Grand Duel

Director– Giancarlo Santi

Starring – Lee Van Cleef, Alberto Dentice

Country of Origin – Italy

Distributor - Arrow Video

Number of discs –  1

Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald

Date- 05/12/2019

    Mill Creek Entertainment has previously issued a solid Blu-ray edition of the Grand Duel and Keoma back in 2012. The release was solid for the time, and I would have easily recommended it to fans of spaghetti westerns. However, when Arrow Video, the true Criterion of cult movies announced the film, I already knew both releases would be a must. Arrow Video has been doing amazing spaghetti western releases from one of their very first U.S. releases Day of Anger (a firm favorite), and their reputation as one of the great restorers of cult cinema, has applied to their spaghetti westerns which have looked gloriously filmlike.

    Last month Arrow issued one half of that former Mill Creek double feature with "Keoma".  Now they bring out the other "The Grand Duel".  The Grand Duel follows Clayton (the iconic Lee Van Cleef). As the film begins he runs into a group of bounty hunters chasing down an accused murderer Philip Vermeer. Vermeer is on the run, and living in a shack with a prostitute, because everyone thinks he's killed the figurehead of a family in a nearby town. Clayton begins to investigate, and finds that the victim had 3 sons that are more likely involved with the death than Vermeer.

    The Grand Duel is a late period spaghetti western coming from a period where gialli and horror films were becoming the rage in Italy. As such it's quite an overlooked film, except among hard core spaghetti western fans who love it.  The film is well-paced, full of action, and memorable visuals. It is directed by Giancarlo Santi who was a 2nd unit director under the patron saint of Spaghetti Westerns's Sergio Leone. The film also has an excellent and fitting score by Luis Bacalov. 

    Arrow Video presents the Grand Duel in a 2:35:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer preserving the OAR of the film. Everything here looks well-detailed and gorgeous. The audio is handled with a mono track in English and Italian which really brings the film's audio to life. Extras include a commentary track by Stephen Prince, interviews with the cast, crew, and director.  A video appreciation, and many more featurettes and interviews.  The Grand Duel is an excellent late-period spaghetti western and this release comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.