Monday 23 August 2010

(500) Films of Empire - Day 342

14 - Once Upon A Time In The West - 5 stars
Now I understand why this is the highest rated Western on the list and one of the most highly rated films of all time. It is the finest Western that I've watched and probably the most influential as well.
Apart from inspiring a whole host of movies using the "Once Upon A Time In..." moniker, I noticed elements in the film that I have seen in the likes of Kill Bill, The Quick And The Dead, Pirates Of The Caribbean and so on.
There is much to love and appreciate in this film; the slow build of the opening scene, Henry Fonda relishing playing the bad guy for once, the beauty of Claudia Cardinale, Ennio Morricone's finest score with each main protaginist getting their own identifiable theme, the reveal of Harmonica's past, etc, etc.
I could go on but it is probably best for you to just watch the film yourself, and if you've already seen it, watch it again.

Days remaining - 23 Films remaining - 24

1 comment:

  1. As well as some version of Harmonica's theme being used at the end of Way of the Dragon when Bruce Lee fights the unfeasibly hairy Chuck Norris in the Colosseum. But you're right, I should watch it again.

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