Comparison between the cut 4K Blu-ray / Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and the uncut German Blu-ray from Universum / LEONINE.

- 2 missing bits
- Cut duration: 3.4 sec

In May 2021, the US label Kino Lorber has released Sergio Leone's classic The Good, the Bad & the Ugly on 4K Blu-ray for the first time. For this purpose, they have reconstructed the correct theatrical version. The previous Kino Lorber Blu-ray had some editing errors and as the theatrical version is quite sought after, especially in the American region, fans were happy. The film is the final part of the Dollar Trilogy, with the first part, A Fistful of Dollars, being available in principle uncut worldwide. Part 2, For a Few Dollars More, on the other hand, was always a complicated case, with almost a minute missing from various DVDs/Blu-rays worldwide. On the Italian Blu-ray, again, another moment was cut.

While there was the pleasant surprise back in 2013 in Germany that the film was released uncut on Blu-ray, Americans were less fortunate here. Kino Lorber, in fact, used a new 4K restoration on Blu-ray in the US in 2019, but unfortunately it was cut identically to the previous MGM Blu-ray. As of May 31, 2022, Kino Lorber has now also followed up with the world's first 4K Blu-ray of For a Few Dollars More. For this they promised the "complete restored edit" of the film, which would be the Uncut premiere on the US market.

Now we had this 4K Blu-ray from the US for comparison and unfortunately, Kino Lorber hasn't fully delivered on their promise. The version is significantly longer and contains all the "major" missing parts, but two short moments were overlooked. As mentioned, these moments can be found in the German Blu-ray and were also included in old TV masters like the one from German broadcaster Kabel Eins. Both could be related to role changes. When Eastwood's character Monco walks up the stairs, this was covered up on Kino Lorber's version to the extent that the black frame is longer here. It's a pity anyway: the two cuts are certainly tolerable in themselves, but given the history of Leone's films, they are annoying for fans.

Note: At the same time, Kino Lorber also released A Fistful of Dollars on 4K Blu-ray for the first time. This release was also available to us for comparison and unsurprisingly the film here is 1:1 identically uncut as the German Blu-ray.

Runtimes are arranged according to
Kino Lorber Blu-ray / Universum Blu-ray

Additional logos at the beginning of the German Blu-ray.

29.9 sec

The text panel after the opening credits is in English on Kino Lorber's version, and in German on the Universum Blu-ray.

Note: The movie title and generally the credits are otherwise in English on the German Blu-ray, by the way, just like on the US Blu-ray. This was different with Part 1: There, the German Blu-ray has the opening credits completely in German, while the US Blu-ray shows the English opening credits, as expected.

US Blu-ray by Kino Lorber	German Blu-ray by Universum

42:32 / 43:02-43:03

Monco holds the boy, who has just pointed at Indio's men, a little longer in his arms.

1.4 sec

68:10-68:12 / 68:41-68:43

When Monco leaves the room, the image goes black and fades to the next scene. Actually, this fade only starts a bit later, so that you can still see Monco walking up the stairs.

But then the black image is a bit longer in Kino Lorber.

No runtime difference (Duration of cut material: 2 sec)

US Blu-ray by Kino Lorber	German Blu-ray by Universum

Finally, the German Blu-ray has another reference to MGM.

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4K-Blu-ray/Blu-ray-Combo by Kino Lorber - Slipcase: