Hi, I work for a large mobile telecomms company. I live in Oxford but was born in Toronto, Canada. ...
Hi, I work for a large mobile telecomms company. I live in Oxford but was born in Toronto, Canada. Engaged to a lovely guy from Birmingham (see Sonatine on Ciao [love you babes xx]). Love playing guitar & midi keyboards when I can afford it. Have 2 ca...
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Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In the West", flopped at the boxoffice when it was originally released back in 68/69. One reason was the length of the movie, a bum-numbing 165 minutes! Another reason was the slow pace and breadth of the film along with the complexity & mult-level storyline that differed so radically from the standard western fare for an unsophisticated 60s audience brought up on John Wayne & Gary Cooper.
The story is sweeping & majestic but relatively simple to understand. A landowner and his family are all gunned down by Henry Fonda and his henchmen at the behest of a prospector, who wants the land for his own due to its potential dollar revenue as a railway station in the near future. Fortunately the widowed wife of the landowner (Claudia Cardinale)resists the temptation to sell the land and has unexpected help from Fonda and hid heavies courtesy of Charles Bronson & Jason Robards.
Charles Bronson, a very underrated actor I feel; alarmingly underused by silly egotistic directors who feel he has only one character to offer - the vigilante!
The "...West" was his shining beacon in his film career.
A part that perfectly matched his personnae, as the man with that expressive face & threatening grin; a man of few words but lots of intentions.
Clint Eastwood simply wouldn't have been the right choice. The "..West" is a true Italian operetta, while Eastwood's 3 Dollar films were little more than Italian filling. I especially hate it when people associate "...West" with the Dollar films, even more so when they use "spaghetti western", such a derogatory term for a piece of cinematic art.
Jason Robards, almost overlooked in the film by the two main protagonists, Bronson & Fonda. Robards, plays Cheyenne, a decent kind of cowboy with a few rough edges and an air of menace when required. He is perhaps the light relief in this film, which is a masterstroke by director Sergio Leone. The film builds up so much tension that there doesn't seem to be anywhere to let off a little steam and give the audience a respite but the deft touches & fine acting from Robards offers us that relief.
Claudia Cardinale, as Jill McBain, the widow of the wealthy landowner that Henry Fonda so ruthlessly gunned down, along with the rest of her family. Here she plays her part with so much power & dignity that for me, its her best film. Leone doesn't just regard her as some kind of dumb doll; instead she is perhaps the fulcrum to the whole story and carries that burden of responsibility well, especially when faced with all three male stars.
Sergio Leone, the master director of the film. Without question, and regardless of what he may have privately felt about this film, "...West" is his most perfect film of all. There is nothing...absolutely nothing at fault here, apart from the film company hacking the length of the movie down from around 3 hours down to just under 2 in some prints!!
Leone had a good foundation with the Dollar movies, but with the added writing from Dario Argento (yes, that one, of Suspiria fame!) and Bernardo Bertolucci, this film becomes more than just a western!
In addition to the script the cinematography is simply awesome, especially in widescreen; his clever use of lighting & shadow is so intricate that if you blink you'd miss something. And of course the (in)famous long silences between dialogue only adds, not distracts, from the enthralling ballet!
Ennio Morricone, prince of the film score;composer of so many great films and all of them excellent in their own right. But only "..West" gave him so much astounding gravitas that you felt the music was like an invisible character on a par with Fonda or Bronson. In fact I have the main title from the film playing as I write this, and I feel so lifted by the sweeping power & emotion each note unravels!
And finally....
Henry Fonda!
A lot of the die-hard Fonda fans hated this film because he went against type and played the bad guy for a change. For years they had seen him appear as the hero, the do-gooder, the Mr Right. But now he chooses to be the Devil, and they didn't like it.
But ignoring that, I have to say that this is without doubt Fonda's crowning moment, including other acclaimed classics of his such as "On Golden Pond" & "12 Angry Men".
For a film star of his stature to decide to go against the grain and play a baddie...and God, WHAT A BADDIE!!! showed, great credit on his behalf to go against his adoring fans and play against type for a change.
I have to say that quite honestly, Fonda's portrayal of Frank has to be seen to be believed. Never have I seen such a sadistic, uncaring, cold hearted son of a bitch in all my movie life. This man is pure evil, without question. Those blue eyes hide a black soul and he really doesn't care about anyone, young or old, male or female.
Of course his first entrance in the film, dressed all in black and about to shoot a 9 year old boy, has similar parallels to that of the black dressed Darth Vader from Star Wars. But I'm convinced even he would run a mile if confronted by Fonda!
Once Upon A Time in the West, is the best "western" of all time, only Eastwood's 1992 "Unforgiven", comes close. Even if you're not keen on westerns you really should take a look at this, if only for the music & the pure majesty of the camera's eye!!
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Production Year: 1941 - Westerns - Director: Fritz Lang - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Randolph Scott, Dean Jagger, Barton MacLane, Robert Young
Production Year: 1976 - Westerns - Director: Irvin Kershner - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Gale Sondergaard, Geoffrey Lewis, William Lucking, Jorge Luke, Richard Harris
Sergio Leone had to be persuaded to return to the Western forOnce Upon a Time in the ... more
Westafter the success of his "Dollars" trilogy. The result is a masterpiece that expands the vision of the earlier movies in every way. It could as easily have been c...
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Sergio Leone had to be persuaded to return to the Western forOnce Upon a Time in the ... more
Westafter the success of his "Dollars" trilogy. The result is a masterpiece that expands the vision of the earlier movies in every way. It could as easily have been c...
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Sergio Leone's monumental epic 'Once Upon A Time In The West' ranks among the five or six ... more
all-time Western masterpieces. The picture itself is as big as its Monument Valley locations as grand as its fine distinguished cast. Henry Fonda plays the blac...
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Advantages: Riveting, four main stars, the score, the direction, where shall I stop? Disadvantages: None for me, although it's long and slow, which may not be your cup of tea
Advantages: Riveting, four main stars, the score, the direction, where shall I stop? Disadvantages: None for me, although it's long and slow, which may not be your cup of tea
![Once Upon a Time in the West -- Special Collector's Edition (2 discs) [DVD] [1969]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78518950.jpg "Once Upon a Time in the West -- Special Collector's Edition (2 discs) [DVD] [1969]")
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