Beautifully shot and packed with a wickedly grim sense of humour this is one of the finest westerns this side of John Huston. Starring a stony faced don't-laugh-don't-blink Clint Eastwood and a crafty, weasely Eli Wallach it covers most of the genre's typical themes, albeit in a more gonzoid fashion, ranging from public hangings to duels and back.
Sergio Leone goes to great lengths to create just the right atmosphere, filming even the smallest rolling tumbleweed if it improved on his vision. Consequently this an epic of epic length, which is bound to put some people off.
However, the huge amounts of iconic moments, the sweeping Morricone soundtrack and the sheer wide-eyed sense of adventure it oozes turns it into a great slice of cinema.
Sergio Leone goes to great lengths to create just the right atmosphere, filming even the smallest rolling tumbleweed if it improved on his vision. Consequently this an epic of epic length, which is bound to put some people off.
However, the huge amounts of iconic moments, the sweeping Morricone soundtrack and the sheer wide-eyed sense of adventure it oozes turns it into a great slice of cinema.