One of the original Leone "Italian Westerns" that quickened the pulse of a young Quentin Tarantino.
Sometimes I think I am living in a time warp. I watched all the Leone films in theatres in real time and was mesmerized, gob-smacked, and exhilarated. Now in the far future (2016) I watch QT do his knock-offs, and the young audiences (who have never seen the originals) think his are the originals, and everything else the knockoffs.
(Reminds me of the Old King Cole nursery rhyme -- "pulled out a plum and said What a Good Boy Am I" -- another reference lost on those living the age of portable devices.)
For those who actually care about the history of film:
* Leone invented a brand new genre called the Italian western. His first, Fistful of Dollars, recycled a Japanese story (Yojimbo), recycled an American ex-pat whose Hollywood career was officially over (Eastwood) and introduced one of the greatest music composers of the modern film era, Ennio Morricone.
* next came For a Few Dollars More, an original story, which locked into film history Leone's trademark use of closeups and sound editing, and brought out of mothballs Lee Van Cleef, one of the greatest "faces" in the history of the western. ("Angel Eyes" in this one.)
* with two international hits under his belt, Leone aimed for the stars and created this movie which marks his legacy. While simultaneously continuing the tradition he started, and using the two stars from his second film, he gave Eli Wallach (an A-list star from the 1950s) the role of his career. Wait there is more. He set the story against the backdrop of the Civil War and manged to make the transitions seamless and brutally compelling. it is simultaneously a violent film and an anti-war film at the same time! (The only film of Leone's that may compete with this one is Once Upon a Time in America, also reviewed by this writer on the IMDb).
By modern standards the film is overlong and, had it been produced in America (as was indeed the case with Upon a Time in America), the "suits" would have butchered it down to 100 minutes. Luckily for the rest of us, this was an international release, cut-proof, and survives very nicely to the present day in its original form.
QT was a young lad when these films appeared but the impact is clear. He used Morricone's music in Kill Bill (his best film in my view) and in my view The Hateful Eight tries to emulate the power of Leone but falls somewhat short.
For you youngsters out there, I recommend these films as some of the most entertaining efforts ever set to film, period. Imitated but not duplicated.
Astonishing, mind-blowing, unforgettable.
Sometimes I think I am living in a time warp. I watched all the Leone films in theatres in real time and was mesmerized, gob-smacked, and exhilarated. Now in the far future (2016) I watch QT do his knock-offs, and the young audiences (who have never seen the originals) think his are the originals, and everything else the knockoffs.
(Reminds me of the Old King Cole nursery rhyme -- "pulled out a plum and said What a Good Boy Am I" -- another reference lost on those living the age of portable devices.)
For those who actually care about the history of film:
* Leone invented a brand new genre called the Italian western. His first, Fistful of Dollars, recycled a Japanese story (Yojimbo), recycled an American ex-pat whose Hollywood career was officially over (Eastwood) and introduced one of the greatest music composers of the modern film era, Ennio Morricone.
* next came For a Few Dollars More, an original story, which locked into film history Leone's trademark use of closeups and sound editing, and brought out of mothballs Lee Van Cleef, one of the greatest "faces" in the history of the western. ("Angel Eyes" in this one.)
* with two international hits under his belt, Leone aimed for the stars and created this movie which marks his legacy. While simultaneously continuing the tradition he started, and using the two stars from his second film, he gave Eli Wallach (an A-list star from the 1950s) the role of his career. Wait there is more. He set the story against the backdrop of the Civil War and manged to make the transitions seamless and brutally compelling. it is simultaneously a violent film and an anti-war film at the same time! (The only film of Leone's that may compete with this one is Once Upon a Time in America, also reviewed by this writer on the IMDb).
By modern standards the film is overlong and, had it been produced in America (as was indeed the case with Upon a Time in America), the "suits" would have butchered it down to 100 minutes. Luckily for the rest of us, this was an international release, cut-proof, and survives very nicely to the present day in its original form.
QT was a young lad when these films appeared but the impact is clear. He used Morricone's music in Kill Bill (his best film in my view) and in my view The Hateful Eight tries to emulate the power of Leone but falls somewhat short.
For you youngsters out there, I recommend these films as some of the most entertaining efforts ever set to film, period. Imitated but not duplicated.
Astonishing, mind-blowing, unforgettable.