Quentin Tarantino is a Western aficionado through and through – the filmmaker expressed this in scenes in his early works before he did it with “Django Unchained” and “The Hateful Eight“ finally took it to the extreme. While he considers Sergio Leone’s “Dollar” trilogy to be the only perfect three-parter in cinema history, he has also always been a fan of Sergio Corbucci – who was even more brutal and nihilistic in his Wild West adventures. Tarantino not only bowed to him by mentioning him by name in “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” and also gave him great importance in the course of Rick Dalton’s Spaghetti Western career. The “Pulp Fiction” maker primarily studied a Corbucci western to use it as inspiration for his films: “Corpses pave his path“.

In preparation for “The Hateful Eight” he shot the brutal teardrop together with the cameraman Robert Richardson closely examined to create a similar intimacy and atmosphere in his film. He also once described this as his favorite “snow western.” And yes, we are also completely thrilled – and forgiven for “Corpses pave his path“ the full 5 stars in the FILMSTARTS review.

This is a legendary piece of Western history that you should catch up on now at the latest. Because The film will be released for the first time in 4K on January 23, 2025 – uncut, of course – and can now be pre-ordered:

“Corpses pave his path” 4K Blu-ray at Amazon*

Filmjewelen donated the masterpiece, among other things Jean Luis Trintignant (“Love”) and cult mime Klaus Kinski (“Fitzcarraldo”) one strictly limited Ultra HD premiere and publishes “Corpses pave his way” as a limited collector’s edition in Mediabook. In addition to the uncut version in UHD for the first time, the 2-disc set also includes a lot of bonus material – from audio commentaries and alternative endings to the grindhouse version of the film to the mandatory Mediabook booklet.

“Corpses pave his path”: a punch in the stomach

Fans of classic gunslingers will probably only get their money’s worth to a certain extent with Corbucci’s masterpiece, because things aren’t too heroic here. Instead, the Pistoleros sink into a world of violence from which there seems to be no way out – and which, even over 50 years later, develops a force that inevitably tears the ground from under your feet. A punch in the stomach that still has a lasting impact today.

The bounty hunter Loco (Klaus Kinski) lives up to his name and shows no mercy when it comes to completing his missions. As if winter wasn’t hard enough for people, it shows no mercy when it puts poor people under the ground who have to steal to survive. Until one day he is presented with the bill for his murderous activities.

Because he kills the husband of a young woman (Vonetta McGee), who as a result thirsts for revenge. So she quickly hires the mute killer Silence (Jean-Luis Trintignant) to hunt down Loco…

With the top rating in the FILMSTARTS review, “Corpses pave his way” has earned its place in ours Ranking of the best westerns of all time more than deserved. You can read here why Corbucci’s abysmal classic is not only the best, but also the toughest Western far and wide for our author Pascal Reis:

Streaming tip: The best and hardest western of all time

*The link to the Amazon offer is a so-called affiliate link. If you purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.