Jack Beauregard (Henry Fonda) is an aging gunslinger who is on his way to New
Orleans to catch a boat and ride off into the sunset. Sullivan is an owner of an
ore mine that has been illegally mixing stolen gold with the ore and Sullivan
will do anything to keep this a secret including hiring several assassins to
take care of Jack Beauregard. Nobody (Terence Hill) is a laid back cowboy who
wants to see his hero Jack Beauregard, leave the west in style. Nobody’s plan is that Jack should single handedly take on all 150 of the wild bunch to seal his place in history. Will Jack over come all the obstacles that stand in his way of arriving in New Orleans on time or will his friendship with Nobody seal his fate?

Video:

Both releases present the film in an anamorphic aspect ratio that preserves the films original 2.35:1 aspect and this is were the comparison ends. Paramount’s release has improved the amount of detail and has more naturally looking flesh tones. The colors look more accurate on Paramount’s release. Another set back for the Nouveaux release when compared to the Paramount release is that Nouveaux transfer is interlaced and there is noticeable blurring and ghosting during scenes with heavy movement. Paramount’s release is progressive scan and because of this it benefits from a more stable image.

Audio:

Nouveaux release comes with only one audio option the films original English language track which is presented here in a Dolby Digital mono. This audio track makes good use of the full sonic field as gun shots explode with conviction. Ennio Morricone’s beautiful score sounds robust as the mix perfectly blends it with the rest of the soundtrack. Dialog is comes through clearly and there are no problems with distortion or hiss. Paramounts release comes with two audio options English and German language audio tracks both which are presented here in a Dolby Digital mono. The dialog is crystal clear and there are no problems with distortion or hiss. The music and effects sounds robust. They are evenly mixed as they never overpower the other. Ennio Morricone’s excellent score benefits the most from the mix as it fully envelopes the listener. English and German subtitles that are easy to read and follow have been included. Overall both releases are pretty close audio wise with the slight egde going to Paramount whose release has a more natural fuller sound then the Nouveaux release.

Extras:

Extras for the Nouveaux release include bios & filmographies for Terence Hill and Henry Fonda. Other extras include the films original trailer and production notes. Rounding out the extras is an eleven minute interview with Terence Hill who fondly remembers working with Sergio Leone. Extras for the Paramount release include the films original English language trailer and two DVD promo trailers one for the Nobody films and the dollars films. Both of these promo trailers are in German only and come with no subtitles. There is an 11 page text extra in English about the transfer and DVD encoding of My Name is Nobody that gives a detailed look into the restoration that went into this DVD transfer. Other extras include a gallery that has music from the film playing in the background while poster art. Lobby cards, stills and other memorabilia are shown like a featurette. “Nobody in the News” is a collection of rare press books with most of the text being in German. Two of the more bizarre extras are a 8mm promo reel that has about a half dozen scenes form the movie in black & white and slightly letterboxed. The overall quality for this extra is not that good as the elements are in bad shape. Also included for this release is about seven minutes of the film in 8mm and black & white. The quality is not very good on this extra either. The main extra for this release is a seventy three minute documentary titled “Nobody’s Perfect” which is mostly narrated in German with a few interview segments with Terence Hill. English subtitles have been included for this extra that are easy to read and follow. Besides discussing My Name is Nobody virtually all of Leone’s films are discussed as well as many other spaghetti westerns. This documentary covers so much in so little time and it is greatly benefited by the wonderful recollections from Terence Hill. Rounding out the extras is a thirty five minute documentary titled “Dusted” which talks about the restoration of My Name is Nobody, as well as other home video formats and other technical issues.

Overall:

Even though the Nouveaux release is a more then serviceable edition of the film the Paramount release trumps it every way with its superior audio/video presentation and wealth of extras.