Many have called "Once Upon a Time in the West" the best western ever made ... and I have no reason to argue with that. Most westerns don't do too much with suspense and maybe you think Sergio Leone overdoes it but I see huge drama in it and I really like the long pauses in watching how some tense moment evolves.
The character development is what I really appreciate as Leone wants to get right up there in their faces and get to know them. I don't know that anyone did such tight close-ups on a regular basis for his movies and Leone was so good at it. There is a scene in which Jack Elam plays a bad guy, as he usually does, and he waits at a train station for the target to show. As he waits a fly lands on his face and the scene in which he tries to make it leave is priceless. He's going to kill a man, why shouldn't he just kill the fly.
Note: Jack Elam was easily-recognized as he had a wandering eye which really served him very well in Hollywood as he was in countless cowboy movies.
Awards
Most Ridiculously Beautiful Actress in a Leading Role in a Western
It's credible that Mrs McBain is an attractive women as she inspires the love of multiple men ... but ... Claudia Cardinale takes beautiful to another dimension. She is excellent in the role and delivers some ferocious lines: "You can amuse yourself with me if you like but at the end I will be just the same and you will still be just a killer."
Most Incredibly Excellent Teeth for a Cowboy in a Western Movie
Sergio Leone's attention to detail is extraordinary but there's one tight close-up in which there is a flash of Jason Robard's teeth. He has definitely got a Million Dollar Dentist. No cowboy in all human history had such teeth.
Most Ridiculously Long Death Scene of Any Kind of Movie
Henry Fonda is so stone evil in this movie that he has to be killed, it's just a question of how close to the end. When he does get capped, it takes some while before he does anything. Then he falls to his knees and then to ground. With his last gasp he asks why. Harmonica gives him the last clue and Henry Fonda figures it out. As he dies he realizes he may well be the worst human being who ever lived. The scene is crazy long but it's still cool.
Most Killer Soundtrack for a Western Movie
The harmonica plays a significant role physically in the movie and the baleful sound of it is haunting many early parts of the movie. We know Harmonica plays the thing a lot and doesn't talk much but no-one knows why. He always plays the same riff and the coolness comes from how it develops as the movie builds. At the climactic moment, it's joined by surf guitars and then big strings. The scope of it is almost Beethoven in building from that one little riff on the harmonica.
(Ed: so what's Christmas about this?)
Same as with "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" as it's a cheap DVD so maybe give it to anyone ... but not me as I've had a DVD stuck in mine for months and I can't for the life of me get that mofo out of there.
The character development is what I really appreciate as Leone wants to get right up there in their faces and get to know them. I don't know that anyone did such tight close-ups on a regular basis for his movies and Leone was so good at it. There is a scene in which Jack Elam plays a bad guy, as he usually does, and he waits at a train station for the target to show. As he waits a fly lands on his face and the scene in which he tries to make it leave is priceless. He's going to kill a man, why shouldn't he just kill the fly.
Note: Jack Elam was easily-recognized as he had a wandering eye which really served him very well in Hollywood as he was in countless cowboy movies.
Awards
Most Ridiculously Beautiful Actress in a Leading Role in a Western
It's credible that Mrs McBain is an attractive women as she inspires the love of multiple men ... but ... Claudia Cardinale takes beautiful to another dimension. She is excellent in the role and delivers some ferocious lines: "You can amuse yourself with me if you like but at the end I will be just the same and you will still be just a killer."
Most Incredibly Excellent Teeth for a Cowboy in a Western Movie
Sergio Leone's attention to detail is extraordinary but there's one tight close-up in which there is a flash of Jason Robard's teeth. He has definitely got a Million Dollar Dentist. No cowboy in all human history had such teeth.
Most Ridiculously Long Death Scene of Any Kind of Movie
Henry Fonda is so stone evil in this movie that he has to be killed, it's just a question of how close to the end. When he does get capped, it takes some while before he does anything. Then he falls to his knees and then to ground. With his last gasp he asks why. Harmonica gives him the last clue and Henry Fonda figures it out. As he dies he realizes he may well be the worst human being who ever lived. The scene is crazy long but it's still cool.
Most Killer Soundtrack for a Western Movie
The harmonica plays a significant role physically in the movie and the baleful sound of it is haunting many early parts of the movie. We know Harmonica plays the thing a lot and doesn't talk much but no-one knows why. He always plays the same riff and the coolness comes from how it develops as the movie builds. At the climactic moment, it's joined by surf guitars and then big strings. The scope of it is almost Beethoven in building from that one little riff on the harmonica.
(Ed: so what's Christmas about this?)
Same as with "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" as it's a cheap DVD so maybe give it to anyone ... but not me as I've had a DVD stuck in mine for months and I can't for the life of me get that mofo out of there.
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