I figure the name of the movie is too long to make it a subtitle, and I’m tired, so this will be a bullet-point review. Sergio Leone wrote and directed Once Upon A Time In The West after his famed “Man With No Name” trilogy; hence we have a Clint Eastwood-less spaghetti Western, and with good reason. I can’t imagine a single role he could have played in this movie.
- Hey, I didn’t know a Geico caveman was in this movie! Oh, wait, that’s Charles Bronson as Harmonica. I know every guy in this movie was made up to look leathery and sun-toasted, but God, he looks like the inside of a catcher’s mitt. Oh well, it makes him look badass on the countless extreme close-ups on his face.
- For any fan of 50’s-60’s movies, having Henry Fonda do what he does at the beginning of this movie as Frank is like having Barack Obama discovered as the guy in what everyone thought was R. Kelly’s sextape. It’s twisted.
- After this, I’ll move on from the acting: Fonda, Bronson, Jason Robards as Cheyenne, and Gabriele Ferzetti as Morton are all beyond words as far as their acting goes. The latter three are the ones with ambiguous motivations, and all of them at times look more menacing or sinister than Fonda. Classic Leone directing, and my dad would be proud of me for giving big ups to Robards, who I think is the best of all of them here.
- Ennio Morricone is the most famous movie music maker other than John Williams, and he’s in top form, with his separate themes for all the main characters, giving each of the characters a bit more depth without anyone saying anything. Brilliant.
- Before Frank comes on screen for the first time and after he leaves for the last time, this movie slows to an almost unbearable crawl. I don’t think it’s because of his acting, I think it’s because without him, there’s no conflict, but still some plot, so Leone is kind of unsure of himself.
- I love the revealing of Harmonica’s motivation.
- I don’t think I would be remotely alone if I were to say that this is overall Leone’s best work other than The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, despite what I said about the movie slowing down. If it didn’t have those problems, I’d seriously consider it right along with GBU, seriously.
Maybe another movie review tomorrow, who knows; but I do have a general outline for my next few music reviews – I’ve done a bit of catching up with music released earlier this year that I hadn’t heard at first, so watch out for Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Los Campesinos!, Flight of the Conchords, and Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson.
I Ate My DVD Collection 