In the wake of the SpagvemberFest I should like to make a couple of changes in my top 20 and a little reshuffling in the second half of the list. This is my old list:
1 Once Upon a Time in the West
2 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
3 Il Grande silenzio
4 For a Few Dollars More
5 A Fistful of Dollars
6 Django
7 Faccia a faccia
8 Duck, You Sucker!
9 La Resa dei conti
10 Companeros
11 Tepepa
12 Une corde, un colt
13 El Precio de un hombre
14 Quien Sabe
15 La collera del vento
16 10.000 dollari per un massacre
17 La Taglia è tua… l’uomo l’ammazzo io
18 Keoma
19 Il Mercenario
20 California
And this is my new list (English titles as in the EssentiaL Top 20):
1 Once Upon a Time in the West
2 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
3 The Great Silence
4 For a Few Dollars More
5 A Fistful of Dollars
6 Django
7 Face To Face
8 Duck, You Sucker!
9 The Big Gundown
10 Companeros
11 Tepepa
12 Cemetery Without Crosses
13 El Puro
14 The Bounty Killer
15 A Bullet For the General
16 The Wind’s Anger
17 California
18 The Mercenary
19 Run Man, Run!
20 Sonora
I don’t think I’ve changed my top 20 list since I first submitted one which is some years back now so, for Christmas, I thought I might post an update. In doing this I rethought the list in terms of pure favourites rather than necessarily in order of “worthiness”. In short, I put the films in order of how often I go back to a film and how much it continues to give me pleasure. Consequently there is more of a change in order for most rather than a whole new batch of titles. Some have dropped out though and been replaced by some films which seem to get more enjoyable for me with every viewing. Anyway, here goes. I’ll be posting a new Alternative Top 20 list for myself too over the next day or so.
1 Return of Ringo
2 For a Few Dollars More
3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
4 Once Upon a Time in the West
5 Cemetery Without Crosses
6 The Big Gundown
7 Django Kill!
8 Django
9 $10,000 Blood Money
10 A Bullet for the General
11 The Great Silence
12 A Fistful of Dollars
13 Face to Face
14 The Ruthless Four
15 Johnny Hamlet
16 Bandidos
17 Fury of Johnny Kid
18 Day of Anger
19 Companeros
20 Run Man Run
Yeah this is one that has worked its way up my list based on my new criteria. I like it more with every viewing though it probably wouldn’t make most people’s top 20 I suspect.
Time to update the Top 20
1.Once upon time in the west (1968)
2.The Big Gundown (1966)
3.The Great Silence (1968)
4.The Hellbenders (1967)
5.California (1977)
6.Silver Saddle (1978)
7.The Dirty Outlaws (1967)
8.Cemetery Without Crosses (1968)
9. Wanted (1967)
10. The Stranger’s Gundown (1969)
11. One Silver Dollar (1965)
12.May God Forgive You… I won’t (1968)
13.For a Few Dollars More (1965)
14.The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (1966)
15.Shoot the Living… Pray for the dead (1971)
16.Django (1966)
17.Viva Django (1968)
18. The Ugly Ones (1966)
19. Massacre Time (1966)
20 Requiescant (1967)
Viva Django has my favorite Terrence Hill performance, who starts off as a family man, but turns into a madman! Hill is perfect for the role. On screen, I’ve never seen him be more dangerous or dark. The Dirty Outlaws (much in part is great because of Franco Rossetti) rings the bells of excellence ( in nearly every department) Andrea Giordana delivers a top notch, fist fighting performance. He is also very good with a gun, and sometimes your not sure who’s side he’s really on. Both are just as fun to watch as the first time I put them on.
If ‘The Good, The Bad and the Ugly’ is not at the top of the list, I’ll eat my sombrero…and drink a bottle of ‘Ruby port’, accompanied by Wensleydale, Stilton, and a cheese biscuit.
Even though I think The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a terrific film (I think I put it in 4th place on my list), I do think Once Upon a Time in the West and For a Few Dollars More are a million times better.
2017 is here and so here is my vote for official top 20
Once Upon A Time in the West (1968)
The Big Gundown (1966)
Death Sentence (1968)
California (1977)
The Hellbenders (1967)
The Great Silence (1968)
Cemetery Without Crosses (1968)
Silver Saddle (1978)
The Dirty Outlaws (1967)
Wanted (1967)
The Strangers Gundown (1969)
One Silver Dollar (1965)
13 .May God Forgive You… I Won’t (1968)
14.For a Few Dollars More (1965)
15.The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (1966)
16.Shoot the Living… Pray for the dead (1971)
17.Django (1966)
18.Viva Django (1968)
19.The Ugly Ones (1966)
20.Massacre Time (1966)
You know something, I can’t agree, or disagree. Personally, the three ‘Man With No Name’ films have always been ‘tops’ for me. I grew up with them, and they kept me company throughout many turbulent years of upbringing. If someone said that I needed to place the ‘Dollars Trilogy’ in order of preference, I would be stuck to do so, because I love all three… Splitting them up into 1,2,3, would - to my mind - be like separating Triplets at birth.
Perhaps I love the ‘GBU’ most of all, because it was the first one I saw on TV, in 1976.
Having said that…I can completely understand why many people prefer ‘For A Few Dollars More’ to ‘GBU’. After all, it had all the basic ingredients that we now take for grated in any ‘classic’ spaghetti western…revenge, classic showdown, etc.
As for ‘Once Upon A Time in the West’…superlative…this film stands in a class of its own! Who could not like this film?