Yeah. His original part was Jack Elam's role, pesky fly ..then gunned down. No Clint made the right decision to quit at the right time. Dirty Harry followed.
I hated Westerns until I watched Once Upon a Time in the West. It is still a top ten movie for me. The slow hypnotic pace is absolutely essential to the film and its revelations. Shalom, y’all! L. Bangs
Thank goodness reason has prevailed in the voting and the gawd-awful "Once Upon" has lost in a landslide.
There was great reverence for "Once Upon A Time in The West " in the past. A special screening of the film 20 years ago in London Alex Cox was presenting it at the NFT i went along for the showing and yes it was excellent. But..during the years I've revised my opinion. There's a few good scenes in the beginning, Henry Fonda's baby blue eyes, early hanging scene with the harmonica, and duel at the end. The rest is a yawn fest.
Nice post, and I can't help thinking of another western that featured a great European actress, but a more obscure film, that being Jeanne Moreau in Monte Walsh with Lee Marvin and Jack Palance. I thought it was a great film, and Ms. Moreau was excellent in it. It probably didn't hurt that she and Marvin were by all accounts having an affair at the time the film was made.
I didn't. I sought it out and watched it after discovering Once Upon a Time in the West. I enjoy both movies (but favor Once Upon a Time)! Shalom, y'all! L. Bangs
Hello Avoid US pressing. Mastering not very good and poor pressing quality. I also had the presses UK and NL. Best in terms of quality of mastering (dynamic in particular). Excellent pressing quality. I kept my French pressing (FR) because of a curious choice of mastering. Hard to describe this experience! I can send you a rip by PM if you wish. My best version is an Italian repress late 70. Breathtaking! Great dynamic. Huge soundstage. Detailed. Great consistency in the management of crescendos. Superb pressing quality Cut by the excellent engineer Piero Mannuci. His work on this record is a mastering masterpiece. IMHO.
I have a first press Italian copy of the soundtrack which I think is pretty good but its in worn shape. They really jacked up the price lately as well so finding a new is not easy. Could you send a link to the other Italian pressings on Discogs?
Hello This one. The mastering by Piero Mannuci is really superb. IMHO. The sleeve is........ugly ! Ennio Morricone - Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo Have a good day
I see, will be adding to wantlist. There is also this 2001 double disc version: Ennio Morricone - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly But its just extras from the looks of it, not more groove space for the 1 disc songs. Then there is also the earlier italian 74 reissue: Ennio Morricone - Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo The cover is the exact same as my original press, maybe its also good. This is why its hard to find the best, there are so many and no one has tested more than a few.
Morricone’s score for OUATITW is one of the most celebrated marriages of music to film in cinematic history. Soft porn?!
I've always thought it was fascinating that Leone made three films in a row with the same basic plot. Three guys with different moral characters and agendas get involved in an adventure that brings them into conflict with each other. The most interesting guy for me is always the one in the middle. With Clint in a Few Dollars, he wasn't so much ugly as he was hard to read; ambiguous. Lee Van Cleef's vengeful bounty hunter didn't know if he could trust him. Tuco was much broader and uglier but he was also likely the most human in his foibles and weaknesses. It's hard not to like Tuco even though you know you can't turn your back on the little bastard for a second. Cheyenne was more of a cross between the two. He was morally ambivalent, but there was a decency in him and that is what attracted him to the widow - she represented a kind of stable, honest life that he found very appealing but knew he would never have. He is also probably the only character in any of these movies who achieves a kind of redemption in the end. Just opinions of course, but that's the great thing about these movies - so much to look at, think about and scrutinize. It's hard to say that I like one over the other because they seem to evolve from each other so I just prefer to enjoy the whole body of work.
The Good is a more entertaining movie (because of Wallach), Once is more powerful and iconic. Hard to choose between two Leone masterpieces, but I picked Once.
BLONDIE! Good was my favorite western for a zillion years, until A Few Dollars More grew on me and passed it up. I tend to find Good too long now. But Once is way too long. I even prefer Clint's next western, Hang 'Em High over it, and I am not a big fan of that one. Too clean for me. But Fonda was great in his bad guy role.
This list based on Stacker Score indicates Once Upon a Time in the West is the No. 1 rated western of all-time. The Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score rates it higher than The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as well which comes in third on the Stacker Score list. Top 100 Western Films of All Time
Which they should. OUATITW is better movie by far in my book. Duck You Sucker is underrated. I love both movies in their own way. TGTBATU is a great film in its own right, but I think it has too much clowning for my taste. I dig a more serious plot and OUATITW has a more epic feel because of the railroad changing everything and standing for something a whole lot more than 3 dudes chasing after gold. I think some people's love for the winner of this poll comes out of not appreciating deeper stories. OUATITW delivers on more adult themes and has roots in feminism that still has relevance to this day. I think anyone that is basing their opinion on this film on say..Jason Robards not getting more screen time is seriously missing the point.
TGTBATU needs 15 minutes chopping out of it. FAFDM is the best of the three. I think OUATITW is a more grand and stylish movie. Better acting too.
