Westerns made in Italy during the 1960s and 1970s often can be categorized in specific groups. From films that are erratic in terms of production, script or direction. Some were frankly awful and look even worse today, others have aged better but still feel today very heavy and bloated. Then you have the few which stand up to reappraisal. These are often the films you have heard of, from the Man with no name trilogy or Django. If you are more of a connoisseur then added to that list would have been the Santana films. Now it is a given that this does not extend to all 5 films but it does reveal that the series is worth exploring.

The first thing to do when you have to navigate a set like this is not to panic. Having seen 3 of the 5 films here, that proved easy to evaluate that all 5 are roughly of a quality that any viewer of westerns will enjoy. The five films are If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death, I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death, Have a Good Funeral My Friend… Sartana Will Pay, Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming, and Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin.

If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death Is the best of the set and the films. Starting with a crescendo of violence and then unsettling the viewer into a western with supernatural undertones. It has an ominous air that Gianno Garko brings to the fore with a swagger. I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death is uneven and feels less rewarding then when I first saw it.Have a Good Funeral My Friend… Sartana Will Pay Is the most body strewn and as such would be the best to start for the viewer who is unfamiliar with the genre and wants to keep their attention to actually understand it marginally. Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming deserves to be revisited by genre fans. If not because it showcases Gianno Garko again. Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin is the film and the most delirious as well.

THE DISC: The top 5 features?

Well number one is – The 2K restoration of If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death which makes the film more dusty, dirty and seems to heighten the tensions. It is also an astonishing feat for Arrow to do and one that undoubtedly is beneficial to film culture (unlike Rawhead Rex)…

Number two – C.Courtney Joyner on I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death. It pretty much covers so much that you feel it touches the whole series with its extensive detail and research.

Number three- The booklet and in particular the piece by Roberto Curti. I had to buy the set to read it and it was wholly worth it!

Number four- Erika Blanc interview on Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin. Its a must watch and no mistake.

Number five- Well the box art is to die for!

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Limited Edition Blu-ray collection of all five official Sartana films (2500 copies)
• Brand-new 2K restoration of If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death from original film materials, carried out by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
• Brand-new 2K restorations of I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death, Have a Good Funeral My Friend… Sartana Will Pay, Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming, and Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin from original camera negatives, carried out by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
• Original Italian and English soundtracks on all five films
• Uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Audio commentaries
• Fabbio Piccioni on If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death, a brand-new interview with the writer
• Sal Borgese on I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death and Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming, two brand-new interviews with the actor
• Ernesto Gastaldi on I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death and Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming, two brand-new interviews with the writer
• Roberto Dell Acqua on Have a Good Funeral My Friend… Sartana Will Pay, a brand-new interview with the actor
• Sartana Lives, an archive featurette on Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming featuring interviews with actor Gianni Garko and director Giuliano Carnimeo
• Sartana Shoots First, a brand-new interview with George Hilton on Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin
• Erika Blanc on Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin, a brand-new interview with the actor
• Tony Askin on Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin, a brand-new interview with the actor
• Brand-new video essay on the major actors and supporting players in the official Sartana films
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Roberto Curti and an extensive Spaghetti Western timeline by Howard Hughes