I’m not especially keen on Once Upon a Time in the West either Thomas. I don’t dislike it; it certainly looks the part and it contains some stunning set-pieces but it’s too langourous, more “limp salad” than “slow burn”. And those numerous bloody character-specific theme tunes all really grate after a while.
Henry Fonda is fantastic in OUaTitW though. I mean he’s fantastic in more-or-less everything he did but he excelled even himself here. And Bronson was never better either, although imo Bronson generally had the range and charisma of a chewed humbug.
Doubt I’ll get an opportunity to test that theory but it sounds plausible. Certainly looks for all the world like a movie which demands the biggest screen possible. Wouldn’t make those cockawful themes any more palatable though.
I’ve gone right off that movie as time has passed. Twenty-odd years ago I would’ve said it was maybe my favourite gangster picture but the last couple of times I’ve seen it (both in the last few years) I’ve been underwhelmed. It starts brilliantly but tails off and eventually runs out of steam way before the end. Or maybe I eventually ran out of steam way before the end, I dunno.
On the other hand, since the Eureka blu-ray release late last year I’ve fallen in love with A Fistful of Dynamite, which I’d previously always thought of as the runt of the Leone litter.
I agree about the Fistful of Dynamite blu-Ray - I now greatly like a film I once found disagreeable… taken me many viewings over the years to get used to Steiger’s accent - attempt. Once I could only withstand the French-dubbed version, but now I’m good with Steiger ‘s English dub. At last, I consider the film a worthy farewell by Sergio to the Spaghetti western.
I’ve stated in the past that my relationship with the film is a mixed one.
On a cinematic level it’s a masterpiece in my opinion and there are sections of it that I can watch over and over again much like I might read excerpts from a great novel. It’s visually and aurally stunning and I love it.
But, on the other hand, as a western, that is to say a genre piece of entertainment, I think it is much too long and slow to be really satisfying. You could argue that a great film is a great film in the same way that a great book is a great book and other considerations are irrelevant and I think there is some merit to that argument. But both are also a medium of entertainment and sometimes you are looking for something different than high art or excellent craftsmanship. And on that level OUaTitW doesn’t tick every box for me in the way that say For a Few Dollars More does. FaFDM has all the impressive visuals and music to die for but packaged in a punchy hour and a half bundle that never loses its way. That’s why, as a western, I think FaFDM is Leone’s best. It showcases all his great film making talents (and the talents of his collaborators) but does it in a timely and balanced fashion for a piece of escapist entertainment.
So, I love both films but for a complete blend of fun and admiration I’ll choose FaFDM over OUaTitW every time. And I’ve seen both films in cinemas on multiple occasions.
I think I agree on everything except for that last statement. I do think these two masterpieces complement each other and therefore I tend to want to watch them now and then with similar expectations but expected slighly different type of entertainment value.
FaFDM is the more typical SW IMO just much much better than all of the other hundreds, and OUaTitW might look more “American” or what a oneeyed SW aficionado thinks is more American But it does so in a very different artistic way seen through the Leone eyes and in a way I like especially cinematographically. In this case I accept the rather slow tempo (while I feel The Good, The Bad And The Ugly sometimes is too slow and long).
Both stories are very good.
I do rank FaFDM as THE number one SW and OUaTitW as number two but both as 10/10.
It also depends on what you’re in the mood to watch … no point popping OUATW in the machine if you’ve had a shit day and need cheering up.
I can never decide which are my favourites, so lists aren’t too important … but one little notion I used was the hypothetical choice of, if you could own just one 35mm print of any film which would you choose ???
Comparing OuTW and FaFDM the clear winner is OuTW.
I can watch OuTW every day, it is one of the most entertaining films ever, which means in other words it is one of the best films ever. A nearly perfect film.
FaFDM is especially in the second half a film with flaws, but even without these flaws it wouldn’t be in the same league as GBU and OuTW.
He he, ok, not every day, but OuTW belongs to the films I watched the most. Next to GBU, Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett, 2001, Eight and a Half, Apo Now, Godfather I and II and some other films of my youth. Recent masterpieces, and there are many, I don’t watch that often, because I don’t have the time, and the amount of wonderful films I would like to re-watch grows and grows. Actually I don’t have any idea how I could watch so many films in former times …
I have watched all Leone westerns (incl Nobody) very often, but OuTW and GBU far more than the others, with Nobody coming next.
I think I have watched OuTW alone in the theatres more often than FaFDM.
And for OuTA I’m with Asa, it’s far too long already in the common 228 min version. It starts brilliantly, but the characters are nor interesting enough to carry the film over the whole runtime. And Leone’s western directing was in the end more inspired than his take on the gangster film.
Agreed - plus I can’t stand James Woods … an actor who was once seen as fashionable with his twitchy manic routine, just irritates the hell out of me - he’s a one note actor and a tedious one at that. Cocaine fuelled, actor’s studio bullshit!
I saw ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST at our local art house cinema years back and Aldo’s right about the big screen experience, it was great! The slow pacing was hidden in the vast and rich visuals. Morricone’s score is just the icing on the cake.
When I got the DVD it wasn’t quite the same. The operatic quality the film has did not transition as well. The only major issue I had was Jason Robards. I really find Cheyenne irritating. Although his final scenes were brilliant.
I think the use of the actors’ eyes is really important in this film. Bronson’s are a pools of pain, Frank’s ice cold gaze, Cheyenne’s deep and rather soulful.
When judging against other Leone films I find myself rather stuck. I tend to see OaTiTW as the masterpiece. GBU is the balance between the popcorn adventure of the first two Dollars, and Leone-epic. That’s why I think it is his best film
The first two Dollars are pure popcorn.
Well, I read enough bad reviews for OuTA as well as for every QT film after Pulp Fiction. Especially QT gets imo always a big share of bad reviews, more than such an excellent director deserves.
Tarantino is NOT a bad director a not deserving of ALL the terrible reviews he gets. But not all his films are masterpieces. My least favourite is INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. KILL BILLs amazing action films but in artistic terms not in the same league as rds, PF or Jackie Brown.
For me Inglorious Basterds is in a similar league as the best Leones, and is as good as Pulp Fiction. So far QTs 2 westerns are the weak parts of his filmography. But with OuTH he’s back to form.
Well we disagree on IB, but I agree with you about the Westerns. I think as a lover of the genre he was like a kid in a candy store and over indulged.
And Yes HOLLYWOOD is definitely a return to form and I prefer it to PULP FICTION.
So sue me!!
Leone doesn’t really strike me as a “Marxist.” His protagonists are usually very individualistic and collectivist ideals tend to be of secondary importance (if they are important at all to Leone’s characters). Once Upon a Time in the West is definitely about the decline of an “ancient race” but it appears to be literal rather than allegorical. It’s about the triumph of industrialisation (wouldn’t that mean capitalist success as opposed to decline?) and the taming of the wild man that made such “progress“ (depending on your views) possible.
Yea I also don’t consider Leone to be that contemporarily poliitcal as some of his fellow directors like Sollima or Petri. Leone was more preoccupied with the genre, the wild west and prototypical characters than reflecting current affairs. But I guess one can have a different viewpoint
My favourite film of all time, sheer perfection from Leone at the height of his cinematic genius, while The Good The Bad and The Ugly (my number 2 movie of all time!!) is more easily rewatchable, OUATIC is on its own
But it does so in a very different artistic way seen through the Leone eyes and in a way I like especially cinematographically. In this case I accept the rather slow tempo (while I feel The Good, The Bad And The Ugly sometimes is too slow and long).
