is its vivid use of colors and cinematography that's overflowing with atmosphere. Ultimately, The Mill of the Stone Women is arguably one of the best Gothic horror films.

Mill of the Stone Women gets a definitive release from Arrow Video that comes with solid audio/video presentations, four versions of the film, and a wealth of insightful extra content, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer