The Power of the Gaze - A Video Essay on Once Upon a Time in the West
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ธ.ค. 2014
- A video essay discussing screen aesthetics in combination with theme and ideologies of the Western genre. This was my opted final for Michael Siegel's International Cinema Since 1960 course.
- ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
Hey all. Thank you for all of your comments and viewership! I'm glad this film is still being largely discussed! I'm completely baffled that this video I made for an undergraduate film course almost 4 years ago has over 230k views and is still gaining traction! My question for you is: How are you all finding this video? TH-cam search, did a website/blog post this somewhere? I want to know! :)
TH-cam "side recommendation", after I watched some stuff related to movie analysis and spaghetti western...
Came through my TH-cam feed. Truly one of the best westerns ever made!
TH-cam recommendation
Love this movie and the music off course...... .. fantastic experience.
Well done Mr.M
I've seen this movie more than once. The Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns were epic, but this one is the king of all of them.
THE Best Western of all time...period!!! 👍👍👍
With out any shadow of a doubt.
andy scott............Absolutely! I remember seeing this as a young boy when my father [who was a total film-buff] took my brother and I to the local cinema. Despite it's length [2 hours 55 mins] we all thought it was utterly compelling - from the opening scene of Woody Strode, Al Mulock and 'swivel-eyed' Jack Elam patiently waiting for the arrival of 'Harmonica' [Charles Bronson] at the train station - to the stunningly taunt denouement between Harmonica and Frank [Henry Fonda] at 'the point of dying'.
To say the film is 'the best ever Western' [whilst true] trivialises not only its magnificence, but its importance both as a film and as a work of art. [it is actually listed in the top 100 films of all time]. The greatest tragedy however, is that OUATITW garnered not one single Oscar nomination for its groundbreaking cinematography, pacing, sparse dialogue [just 17 pages of script in an almost 3 hours long film] and Morricone's beautifully poignant soundtrack.
The fact that the vastly over-rated 'Unforgiven' took home 4 Oscars [including 'best picture'] and was nominated for a further 5 just goes to show how how misguided the Academy [and American cinema-goers in general] are. The word 'genius' is thrown around like confetti these days - but Leone WAS a genius and one of the truly great film-makers of all time.
Definitely!!!
Debatable..But Sergio Leone & Ennio Morricone are Film & Soundtrack Gods.
The movie Was slow and predictable
Henry Fonda was brilliant in this movie. This was truly the best acting I have ever seen from him. He should have had an Oscar for this performance.
I agree totally. And, it’s so unexpected ,by me, anyway. Not that it’s good but I was unconvinced he could pull off being a bad guy.
Likewise Jason Robards.
@@40mes Absolutely!
Fonda stole the show, best western villain ever
The Oscar academy would even concider giving an Oscar to an Italian movie - at least not in ‘68.
The shootout at the end I must have seen it a million times by now. Gives me goosebums every time I watch it. Best western ever made in my humble opinion.
Know exactly what you mean. Fantastic.
jep :)
Harmonica's goodbye is one of those scenes that to this day really moves me, and it does it with minimal dialogue.
That's because of ennio's score
Thats why it moves us so much..
Cause it's not a John Wayne movie where an cowboy comes home to heroine and stay with her
@@mrimmortal4905 Yes, and that's exactly what makes this movie immortal.
@@mrimmortal4905 Exactly why Wayne hated Sergio's style of westerns. He resented the fact the heroes were portrayed as being cold and too wicked.
Wayne's loss.
Best opening sequence EVER! A must watch for any film maker.
WOW! Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, and
Jason Robards!
All Giants of the silver screen!
this film is not just the best western of all time but it is also one of the best films of all time
It isn't close to either of those things by any stretch.
One of Charles Bronson's finest movies ever. Miss him so much. Rip my hero ❤👍🏿
The finest western ever made.
A movie which can be seen over & over, with such a beautiful song, I can watch it any given time just for beauty of Claudia & the music, wow!
What a masterpiece of a movie. But at the end as the tears welled up in my eyes I realized that was due to the power of the music. Epic score for an epic film.
Charles Miller - the music did it for me, so damn passionate & of course Charles Bronson
Definitely Morricone’s finest.
It got me too, Charles. (Again!) And you and I are two blokes who don't mind admitting it. For me, Leone's greatest film ~ an out-and-out masterpiece.
I think it is a combination of both. Definitely the music is the bigger part but the cinematography ,actors ...scene it all comes together. Without the right visual, story ..actors we wouldn't care what happens no matter how great the music. But because all the other pieces are there.....the music takes you to another place. I had tears for sure. The movie leaves you feeling mesmerized...melancholy ...so many emotions. The music in Bladerunner with that movie does it for me at the end too.
ditto dat!!!
That final scene absolutely destroys me every time. Masterpiece.
You and the rest of the world are destroyed by that scene.
"Someday..."
... in my 65 years of living and all the movies I’ve seen this is by far my number one movie and music score... every time I watch it I feel like I’m watching it again for the first time...
I've always had a thing for the main actress in this movie. One of the most beautiful woman I've ever seen
Italian brought up in Tunisia. Cardinale was the brothel madame in Escape To Athena, a decade later.
She didn't age too well unfortunately
Agreed. How could Charles Bronson walk away.
Morrison Davidson It means she aged naturally, not made artificially young like most Hollywood types.
@@Kelly14UK she's over 80 years old, and she's proud to have never done cosmetic operations. His parents were Sicilian traders in Tunisia, false that he worked in a brothel.
The greatest western of all time, and one of the finest movies ever made.
Al Mulock the cowboy on the far left in the opening gun fight committed suicide after filming. He went to his motel and jumped off in his outfit. He also played the one armed cowboy in The Good The Bad The Ugly. The famous quote If you are gonna shoot then shoot.
Yep, a real tragedy.
He was apparently a heroin addict.
The story goes that after his fatal jump, Sergio Leone yelled at the responding medics to save Mulock's outfit because it was the only one they had.
Tô tou,tô tou tô tou...well well well...
Best western and one of the greatest films ever made
I believe the shifted gaze of Frank in the duel was that Frank was checking the direction of the SUN. Making sure the sun was not in his eyes. Most gunslingers wanted the sun to their backs. Same method used when photographing someone. yes? or, no?
Yes, Frank was manouvering himself to get the sun behind him so that Harmonica faced the light full on to give him an extra edge when it came to the showdown.
Of course ! And that's exactly what he does when he glimpse at the sky, at one time... And Bronson cuts it in an instant while walking right in Frank's direction, until the two of them stay so close one to another ! That way, impossible to miss : only counts the velocity with your gun !... Games. Games of Power... Reflected in their eyes and in any small movement's meaning... What an opera, and what an unforgettable movie !!
Yeah, I think you're correct. And Harmonica didn't give a damn about the sun. He knew he was going to get his revenge no matter what advantages Frank gave himself.
Frank chose the angle, Harmonica chose the distance. A little like chess.
I think it's probably both checking the sun literally, but also giving up the gaze figuratively.
Most realistic, most beautiful epic brutal western ever made period.With every character dealing with the thought of possible death at any moment.
This is without question the best movie ever made. Perfect cast & the music haunts you. I remember when it came out & the unfortunate thing for this movie it was the same time frame that How the West Was Made also came out , a much inferior film, but it took box office from the Italian unknown at the time. I still remember going to Germany in the early 70’s and it was playing everywhere . This movie is timeless & the only time “blue eyed” Henry Fonda played a bad guy.
He was reviled for this role. Actually accosted on the streets.
If you mean How the West Was Won, that was a 1962 movie. Once U A T I T W came out in 1968.
The brilliance of this movie is that it can be enjoyed and analyzed on many different levels. The one thing to know is that Leone did everything with a purpose. He planned out this movie to the greatest detail and he knew exactly the shot he wanted. He knew the edits he wanted and the angles to take. If you want to just watch a "western" then you can do that and be entertained. But you can also look deeper and think about why Leone did this or that, and why the story is as it is. It's all there and there is a lot of it.
Nailed it, I watched the blu ray bonus features which had a ton of great analysis from the people involved and other industry people, and going on to TH-cam analysis videos these folks are all talking about really different but still equally valid points.
And the lighting is exceptional.
In the set-up for the final duel Frank did not lose his gaze on Harmonica, he was checking the location of the sun to give him the best advantage. I've seen this movie at least a dozen times and never tire of it. I always look in the background to try and find something new I had missed before. One of the best made westerns ever.
One of the finest Spaghetti western of all time.Great starcast,direction n composition.Hats off Sergio Leone,Ennio Morricone n the stars n crew of this movie.
Masterpiece .Still got the special edition dvd purchased over 10 years ago intact in my special collection
IMO the greatest movie of all time
A TH-cam recommendation. I've been a fan of Sergio Leone's films since I was 8 years old. I'm now 50. His films are as fresh today as they were before I was born.
Sergio Leone's westerns were the films that opened my eyes, and mind, to the realization that movies could be more than just entertainment. They could be "art". And, to answer your question, I clicked on this site because I'm mourning the recent death of the great Ennio Morricone. 😔
@@tanzboden Thanks.
Absolutely. Same for me. My first Leone film I saw was Once upon a time in America, and it was so different than any gangster movie I had seen. I then watched the good the bad and the ugly and it dawned on me how a movies greatness isn’t built on action, excitement, and deep dialogue wasn’t necessary to invoke emotion from the viewer. The subtleties of a Leone film from facial expressions to body movements put you in the mind of a character. The biggest keys to film making are lost on a lot of film makers in Hollywood ie cinematography and music score. Most films fail at being art and are just merely movies with cheap thrills. The death of Morricone brought me back to watching all of Leone’s films over the last month and every time I develop a greater appreciation for what Sergio and Ennio achieved together
That was what led to my click-on, too--Morricone's death.
@@joannleichliter4308 Morricone composed the music to many movies, but it's the music to Sergio Leone 's movies that are the most memorable, and the most popular, here in America, anyway.
@@albertchin1050 Yes. Great spund tracks to listen to, even without the film.
Opening scene at the train station was a great film by itself.
One disagreement here. During the final gun battle, Frank moves his eyes upward to make sure the sun is behind him; an old gun fighter trick is to always have your opponent looking into the sun. Otherwise, a great move, and good review of the film.
yep, he was checking his position to the sun, same trope was used in Outlaw Wallace and Quick and Dead.
At noon?
I shoot fish.... spearfishing.. sun behind your back... applies every shooting method.
So in Hondo sun behind your back casts a shadow the fish can see he states always fish with the sun in your face? (Myself I am not sure fish can tell a tree from a predator by shadow but I am a city boy so sun behind my back only helps me read the menu in the window). Who said it was noon? And you can see the shadow (And yeah looks like almost noon, maybe why gunfighters always fight at high noon?) so sun is on franks left and harmonicas right just as two gun fighters with experience would assure it to be if it wasn’t high noon. IMHO.
If Claudia Cardinelle had asked me to come back someday, I would have stayed. Harmonica must have been crazy. Yes, I know its only a movie, but that woman was and probably still is beautiful to look at.
Agree, how could any man walk away from CC.
true
her eyes alone were enough to melt you
"Harmonica must have been crazy." No, it was part of the character. As the other guy told her, he had been running away from what had happened and towards revenge for too long. It was all he knew. He did not know how to stop running. He had to leave, but if he could learn to stop running he would come back.
"Harmonica must have been crazy." No, he was shot and dying.
No, harmonica was not dying, at least not from a bullet. It was the other guy that was dying from a bullet. Harmonica was dying from a lifetime of being focused on one thing, revenge. Once he got his revenge, his life was basically over, but he was still living.
In a western and in other movies today, the good guy always defeats the bad guy, defending the good, but he can never join them. He is always separated from them by the pain of being a killer. Bad guys can kill without regret, but the good guy can not. That's the lesson of western movies.
Harmonica was a killer, but he was a good guy. As a killer, he could not be one of the good people.
In real life, once he had his revenge, he would likely have settled down and tried to find some other life. Some would have ended up the town drunk. Others would have found some use for their lives, but would have always been haunted by what they did. A few would actually have decided to be come police or sheriffs.
But this was a movie and the morality of the western insist that the good guy killer is always separated from the rest.
Almost forgot,this movie should be brought back on the big screen with Dolby sound
I think I'd like to see a version with the sound effects cleaned up. The cinematography is fantastic and doesn't need to be touched, but sound effects and sound stage were pretty limited. The score is fine, but sounds like gunshots are just off. I think it was just a limitation of the time. Unfortunately, I think if the studio starts cleaning up one thing, they won't stop until the movie is different.
I would love to see this at a theater (again), as a kid I did not understand most of underlying themes and nuances. as an adult I see how much of a masterpiece this movie is, and would love to hear/see it again in a modern cinema, I agree with michael gregory's comment on cleaning up the gunshot sound effects and maybe a touch up of some other sound effects, other than that, nothing else needs to be changed.
I was an Artistic Set Decorator for the BBC, back in the Late 70ts and to me this Movie has the Best Set Structures Iv ever seen,
still today I look at the back ground and everything is just Right ....
And the man in charge was Claudio Mancini ( Harmonica's brother being hanged ).He was Sergio's Production Manager.
Every Movie I watch the Locations and Set Design
@@davidclarke9783 I was a finish carpenter, tile setter, and finally an electrician. I do the same thing...
An epic western. Most beautiful music ever.
A great movie! Unfortunately many Americans found it too long and slow paced when it was first released, but the movie is now recognized as one of the greatest Westerns of all time.
zuzak4341 The Library of Congress in Washington asked Leone for a copy of its original version of 165 minutes. This movie is recognized as the best reproduction of how the West was won.
*THE greatest Westerns of all time
Sergio was ahead of his time.
@Jeffrey Bone LOL. I have stopped watching TV around 2005. Commercials and other interruptions are one of the reasons, but there's more anyway. But anyway, I think you have gone towards the end of the movie, cause that final scene before Frank's death is long as fuck indeed.
The greatest.
One of the best movies I've ever seen
The music in the final & ending scene is outclass & tremendous, I have never witnessed such great piece of a movie in my whole life.
Music, video angle, dialogue etc all are incredible, that’s wny i love this movie all time
It's the music, it's so timeless.
They first 20 minutes of the film, having no dialog, is extraordinary!
Henry Fonda's "gaze" in death stands alone - classic, just pure authenticity-surprise!!!!🍻🍻🤠💯💪
Claudia Cardinale was a beauty...bellissima...
In US people complained of the movie being too long; in France this movie was on screen for FOUR years! Also let's not forget the awesome job Ennio Morricone did with the score giving it the chill-in-the-bone feeling.
It's interesting how this film was received. This was about the time that westerns were starting to struggle at the box office and were no longer guaranteed to make a profit even if John Wayne was in it. Nearly all of the western stars had aged to the point where they couldn't play young men anymore and there weren't many new western stars that were younger doing traditional American westerns. This was also a time of transition in Hollywood where the studio system was truly ending and you started seeing a lot more films with flawed heroes or anti-heroes that studios had vetoed in prior decades as un-American or too confusing. Some older audiences didn't like westerns where they good guys weren't clearly good and the bad guys weren't clearly bad. US westerns up until this point had been relatively simplistic with occasional exceptions. Younger audiences were souring on the western possibly because they seemed out of step at a time when many fissures were arising in American society and many young people were questioning the America they had been sold and tradtional westerns seemed very establishment. I wonder if this film might have done better if it had come out deeper into the 70's where audiences had become more used to movies involving flawed heroes and a movie paced like this might not have turned off American audiences as much. Though honestly, even now there are cultural differences in film where in one country films structured in a certain way will do well and in others they will be almost ignored. It doesn't make either country wrong. It's just what they are used to or a difference in what they find entertaining.
My favorite movie of all...froom beginning to end,
Every actor/actress is
perfectly matched to their parts...no one else could have played their parts....It is one of those movies you can watch over and over and over again...and never get tired of seeing it.
The music is chilling and spectacular at the same time....❤❤
It´s the best Western E V E R made
Without a doubt... and as such it ranks it as one of the greatest movies ever made
SuperJackson31 YES EVER
E V E R
bar none
Nope! Great theme music, fabulous cinematography and gorgeous leading lady. Not impressed with either Fonda or Bronson. Best western ever?
TGTBTU which lost only in comparisons of Music. OUATITW maybe best movie theme in history not just westerns.
Beautiful music. Amazing facial close-ups. Tremendous movie!!
Opening scene is amazing....an epic movie
Greatest film of all time - I never tire of it.
I’m disappointed that he didn’t mention anything about what I consider one of the best opening scene of any movie, the train station standoff.
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Yeah, I offer that 13 minutes every time I get in the good old best ever western debate.
Yes that is a wonderful scene!
The fly😂🤣
The scene at the end of this video where Harmonica says "Someday..." and leaves is one of my favorite cinematic moments. He's waited his whole life to get revenge, and now he's gotten it, and he still must move on and wander somewhere else. It's too bad that right after this perfectly poignant moment the soundtrack switches to Cheyenne's hokey little song and it becomes kind of like a little comic scene. I feel they should've reworked Cheyenne's exit/death to earlier in the picture so it ended with Harmonica being the last to go and it could've ended on that note. Him leaving after saying "Someday..." and riding off into the sunset while Claudia is shown taking charge at her station would've been perfect.
I found this video by searching “Once Upon a Time in the West” and was compelled to watch it. This is by far my favorite western and seriously close to my favorite of all movies as it usually takes me a minute or two to think of one better. The Cinematography is so good. Dialogue is kept to a minimum. The Theme is awesome. Try to watch it every year at least twice. Its never old. Thanks for this little analysis.
I agree the best all time Western. No one else has captured the raw feelings and scenes
The power of the gaze, harmonica when they do you in, pray for someone to now where to shoot. Perfect dialogeu, I was pleased to enjoy this bieutifull piece of cinema
I was probably drawn here because this is my favorite Western of all time since I saw it as a little boy. There is no happy ending or smarmy riding off into the sunset. The actors are perfect, the music phenomenal, the script fantastic, the direction and editing awesome. It is like Pete Townsend's Quadrophenia or Tolkien's Lord of the Rings; Leone had reached the pinnacle of his craft. I am sure I have googled, youtubed or performed other internet actions that caused the algorithm dataset to bring me to your door.
Every time I run into this movie I watch it
I have a VHS and DVD copies of this. Can't count how many times I watched this movie. Like listening to a Pink Floyd music I still can't resist watching Bronson's and Robards' gazes over and over again. In 1968[in the Philippines] I thought I was the only one who appreciated this. My friends and high schoolmates dismissed the movie as very slow and boring with characters acting like statues. They never even liked Ennio Morriconne's scores. Now, I feel vindicated and awed by the great reviews by critics with some elevating OUATITW, one of the greatest films ever made. I'm not a good describer of the beautiful things around me but I truly appreciate your review.
A psychedelic guitar riff for a western?...a friend's comment.
The timing of wide angle shootouts was spectacular it must have taken a lot of shots to get that right. You can slow these shootouts down and see the difference in the split second draws and shots accurately portrayed & the audio of the shots also matches as well. The shootouts have it's own almost musical rhythm. Casting of Claudia Cardinale also upped the female character game from previous movies he had done. Not only was she smoking hot she had a believable tough woman character the likes of Charlize Theron today.
Actually it was easier than you think..the scene was shot and the music was adapted to fit in..
Great video, but no mention of Claudia (or Robards).She was integral to the film and outstanding as an actress.
I am old. Saw the movie when young. Best western ever made. my opinion. youtube recommended.
That has to be the Best Western film ever produced. Those day's are Long gone. Wow! I was seven when that film came out.
The term "spaghetti western" is a horrible pejorative term for a film as great as "Once Upon a Time in the West"; and it ought to be abolished. For it's more than a western. It's a great film with an excellent story, an incomparable score, perfect acting (often without words, merely with facial and eye expressions), exquisite characters, numerous unforgettable lines, amazing photography, and master directing. This film has to be ranked up there in the top five films ever!
Totally concur...I don't even think it's possible to make movies like this anymore...compared to this, all movies made today are pure, undiluted garbage
I don't see the term like that at all, if anything it brings to my mind the epitome of western stylized films.
baroque western would be more relevant
Dick Richard actually the term was first used with a derogatory meaning by American critics who looked down on this new wave of gritty western movies from Italy. They couldn't accept the fact they were good...
How does it being filmed in southern Spain make it have anything to do with spaghetti?
This movie is a true masterpiece.
Every shot and nuance.
The cinematography. Cast. Acting.
Iconic music.
Claudia.
Great vid.
Loved it.
It's like Milius says somewhere else. Parts are tedious, it's all filmed wonderfully, and at the end, you feel like you've seen something monumental, a big deal.
Henry Fonda's big blues should have got an Oscar all on their own
Most of us are over 60 by now.:) Fonda H. was always a draw card when he was bad; due most likely to his being good guy so many times.
Hey Rod, Once Upon a Time in the West is Henry Fonda's sole role as a "bad guy."
he's only role as a bad guy .. which he did a fantastic job at.
A true masterpiece , the only western that made me cry , and that beautiful sound track is the best ever .
Frank isn´t losing his gaze at 4:12 he´s simply checking the sun´s position to avoid blendings which explains his circle-like walk
Yeah, it's a little of Frank adjusting for the sun, but much more about his looming realisation that he will soon die. All other scenes where Frank is about to shoot someone, he's calm, uncaring, cold. Here, he's worried, which is new to him and signifies his downfall.
I think he is looking for shooters, in previous scene his own men try to kill him firing from elevated positions in the town: th-cam.com/video/9vUcfymkjNY/w-d-xo.html
He is interrupting his gaze because he is looking for the sun's position so that he can gain an advantage over Harmonica. One could also say his gaze is disrupted by a feeling of dread that comes over him because he's never faced off with anyone so calm and ominous before... Perhaps his conscience is finally catching up with him, now that he is no longer in complete control of his faculties or the people that usually fall victim to his violence.
I definitely have to re-watch this movie soon!!
Maybe he heard a voice from above. Come to me,
just kidding
That was the plot explanation for it. There was an undercurrent thought and that was what the narrator was referring to.
I keep coming back and watching this, great work sir!
Brilliant film...
OMG, I love this Film so much!!!
I really like your analytical reviews. Thanks for the effort you contribute to promoting quality narrative cinema.
I loved this essay! Congratulations!!
I remember it as a child, then again as classics, it always stuck with me from the beginning...Huge fan of composer Ennio Morricone..I dated a girl that looked exactly like Claudia Cardinali in that scene...looking in her eyes with that beautiful finale playing .... incredible understanding of psycho-visuals ...I still to this day play the finali in my studio just to smoothin the day out...
Totally agree with Robert Kalo. Frank was making sure sun would not be in his eyes.
That was the plot reason. For the movie, he would not have needed to, but everything they do is part of an underlying reason. It was intended to show that he was not as certain of the outcome as harmonica.
@@roberthicks1612 ...Yes, he knew he needed every advantage he could take.
"Also, the harmonica changes from dented to not dented, and the most hilarious of all is that after Harmonica shoots Frank and goes back to Jill's cabin, his hair is much shorter" You saw the fight? It was a close shave.
My top Eight Westerns : #7 The Searchers ( John Wayne ) # 6 The Good , The Bad & The Ugly ( Clint Eastwood ) #5 Tombstone (Kurt Russel ) # 4 The Outlaw Josey Wales ( Clint Eastwood) #3 Pale Rider ( Clint Eastwood ) #2 Unforgiven ( Clint Eastwood) and # 1 Once upon a Time in the West ( Charles Bronson )
Lonesome Dove😍
I would include also From Hell to Texas.
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Some where in this list should also be Tell them willie boy is here; Butch Cassidy/Sundance Kid, Humbre
Thank you for this video, I found this video by accident some time in the past so I knew it was out there some place, and lately I have been studying the video very closely, then I started looking for your video, and dam it was very hard to find again at least for an old guy like me. again thank you for this work it helps me understand the film better and gives me a much deeper appreciation for it I hope to see more of your work.
Iconic. Nothing like it has been made since. Arguably the height of the genre, distilled into this one film. If you're not blown away by the Flagstone to Sweetwater journey sequence, you need a bigger TV or a comparative understanding of what most films were like in the late 1960's.
Back when movies were worth going to.
*This movie failed at the box office*
@@o.l4890 only in the US. But yeah this dude's comment is still stupid. It's not like this was your average blockbuster, this was a once in a blue moon masterpiece. Great movies are still being made today, even if they're not similar in style or epicness to OUATITW.
When the show played at the drive in picture show times weren't that different . not everyone had a phone or a plan . just pure life
Without over-cooking it, the character -linked musical segments by Morricone - and their repetition throughout the film - reminded my of "The Iliad" (Homer). In the latter, the same phraseology is associated and repeated with the entry of each key character (as well as an event like death of a warrior from either side). In "The Iliad" this was designed (we think) to aid memory for the performer of verse that would take over 8 hours to sing-out in one sitting. "Once Upon A Time (In) the West" consciously (I think) uses the same mechanism: to remember times past within the movie. In other words 'in search of lost time', translated as "A la recherche de temp perdu" . In fact, Leone deliberately (according to Prof. Christopher Frayling) started "Once Upon a Time in America" with the line: "For a long time, I went to bed early...", the first line of the Proust. Signs of genius in memorable story-telling echoing across the centuries.
Great explanation... On the best movie of all time ♥
No body expected Henry fonda. To be the biggest bad ass In history of the movie's Back in 68!!!🇮🇹
He became genuinely hated for shooting the boy. As much as if he'd done it in real life.
@@andyfletcher3561 Yep I remember that!
@@charlesrast4235 Guess most of all it shows that SJWs aren't really a new thing LoL.
And don't forget he was Italian himself from generation!
And Fonda was known for playing heroes. He is better fit for villains.
2 years ago i visit the Place where the recorded this awesome Movie in Spain.
Almeria, direction Grenada
This was filmed in the US.. Arizona, the Clint movies were in Spain.
Most of the movie "Once upon a time in the West " was filmed in Almeria Spain, ive been on the set! the hanging scene and bar scene was filmed in Monument Valley.Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain
35 of 35 found this interesting
Monument Valley, Arizona, USA
34 of 34 found this interesting
Highway 163, Monument Valley, Utah, USA
(brick arch where Harmonica flashbacks to his youth, lynching scene)
19 of 19 found this interesting
La Calahorra, Granada, Andalucía, Spain
19 of 19 found this interesting
Moab, Utah, USA
28 of 30 found this interesting
Estación de Calahorra, Guadix, Granada, Andalucía, Spain
(Cattle Corner Station and Flagstone scenes)
13 of 13 found this interesting
Bavispe, Sonora, Mexico
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Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, USA
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Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy
(studio)
14 of 15 found this interesting
Red Mesa, Arizona, USA
9 of 9 found this interesting
Kayenta, Arizona, USA
9 of 9 found this interesting
Poblado Western 'Sergio Leone', Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain
(Sweetwater Ranch)
13 of 14 found this interesting
Desierto de Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain
@@ovestrm141 ok I believe you, i will not check on wiki:-)
Excellent , so well explained, my Favorite film
👍Thks. Great film,great acting, great music. Loved Cheyenne (Jason Robards),cool guy.😁✌🇺🇸
Frank and Harmonica are ultimately the two most prominent characters in the film. However, to me, it is Cheyenne's arc from outlaw to some might say redeemed man of honor, who paid for that change with his life, is the most interesting character in the film.
Great commentary although, when circling before the final gun fight, Frank takes his eyes off Harmonica to check the position of the sun (so that it’s not in his eye for the gun fight) - I wouldn’t characterize that as a moment or tell of uncertainty or weakness in the character. It’s really an amazing detail that they included.
Leone's Magnum Opus. And you can't go rong with a score by Morricone.
Fonda stole the show, tremendous performance
The absolutly best Western in the History of the Movie!!!Legendary.
To me, the best western ever made!
To you,Yes..Your to young to Remember The Best One's..This Was good Indeed,but,there Were Many Excelent Movie's..
Well I'm 64 and seen my share of films. What made this the best, to me, was the soundtrack (the haunting harmonica), the dialogue, the action and when it happened it exploded. To top it all off was the motive for revenge. We weren't exposed to it until the final showdown, and to me it was a shocker.
Share some of the best one's you've seen, maybe I've seen them too. Some that come to mind is The Searchers, Shane, The Oxbow Incident, Tombstone, Red River just to name a few.
@@fiddlesticksbessette398 ...And I'm 62, I'd like to see your list as well. I have about a ten way tie for second best and only one of them has Clint Eastwood in it.
Great analysis! Thank you!
Furthermore, one of the incredible things about the final shootout (not very related to the power of the gaze) is that we are full of anticipation FOR the shootout, which is completely upstaged by the flashbacks. By the time Harmonica shoots Frank, you're like "Oh, where did that come from?"
Eu não sei e não entendo como 389 pessoas podem negativar um filme e uma trilha sonora primorosa como essa , um dos maiores filmes de Faroeste de todos os tempos.! !!😕
Awesome video-essay about one of the best Spaghetti Westerns ever. Frank has become one of my favorite movie villains, along with Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter.
This movie is almost dreamlike. The continual blaring of the harmonica during key scenes, adding a discordant, ethereal aspect to things, the nameless character of Harmonica (similar to Eastwood's Man with No Name, yet with a purpose beyond simple greed). Henry Fonda playing a rare villain. The slow, deliberate pacing. Truly a masterpiece of cinema.
Sergio Leone dando aula de cinema e junto com elenco afiado e trilha sonora genial de Ennio Morricone.Filme que fica cada vez melhor com o passar do tempo.Obra prima.
muito bem, maninho!!
Valeu maninha!!
It's the greatest western movie for all times to come.
If anyone comes across anything even close to it, please let me know.
There isn't anything close.
The Wild Bunch is a close #2 best western of all time.
Great analysis, very interesting and I learned allot!
Thank you very much, Mike! Glad you learned something! :)
who the fuck care's,lol
Why..???