Once Upon a Time in the West - The Best Western Opening?

Spaghetti Westerns 🎬
21

I never get bored of the Django opening, which is funny since it’s just a guy walking in mud.

22

Yes and no.
I like the credit sequence more than the added credits of the 2005 cut, but the opening montage is more powerful in the 2005 version, which as you might remember is for me in general clearly preferable for 1000 reasons to the Turner version.

23

But the songs ruins it. :wink:

24

:[quote=“stanton, post:23, topic:4254”]
But the songs ruins it. :wink:
[/quote]

You sure have it in for those damn Django lyrics eh? :smile:

25

I was going to mention it.

By the way Peckinpah’s most underrated movie

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26

Get Mean
Massacre time

take a look at these two.

27

Whole heartedly agree with that sentiment. I don’t see many people talking about The Ballad of Cable Hogue when Peckinpah is brought up, of which I’m guilty of as well. I always want to talk about Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

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28

Cable Hogue is my favorite Peckinpah. It’s probably the first western I ever saw, at least it’s the first one I can remember.

About the opening sequences: My Name is Nobody has a great one.
Django Strikes Again is a lousy film but has a good opening.

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29

Great vid, you’ve earned a new sub. OUATIW is undoubtedly not only my favourite western but film of all time, and for me it’s the best opening of a film ever, with GoodFellas falling closely behind. Also love the opening of FAFDM, it’s not as exciting as some others but the image of the guy lying in the empty, lifeless desert always haunts me. For western openings aside from this one, The Dirty Outlaws, The Wild Bunch, Django the Bastard and A Sky full of Stars… are also great, even if I’m not that keen on the latter two films overall.

30

Thank you! Worked hard on that sucka, and I’ll be tackling more Westerns in the future. Probably make a 30 minute special on Sergio Leone at some point, just a genius when it comes to filmmaking.

The Dollars Trilogy holds a special place in my heart, so FAFDM is right up there in many regards, but you and others on this page are right, it has a stellar opening.

31

There’s so many of them, but my three favorites are ‘OUTIW, TGBU, and Tombstone (1993).’

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32

Opening scene of The great silence is great for me.
Also Mannaja with the slow motion running through the muddy fields, ending with the Axe :grin:

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33

The opening of TGS is very good indeed, that of Mannaja … oops …pretty bad.

34

I like the opening of Arthur Penn’s The Missouri Breaks. The rest of the film not so. It’s not bad, but not on the level of some of this director’s other movies

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35

Yes, that’s a great opening, and gives one an idea how good this film could have become.

36

I once read Quentin Tarantino refer to Kill Bill Vol 2. as a Spaghetti western…Is it is viewed this way by any others then I would say the opening with the Bride laying there and David Carradine explaining his masochism is right up there…but all in all, Once upon a time in the West is my Favorite right next to the Dollar Trilogy.

37

I don’t think " western" when I watch Kill Bill, but I can see where one might. The film reminded me a lot more of Neo- Noir, and a hint of the Italian Giallo mystery/ thriller find out who’s guilty type flick, and I do think he makes some references to the Australian exploitation films that I know he is a huge fan of, but mostly the film is a martial arts flick. Other then being steeped in revenge, I see little resemblance to any “western”.

38

I think every film Quentin Tarantino has made is a spaghetti western to at least some degree.

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39

I believe the resemblance in Kill Bill stems from the “no name” Bride who is a “natural born killer” who kills for money like “no name” from the dollar trilogies. The heavy use of Ennio Morricone’s scores through out the movie from first encountering Bill outside the church to getting shot by Bud and climbing out of the coffin after being buried alive, which is also a common theme in westerns… to using Navajo Joe’s theme music in the final scene and Death rides a horse scene int Kill Bill vol 1 before she takes her arm…anyway, Thanks for the insight. I always appreciate learning more about the flicks I love. :spaghetti: Spaghetti westerns :horse:

40
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