This is another film that was on my watch list for a long time. I loved the dollars trilogy and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is one of my favourite movies of all time. Considering that OUATITW is directed by same guy and scored by the same composer as those three epics, this is a movie that I was looking forward to watching more than any other 'classic' film.
So, was I blown away or disappointed? Well, after seeing it for the first time, I guess you can say I found it somewhat impressive... Oh who am I kidding THIS MOVIE IS FUCKING AWESOME!
Yeah, I absolutely adore this movie! In my opinion, this another fine
piece of work by Leone and one of the best westerns I’ve ever seen! So what
exactly did I love so much about it? Well…
The opening sequence is the greatest opening sequence I’ve ever seen. The
first handful of shots are slow, eerie, and soaked with atmosphere. You have
one guy locking an old man in a closet, one guy drinking water out of his hat,
and another guy trying to kill a fly with the barrel of his own gun, all in the
confines of a train station in the middle of nowhere. What I love most about
this is that the movie manages to pull you in and grab your attention, even
though you have no idea what is going on…
After about 5 minutes of fly chasing and windmill screeching, a train
finally shows up at the station. These 3 aforementioned cowboys stand next to
the train in a dual-like stance, anxiously awaiting something (or someone). The
train then departs the station and they start to walk away… Until they hear the
harmonica, and see Charles motherfucking Bronson on the other side of the
station as the train leaves. He’s standing there playing a harmonica and being
all badass about it, and then after a little bantering about a possible fourth
horse, he says to them “you brought 2 too many” and then proceeds to open fire
on all three. He kills all three of them, but the last one manages to get a
shot off and hit Harmonica (Bronson) in the shoulder.
Amazing suspense, amazing atmosphere, and one fuck of a payoff! Seriously… Best. Opening Scene. Ever!
The second scene is set up nearly the same way. The movie introduces you to the McBain family (no Simpsons jokes, please), who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their mother/wife. After Mr. McBain goes to the well for some water, we hear a gunshot and see his daughter fall to the ground. We then hear another gunshot and see his oldest son fall to his death as well. McBain then gets shot multiple times himself and killed. As the youngest member of the McBain family walks out of the house, we see a large group of bandits, led by Frank (played by Henry fucking Fonda)… who after thinking for about 30 seconds, decides to pull his revolver out and shoot the kid.
That my friends, is how you introduce a villain! You make him kill off an
entire family, and see his smile as he shoots a child. That has to be one of the darkest
scenes I’ve ever watched.
So that’s two things about the movie that I love right off the bat: The opening sequence, and the character introductions. Amazing!
So that’s two things about the movie that I love right off the bat: The opening sequence, and the character introductions. Amazing!
The story is absolutely fantastic too, I won't give too much away but I just love how the movie keeps you guessing. You don't know what Harmonica's beef with Frank is until the movie's climax, where you also find out why Harmonica plays the Harmonica! It's a classic tale of revenge, heartbreak, betrayal, and old west debauchery all rolled into one. I liked how the movie was able to stay in suspense for 2 hours and 45 minutes without cinematically blue-balling its audience. The story is relatable, awesome, and incredibly inspiring... What more can you ask for?
The acting in this movie is outstanding. Charles Bronson, who was already
a household name at this time, put on arguably the best performance of his
career as Harmonica. Henry Fonda seemed to have been born to play Frank in this
movie, and it added to his already legendary resume. Jason Robards is stellar
as Cheyenne and Claudia Cardinale put on one of the strongest female
performances ever in a western as Jill McBain. The characters themselves are memorable.
Harmonica has a Man with No Name vibe to him as he is calm, cool, and badass
throughout the movie, and he's badass without even trying to be. Frank is the
perfect yin to Harmonica's yang, he's cold, cunning, and ruthless. Frank is one
of the greatest movie villains of all time, in my opinion. I mean... HE MURDERS A KID AND SMILES FOR FUCK SAKES!!! That's one dude you don't want to fuck with!
As with every other Leone film ever made, the cinematography is absolutely fantastic! The close ups are bone chilling as usual, especially during the final showdown between Harmonica and Frank. The shot of the three bandits standing in a badass stance as Harmonica just plays away in the background is just beautiful. You see Leone get very creative with his camera as this movie is one of the best shot that I've ever seen. I won't give away much more in terms of cinematography, but if you're a Sergio Leone fan, you'll know what you're in for...
The music is... Oh my fucking lord the music!!! It's just... Gosh it's just fucking bone chilling! Ennio Morricone did an absolutely fantastic job in scoring this film. The Harmonica theme is symphonic ally beautiful yet badass all at the same time! The main theme, while not as memorable as TGTBATU's theme, is terrific! Morricone is one of my favourite movie composers of all time and this movie is one of the reasons why! *eargasm*
As with every other Leone film ever made, the cinematography is absolutely fantastic! The close ups are bone chilling as usual, especially during the final showdown between Harmonica and Frank. The shot of the three bandits standing in a badass stance as Harmonica just plays away in the background is just beautiful. You see Leone get very creative with his camera as this movie is one of the best shot that I've ever seen. I won't give away much more in terms of cinematography, but if you're a Sergio Leone fan, you'll know what you're in for...
The music is... Oh my fucking lord the music!!! It's just... Gosh it's just fucking bone chilling! Ennio Morricone did an absolutely fantastic job in scoring this film. The Harmonica theme is symphonic ally beautiful yet badass all at the same time! The main theme, while not as memorable as TGTBATU's theme, is terrific! Morricone is one of my favourite movie composers of all time and this movie is one of the reasons why! *eargasm*
Now I know I’ve said the word “badass” in this review quite frequently.
That’s because this movie is just the personification of badass! It’s badass on
top of badass with badass to drink and badass on the side, with some more badass
for dessert! Badass characters, badass directing, badass story, badass acting,
yeah you get it, just badass! But it’s the best kind of badass as well: It’s the
kind of badass that doesn’t even try to be badass. The movie isn’t waving its
fists at you and saying “I’m a badass motherfucker”, it’s just a badass
motherfucker without having to tell you. You just know it by watching it.
Can you tell I’m in love with this movie yet? Yeah, it’s nice to know
that at there’s one 1968 classic that’s deserving of all its praise (I’m
looking at you, 2001!). This is hands down one of my favourite movies ever! If
I did a top 20 list, Once Upon A Time in the West will definitely make an
appearance on there somewhere! This movie is fucking amazing!
I’m giving it 100 Schofield Revolver bullets out of 100.
So do you agree with me? Or do you think I’m sucking this movie’s dick?
Let me know in the comments below…
- Mad Mike of Metal
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