Yeah, it's a big drop off in quality, but the scene where they rob the coach is memorable and well done.
The Good seems the popular poll choice. Good, way more entertaining. ONce Upon A Time ..is more like a European Arthaus film. Brilliant, but too ..long.
Once Upon A Time In The West is one of my top 5 films of all time, and definitely my favorite Western. A truly epic western. I'm not real clear why some are calling it slow, or boring, or whatever. We must have been watching different films. When I first saw it on the big screen in 1968, and now on my Blu-Ray, I've found it riveting every time I see it. Every scene is meticulously crafted, every star in the film is excellent (yes, that includes Jason Robards), and the ending is a true pay off. And Fonda's villainous performance is among the greatest of his career. But the main thing that pushes this into greatness is Morricone's music. Writing individual themes for each character, and then having those separate themes intertwine during crucial scenes (ie Bronson's harmonica theme combined with Fonda's fuzz guitar theme during the final shoot out) may have never been done this well before or after. And Morricone's main theme, through out the film in different incarnations, is perhaps his greatest achievement in film. Whether sweeping in epic orchestral form, or in intimate small group style, it is truly a stunning achievement. "Jill's America" is my favorite version of the theme, and a recording I play many times over the course of a year. One of my all time favorite recordings. Also, it fits Claudia's stunning beauty in the film perfectly. GTBATU is a good film, but no "Once Upon A Time In The West"........
For once so I’m surprised to see everybody admitting they don’t like “once upon a Time in the West.” And every reason for people not liking it, “boring”, worse acting, caricature of himself… All these things are wrong with once upon a Time in the West which I also dislike at the same time as most here “loving the good the bad and the ugly.” Somewhere along the line “once upon in the time in the west” — Probably after having undergone a restoration — It became the “overlooked” Leone a masterpiece. There’s a reason it was overlooked the first time: its lou Leone masterpiece. There’s a reason it was overlooked the first time: it’s lousy.
Finally watched it for the first time earlier this year and don't know why it took me so long. I loved every moment
I’m a big fan of both Leone and spaghetti/revisionist westerns in general, but I did find OUTITW boring and not worth repeating. That's just my opinion, I'm not trying to argue that it's a bad movie, I just didn't enjoy it. I admit, part of it is because I had been expecting something more along the lines of the Dollars trilogy and was caught off guard by the more traditional style of OUTITW, but my main complaint was the characters. Most of the characters just did nothing to make me care about them, but I found Charles Bronson's character, 'Harmonica,' really annoying. I guess he was supposed to be dark and mysterious, but I thought he was just gimmicky and kind of cringe-worthy. The big twist at the end explaining his motives and his harmonica motif made me roll my eyes. Again, I'm not saying it's a bad movie, I just didn't like it as much as its reputation suggested I might.
And here's the final gunfight scene I referenced above. Besides being perhaps the greatest gunfight/flashback/revenge scene ever filmed, with only one line of dialog ("Who...are...you?") Morricone's combining of the two themes (Bronson's and Fonda's) heightens the tension and lifts it to a whole different level. (BTW, read the comments for this scene and the film on the youtube page...pretty much agree with what I was saying in my above post.
Once upon a .... I think the Leone film was more effective 50 years ago on the big screen. People had more leisurely time.
Clint Eastwood turned it down( Bronson part). I'm sure Clint would have made the film a bigger success at the time. I would have cut Jason Robards ( bandit ) part out, Kirk Douglas wanted to play the bandit. I would have had the film intro, the films climax, made better use of Elam&Strode. Got rid of tbe railway scenes ( Robards). Made better use of the USA scenery, not just a stagecoach tracking shot.
I went with C'era una volta il West because it's amazing and because it's available in a version that's roughly 95% of what Sergio approved.
Sounds terrible. The whole point of the film is the expansion westwards of the railroad, so-called “progress”. To axe those scenes is to misunderstand the film.
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly...better leads. Some scenes of Once Upon A Time are breathtaking too... I would have loved it if Leone’s original idea was executed; kill the three key players of TGTBATU in the first scenes (the train station; a few bored man waiting).
They are my two favourite westerns so I have always found it hard to choose one over the other. The Good The Bad And The Ugly has my favourite actor Clint Eastwood. Once Upon A Time In The West has my favourite actress Claudia Cardinale. The poll needs a third option for those losers (probably just me) who can't seperate the two.
