Once Upon A Time In The West

I figured a little gunfighting wouldn't hurt this month.

Once Upon A Time In The West is quite possibly the best western I've seen. I've seen my fair share from several decades, actors, and directors, and while I do still have a soft spot for The Dollars Trilogy nothing really hit this big of a scope or sense of drama in those movies. Which is funny because Sergio Leone directed both so regardless of which I prefer, Leone is the best western director in my eyes. After finishing The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly he didn't want to do another western but was actually forced into it by american production companies so he could make his next project, which is a bit rubbish because I would trust the man and his vision and just have him make the damn movie. But what we got is one of the most acclaimed and loved westerns of all time. Set around a collected ensemble cast, a young woman named Jill has returned to Texas to start her new life with her husband and children before learning of them being murdered by a group of mercenaries hired by a railroad tycoon who wants her land. Meanwhile a man has a vendetta against one of the mercenaries and is trying to track him down, while a wanted fugitive is sort of a wild card interacting with the three major players. They being the woman Jill, the hired killer Frank, the stranger known only as Harmonica, and the fugitive Cheyenne, but make no mistake this is Jill's movie. Every character dynamic is interesting no matter who you pair them with, the performances are excellent, and the story is in no rush and takes it's time with these characters. The film clocks in depending on the cut, either a little less than two and a half hours and one pushing almost three hours. Stick to the almost three hour version. I think the biggest reason why this might be favorite western is the performances, Claudia Cardinale is a wonderful lead and there wasn't a moment I was rooting for her, she just has such a compelling story I mean her family was massacred and she's just trying to pick up the pieces and move on, and she doesn't take any nonsense from quite frankly very vile and horrible men. She's just such a great actress and handles the material flawlessly. Charles Bronson is awesome as per usual as Harmonica, exuding an icy cool persona and his motivation and arc is more of your typical western fare but done great and his eyes just stare into your soul. Speaking of eyes, a surprising heel turn for Henry Fonda the leading man of that time and place in the world being a cold blooded killer probably ruffled some feathers back then, but I'd be lying if I said he wasn't really damn good in that role. And last but certainly not least, Jason Robards as the criminal Cheyenne is perplexing, if only just because I can't make heads or tails on where he stands, he's a criminal but doesn't really cause trouble and is simultaneously horrible and yet oddly amicable with Jill, you don't really know what his game is or his goals. But everybody else has very clear cut and intertwining goals, Jill's family was killed by Frank, Harmonica is seeking vengeance on Frank, Frank I guess took over Cheyenne's men, and Cheyenne and Jill have a bizarre relationship. Everything kinda fits but I think Cheyenne just does what he thinks will get him ahead in life, which clears up his character a bit. I belive this was Segio Leone's first time making a film in America, so it's not his standard spaghetti western style. There's gorgeous shots of the desolate West slowly being modernized by the ongoing train, the framing on people's faces always make their eyes center of the frame like if you were staring at them face to face, the action while not as prevalent as you would think is still done well and of course the final standoff is something to admire, and since it's a longer film it takes the time to focus on these characters which is what really pushes this film above all other westerns for me. Now there's nothing wrong with a western that has lots of shootouts and chases, and that's probably why For A Few Dollars More is easily my favorite of The Dollar's Trilogy because there is an emotional anchor and substance to Douglas Mortimer's character that makes you like him even more. Now that's not saying Clint Eastwood is boring in those movies, or has nothing going for him because he does but it's not really in the foreground, he's more the constant in those changing films. This movie takes a more dramatic weight to it, which is evident solely by the score done by Ennio Morricone. Just listen to Jill's theme, it honestly moved me to tears, this is his best piece of music above all others. Though Ecstasy Of Gold is so good even Metallica plays it before every show, Jill's theme is beyond outstanding and even if you don't watch the film you have to listen to the song. The best title I found for it is, C'era Una Volta Il West and man is it hard not to get a bit choked up, but even beyond just that single piece of music every character's individual themes are excellent. What can I say? The man was brilliant! And you know what, this movie was an unexpected choice for me but I'll never regret watching it. 4 stars, 8.5/10, a must see for any western fan or lover of great movies.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

What many consider to be the best western ever made, how does it stack up in my eyes?

Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I do not hate this movie. I do not dislike this movie. I do not think it is a bad movie. It is however, an overrated movie. Sure the scale is the biggest we've seen in this loosely connected trilogy, the story is pretty simple and can lead to one hell of a showdown at the end, but....it's very cluttered. So let me try to explain, Clint Eastwood returns as our favorite bounty hunter who just captured a bandit named Tuco played to absolute brilliance by Eli Wallach, who soon escapes and through various circumstances they both discover a raided confederate camp, where one dying soldier departs information of a large sum of gold buried in a cemetary. Clint Eastwood's character, now named Blondie (no relation to the singer) knows the name of the grave, and Tuco knows the name of the cemetary but neither of them is telling. Meanwhile, Lee Van Cleef returns as a ruthless, malicious, son of a mother bounty hunter known as Angel Eyes, who wants the gold too and is tracking our duo. So you may be wondering, well the story seems simple so why is it cluttered like you said? One reason, sidetracking! Mother of God the sidetracking! It is padding levels of boredom! This movie should barely be an hour and a half long and not almost 3 HOURS!! 3 fraking hours?! Lord Of The Rings was 3 hours, but that was because they had a lot of story to tell and pretty thick books to adapt! This movie is at least half sidetracking doing other BS meaningless things, instead of heading to their goal, the cemetary. No, let's not just address the fact this takes place during the Civil War but let's spend at least more than an hour reinforcing that fact with Angel Eyes interrogating our duo at a internment camp for northern soldiers, them getting wrapped up in this completely meaningless and prolonged sequence with a colonel wanting to destroy a bridge and fight off enemy troops, I mean sweet Jesus when do we get back on track here?? I don't hate this movie man, I swear! The action though offtrack at times is excellent. All our leads are outstanding especially Eli as the cunning, foul mouthed, yet awesome Tuco and Lee Van Cleef is a great villain, granted I loved him much more as Douglas Mortimer in For A Few Dollars More but that's besides the point, so acting is spot on! The music by Ennio Morricone is the stuff of legend in this movie, with one particular track Ecstasy Of Gold being soooo good Metallica plays it before every concert they perform, seriously! Cinematography is gorgeous and expansive, showing massive battlefields, great stunts, and the mexican standoff we all know and love. Needless to say that is the highlight and best scene of the movie, even if you haven't seen the movie you have seen this standoff. You love it, I love it, it's amazing! But honestly, that's the only part worth anything. Just go to YouTube and watch that scene and save yourself almost 3 hours of unnecesary padding, that just so happens to be shot very well and has good actors in it. I'm sorry guys, I just don't see why people say this is the best western. It's a good western with a massive scale and terrific action, but for the life of me it just couldn't stay on track to tell the story. It's a basic story that tried to prop itself up to be an epic, when in reality sometimes less is more.

For A Few Dollars More

My favorite and the best of The Man With No Name trilogy.

This is the best in terms of story, action, and characters. So the story picks up with two bounty hunters on the hunt for one target, both cross paths and they butt heads for a bit but decide it would be easier to work together. So we have a great dynamic between Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, as they first start off as opposing forces but grow into a good partnership and I think that's what really makes this movie soar above the first. So we get 2 major badass bounty hunters that would give Boba Fett a run for his money, and both have their own character dynamics, but what's a hero without their villain? And this film has one of the most insane, sadistic villains you would ever see in a western, played by the same actor who played the villain in A Fistful Of Dollars. I guess he just does good work as a murderous bandit, go figure. And compared to the first movie, the pace feels much more up beat and well paced, whereas the first movie kinda dragged in places but everything works much better in this movie. Every aspect in terms of story, action, characters, directing, sets, just everything is done to damn near perfection in this movie. I love Lee Van Cleef in this movie as a more heroic bounty hunter than Clint Eastwood's, he is what makes this movie the best to me because of his character, his motivation, and it culminates into a highly satisfying ending. It's my definite example of a spaghetti western, so I definitely say to watch this if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed.

Oh, but we're not done yet! Next, we have what many consider to be the best western ever made. Tomorrow we end with The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

A Fistful Of Dollars

Yeah, The Dark Tower got me on a western binge.

So A Fistful Of Dollars was the first spaghetti western released outside of Italy and has gotten quite the reputation in 50 years, it introduced an entire sub genre of westerns to the world, was Clint Eastwood's first major starring role, and combined the efforts of Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone for the rest of their careers. The plot is more or less a more heavily western version of the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo, centered around a stranger who wanders in a small town controlled by two rival families and decides he can make a bit of profit out of it. But of course, not all goes to plan and needless to say none of these people are leaving quietly. It's not all shootouts and double crosses though, there's surprisingly some decent drama and good character in our lead. You don't know much about him, I don't even think they mention his name in the movie, but you get glimpses of who he is. A stone cold killer, but deep down has a heart and Clint Eastwood does it incredibly well. He can play the gunslinger, the manipulator, the fool, and the hero damn near flawlessly, and in a multi-cultural and multi-language production where hardly anybody spoke every language of the people who worked on the movie that must be highly commended! You get a good story, good characters, really decent action, and a conclusion that has been done countless times. And you know what I noticed? This film could almost be done as a pure silent film, you can follow the story from beginning to end without any dialogue spoken. And I really love when movies do that, because it knows that films are a VISUAL medium, show don't tell! When movies are told cinematically, visually, with no exposition or excess dialogue it's a sight to behold. Who would have thought a spaghetti western could work as a silent film? Not me, that's for sure. And while we're at it, the score by Ennio Morricone though minimal is still highly memorable and suits the film just right. True, westerns aren't everybody's cup of tea so I don't expect everyone to see this movie, but for those that do want to see it or have seen it, then you can take my word for it when I say it's good.

So hell, why not? Let's do the other two films. Check back tomorrow for, in my opinion the best of the bunch, For A Few Dollars More.