Once Upon A Time In The West

Anyone seen the new DVD? Comments?

 

Tough choice, Ken. Me, I've got a threeway showdown between OUATITW, The Two Towers, and a son with a geometry test on Wednesday. The latter means that I can't watch either movie with the volume at anything like a truly satisfying level. Such a price for parenting and academic success!

Thanks for the tip about the loose disc, too. I'm very tired of finding scratches on a loose disc when I get home. I do wish the case mfrs. would find a happy medium between disc damage caused by loose or broken spindles and disc damage caused by trying to pry the darned discs off a too-tight hub. I can dream, can't I?

And don't think I'll be forgetting that Rare Earth CD, either.

 

I forgot all about Once Upon A Time In The West while out this morning. Gonna have to run out to BB later (best price?) and snag a copy.

 

BB's got it (actually, I have it now ) for 14.99. This movie is one of my all-time faves; I can't wait to get it home and take a look. I am amazed that a fairly deluxe 2-disc set sold for such a low price. I ain't complainin' though.

Full of himself part:

This past weekend I presented a paper at the Literature/Film Association Conference in Maryland (I presented on Song of the South, inspired in part by some of the discussions in this forum), and I met a fellow named John Fawell (FAY-well) who's just finished a book on OUATITW. His presentation was on the complex relationship between John Ford westerns and Sergio Leone westerns. He did a very smart analysis of the way OUATITW parodies several moments in The Searchers at the same time that it pays a kind of loving tribute to the earlier film, particularly in the centrality of family. Cool stuff.

 

I watched the first 40 minutes or so last night and I agree with you completely, Ken. The picture is breathtaking in color, clarity, and sharpness without any distracting edge enhancement that I could see. Very three-dimensional presentation. The enhanced mono soundtrack was a little aggressive at times on the headphones (haven't heard it on the speakers yet) but that matches my memory of the way the soundtrack sounded in the theater. Haven't sampled the commentary yet but I'm looking forward to it.

With a transfer like this, those extreme closeups assume a truly terrifying power.

Wow.

 

I will guess you gents are correct. Should have been in last nite's package with the Beatles, Lennon and GH, but spaced it.

The very finest of the 'spaghetti westerns'........



ED

 

I bought this one last night, but only got to watch the first five minutes or so before ehading out to the theater to see MASKED AND ANONYMOUS (an allegorical masterpiece). I listened to the 5.1 soundtrack. The picture looks great -- very three-dimensional, as you said --- but all I can say for the 5.1 soundtrack right now is that the windmill sounds great.

 

Yeah, I'm anxious to hear the harmonica in 5.1