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Comparison between the main 98-minute version and the extended 108-minute version (both available on the Blu-ray from Arrow Video):
El Puro is one of those rare Italian Western films that has often been regarded as a hidden gem among genre fans but was hardly available worldwide for a long time. Robert Woods plays the titular alcoholic who is forced by a group of bounty hunters to confront his demons. The rather dark and otherwise quite calmly narrated story partially breaks with genre conventions and features Rosalba Neri as a charismatic woman alongside the main character. It has been noted that several international releases in poor quality were missing about 10 minutes of footage. Italian TV broadcasts also had roughly the same runtime. Generally, the available versions worldwide mostly ranged between 92-94 minutes in PAL (equivalent to 96-98 minutes in cinema/NTSC speed). In the Blu-ray premiere by Arrow Video, available in the USA since December 19, 2023 (and a bit earlier in the UK), the shorter version is also the film's main version. It's described as the "98-minute cut," while the longer "108-minute version" is also included, albeit with inserts from a lower-quality 35mm secondary source. Primarily, quiet scenes were cut, apparently for trimming purposes. This gives more screen time to Gipsy's gang without fundamentally revealing new aspects of the characters. El Puro also wakes up from his intoxication or walks around thoughtfully more frequently. Overall, it's nice to have more of this material in the film, but the shorter version is also quite acceptable. Together with newly produced bonus material, this has once again become the ultimate release of the film—however, currently only available in a set called Savage Guns, along with I Want Him Dead with Craig Hill, Wrath of the Wind with Terence Hill, and Four of the Apocalypse by Lucio Fulci. Runtime information is arranged according to the scheme: 00:00 / 00:00-02:03
The first scene is completely missing from the main version. Specs is waiting on a corner, watching the goings-on around a house. Cassidy joins him and takes a few steps forward towards a wall where the prison is mentioned. He then stands directly in front of Specs. 123.5 sec (= 2:03 min)
The credits that follow in the 1st/3rd minute can be selected for both versions either in the original Italian (with film scenes running in small circles) or in the English version (on a black background). Towards the end, the English version is missing a few credits, here the picture remains black.
04:09 / 06:13-06:32 The carriage can be seen a little longer, first shots inside and finally the carriage again. 18.9 sec
To illustrate the different image quality of the inserts, here is the shot from the HD main master that appears immediately afterwards from the same perspective:
05:09 / 07:32-08:03 Another shot of Cassidy, then Tim says: "He seems more Iike someone who steals chickens, huh?" Cassidy: "Chickens? They could be an excellent investment, so they have a riqht to protection, just Iike men." Dolph: "Chickens or men, it's all the same. The main thing is making money." They laugh and when Tim nudges the man next to him, he says: "Oh, sorry." 31.1 sec
12:57 / 15:51-15:56 After Woods is knocked to the ground, a cut to the two girls is missing. Rosie's "colleague" Sugar laughs heartily. 5.7 sec
21:35 / 24:34-26:34 Gipsy's people continue to laugh for a while and put on the clothes lying around, which is also commented on jokingly. Meanwhile, Cassidy spies the bounty poster for El Puro and every now and then you see the anxious man in the corner. 120.3 sec (= 2:00 min)
31:09 / 36:09-37:00 Rosie speaks to El Puro earlier: "How Iong will you Iast in hiding? You're safe here. You don't have to take any risks. And if you don't Iike this or it seems dangerous we can go somewhere else. One saloon is as good as another. And where there's enough for one, there's enough for two. After all, Texas is full of cowboys who need entertainment after six months of hard work." 51.6 sec
38:15 / 44:06-45:26 It starts much earlier in the saloon. El Puro comes to the bar and growls for whiskey. The landlord calls for the bouncer as a precaution, but El Puro immediately reassures him that he has money. Sugar says: "It's best if you Ieave, handsome. This time you'II get more than a headache. This time you'll pay better, believe me. Do you understand?" El Puro is unimpressed, whereupon Rosie joins them and leads them away; "Sugar, what is it?" Rosie: "There's someone who wants you." Sugar looks briefly in El Puro's direction; "The ones that I want don't even know I exist." 80.5 sec (= 1:20 min)
43:38 / 50:50-51:08 After Gipsy shoots the sheriff, he says, "Take him out of here." His men look perplexed, whereupon he shouts: "Come on, take him out!" 17.7 sec
53:53 / 61:22-61:56 Before El Puro wakes up, we see the boy (Antonio) playing around with the gun and some first shots of El Puro moaning in pain. 33.4 sec
72:54 / 80:57-81:40 After El Puro has ridden off, we see him walking around the barn and listening. He looks outside, where the wind is blowing. El Puro looks thoughtful for a moment and then sets off. 43.2 sec
78:21 / 87:07-87:12 Dolph groans in an additional shot and there's a cut to Cassidy. 5.7 sec
78:26 / 87:17-87:49 The next shot is also much longer and so Dolph stammers something about El Puro for much longer until he finally dies; "I misjudged him, Tim. I didn't think he could kill me. He had his back to me. He couldn't see me. And when he shot me, he didn't know who I was. Can you understand that? He didn't know who I was. Tim, I'm badly wounded." Tim: "Stay calm. Stay calm, stay calm..." 31.9 sec
80:29 / 89:52-90:38 El Puro is lying in the room earlier, thinking and putting the cigarillo in his mouth. Then the tracking shot of the bottle begins a little earlier. 46.3 sec
There is also a deviation in the end credits when choosing the English language in both versions. This time, however, it is only a fade-in, which means that the last shot in the original version is also slightly longer.
Slipcase and cover of the Arrow Video Blu-ray (US edition):
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