Did Kino pass on this?
Thatās cool and all but I am personally happy with the blu-ray, would rather have a new scan of Duck, You Sucker hit blu-ray!
My only hope is that they now fix up their slightly faulty master, and release for the first time the original theatrical version.
Best thing would be to release 3 versions, which then would also include the longer Italian version.
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itās paramount, theyāll probably invest zero effort
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Unfortunately, most likely, yes ā¦
Criterion or Koch/Plaion or Explosive Media would surely try to make it better
We should pen an open letter to paramount and also enlist Argento and others as signatories 
and also send it to Leone Corp so they supply paramount with all they have in their vaults
āGet rid of that damn Harmonica rising scene. Itās almost as bad as the Tuco grotto scene!ā
Of course, but one problem with that rising scene is, that a new audience has watched OuTW only with that scene, they are used to it, and Iām sure many will complain when it is not longer there. Thatās why a version with and a version without is a solution.
Unless enough important people (like Scorsese or Tarantino or Argento) convince Paramount that it destroys one of the boldest ideas of the film, and that it must be removed.
Unfortunately Scorsese already tried to restore the theatrical version 12 years ago, and kept that scene.
Iāve never had a problem with either of those scenes to be perfectly honest. Concerning the Harmonica Rising scene, I feel it showcases the ultra toughness and determination of Bronsonās character in that not even death itself can stop him from avenging his brother. Plus, the fact that Cheyenne references the bullet hole in Harmonicaās coat kinda gives away that the character was meant to have survived the shooting.
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That the character of Harmonica is supposed to be a ghostly or spectral force? Or that something otherworldly is going on with the character? I donāt know exactly what this bold idea is, and I donāt think I ever came across it in anything Iāve read on the film, but Iām taking a wild guess here.
The omission of the ārising sceneā was to merely build suspense for Harmonicaās subsequent reappearance (with bloody wounds) in the desert outpost in Monument Valley.
Haha, no, this ghost theory made never much sense for me (actually I think ghosts donāt bleed ), but it is a bold narrative idea that the long scene ends with everybody seemingly dead, and than another longish scene follows which ends with the newly introduced character again all dead, and for about 25 min you donāt know what had happened to Bronson, and then his comeback scene in the shadow of the taverna with the wonderful music is even more powerful.
Believe me, if you have watched the film a dozen times without that rising scene, it is quite a shock to suddenly have such a superfluous scene there.
That scene was put in one of the shorter US versions to explain Bronsonās survival, because the later tavern scene was completely cut out.
He he, they should just watch this funny little vid:
Iām pretty sure those Paramount guys will love it, and then come to reason ā¦
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āI could create a superior restoration by using Final Cut Pro and the fucking soundtrack CD!ā
Depressingly true.
That last bit about Once Upon a Time in America got me good 
āpissed on by a cowā
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Watching that Der Untergang parody, it would be no great loss (in my opinion) if all of the interminable Once Upon a Time in America was micturated on by a cow and buried in Arnon Milchanās garden. The absolute nadir (or maybe apotheosis depending on your taste for unnecessarily long films) of Leoneās later work.
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lol what?
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Is this what the youngsters refer to as a āhot take?ā
LOL ā¦ and if that weak bladdered bovine happens to wazz over the collected BS that is James Woods āactingā career, then so much the better
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Iām taking a piss on your opinion right now 