Day of Anger on Blu-ray includes the Italian and English dubs of the original I giorni dell’ira and the shorter, international version titled Day of Anger, also known as Gunlaw in the UK. It’s a gritty spaghetti western starring Lee Van Cleef as Frank Talby, a tough gunslinger who is both a hero and a villian in this story.
Set in Clifton, AZ, where Butch Cassidy was killed by Dan Parker on 7/12/1882, a young man named Scott (Giuliano Gemma) is looked down upon and ridiculed by many of the town elders because he’s the bastard son of a whore, not that that was his choice. Scott’s fortune changes when Frank Talby comes to town and stands up for him at great risk.
Scott is awed by Talby and wants to learn how to be a gunfighter. Talby reluctantly agrees and teaches Scott his set of occupational lessons. They head to another town to find Wild Jack (Al Mulock), a former partner who owes Talby $50,000. Jack says he was double crossed by the people of Clifton, leading Talby back to get what he’s owed. As Talby grows increasingly ruthless, Scott’s old mentor Murph (Walter Rilla) stands up to Talby, leaving Scott caught between them.
Although many characters experience more than a “day of anger”, the film delivers an engaging story as Scott is torn between two father figures. Talby’s gunfighting lessons are important, although he might be sorry he passed on to Scott. Also, he could have used one or two about keeping his ego in check. The film has very good action scenes, such as Talby being dragged behind some horses and his jousting on horseback with rifles.
The video is presented in 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC displayed at aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The image comes through with strong colors and sharp clarity. There are some minor marks, but nothing that diminishes the overall experience.
The audio is available in LPCM Mono for both Italian and English. Watching the English dub, there’s the flatness one expects from the dialogue being recorded after production. Riz Ortolani’s score is a strong presence. The English captions don’t match the English dub.
Extras, all of which are in HD, include an Interview with director Tonio Valerii conducted by critic Roberto Curti in 2008 by Curti (11 min), an interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi (13 min). and an interview Curti (43 min). There is also a Deleted Scene from the original version that appears in the international version (2 min) and three trailers (6 min).
Fans of spaghetti westerns and Lee Van Cleef shouldn’t experience any anger if they add Day of Anger to their collection.
