Joe Thanks (Terence Hill) is a gun slinging vagabond who mouth is a
quick as his trigger finger. Colonel Pembroke and his daughter are on
their way to Fort Christabel to visit a Major Cabot (Patrick McGoohan)
who is a notorious Indian murderer who has been staging fake Indian
attacks to drive them off their land. Major Cabot also has amassed a
small fortune of about $300,000 which he keeps guarded at Fort
Christabel. Joe with the help of his two friends Bill Locomotiva and
Lucy concocts a plan in which his two friends would pose as Colonel
Pembroke and his daughter to help them gain access into Fort Christabel
and the $300,000. Will their plan go off without a hitch or will they
find their necks at the end of a noose?

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, still in some of the wider shots it is still lacking detail due to the fact the original camera negative no longer exists. Flesh Tones and 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 making this the best version looking of Nobody’s The Greatest that we could ever hope to see due to the circumstances surrounding the films original elements.

Audio:

Nouveaux release comes with only one audio option the films original English language track which is presented here in a Dolby Digital mono. Overall the track is more then adequate as it is virtually free of any noise or distortion issues. Paramount’s 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 clean and easy to understand. The music and effects track sounds evenly mixed. There are no problems with distortion or hiss. English and German subtitles that are easy to read and follow have been included. Overall the Paramount audio mixes are a slight improvement as they sound fuller then the Nouveaux releases audio mixes.

Extras:

Extras for the Nouveaux release include bios, filmographies and production notes. Extras for Nobody’s The Greatest include two DVD promo trailers one for the Nobody films and the dollars films. Other extras include a gallery titled “Wanted The Genius” that has music from the film playing in the background while poster art. Lobby cards, stills and other memorabilia are shown like a featurette. “The Genius in the News” is a collection of rare press books with the text in German only. Also included for this release is about seven minutes of the film in 8mm and black & white. The image is almost full frame and looks awful. The main extra for this release is a twenty seven minute documentary titled “Nobody’s does it half as good as you” 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. The documentary discusses in depth the troubles this production went through and how Sergio Leone all but washed his hands of this project. Rounding out the extras is a nine minute Q&A with Terence Hill who discusses working with Sergio Leone and the trinity Films.

Overall:

The Paramount release is superior to the Nouveaux release in every way and it is unlikely anyone will top the quality of the Paramount release anytime soon.