I have been wondering this for a while.
Are there any other Sergio Leone fans out there? I watched Once upon a Time in The West last week for the first time in ages and its certainly not lost its edge. This is certainly one of my favourite films of all time
So… any other fans?
Once upon a time in America is my all time favourite film. The cinematography is excellent and along with Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack it totally captures the era. It is very unlike his spaghetti westerns and is in my opinion his masterpiece. I have the DVD and the soundtrack, and am trying to locate the full version. I believe that there is version that is chronological…can anybody confirm this?
I am a big Sergio Leone fan but I have only seen his highbrow films like Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (just kidding about the “highbrow”). Those movies inspired me to go out and buy a modern working replica of a Colt Dragoon. I had a lot of fun shooting it although I subdued my impulse to start wearing a serape.
Seriously, Sergio Leone rocks as a film maker. I have not ever had a chance to see Once Upon a Time in The West, although based on what you folks are saying I will keep my eyes open for the dvd.
As a film culture/history note, Fistful of Dollars is almost a scene-for-scene remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. I greatly enjoyed both movies.
Take care,
Brian, The Man With No Name
CS… which dvd do you have? there is a double dvd set of OUATIA that runs for 229 (?) minutes and is regarded as the most complete one possible.
Brian you should definitely seek out both Once upon a Time in America and Once upon a time in the West… they are both very slow but enjoyable
I could talk about both of these films for hours…
If either of you are interested… there is an excellent biography by Christopher Frayling called “Its Something to Do with Death” that charts everything… you should try and find it.
anyway…gotta go
It’s a pretty inacurate book at times. Frayling is an academician and a pratt when it comes to his snubbing of other Euro Westerns.
Leone’s best works are THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY and DUCK, YOU SUCKER (aka A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE), and MY NAME IS NOBODY (credited to Tonino Valerii, but it was produced by Leone and according to the late Henry Fonda, Terence Hill and others - Leone did most of the directing).
TGTB&TU has recently been restored in English, featuring the inafmous Tucco “if you work for a living why are you killing yourself to work?” scene, and more.
DUCK, YOU SUCKER deserves restoration. Brilliant and underrated.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA - the English DVD set from Warners is nearly complete, but is still missing two scenes that can be found on the French & Italian DVDs.
The ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST English “restored” DVD is actually missing two minor scenes.
Leone was rightfully referred to as “maestro.” Too bad his film about Stalingrad never happened (Leone died before it could be produced).
American film editor Donald Bruce is the most reliable authority on Leone, and unlike Professor Freyling - Bruce is tight with the Leone family and has had access to a lot of his personal notes.
Funk 500,
I have the 229 minute 2 x DVD version, purchased here in Taiwan. It also has a few bonuses like an excerpt from the 'Once upon a time 'doco, remastered soundtrack etc…
I am lucky enough to have a couple of large screens at the pub and a kickass stereo system…maybe a screening is in order.
Have watched Apocalypse Now Redux and Pink Floyd The Wall late at night when the pub is closed…interesting!
Cheers
Ric Flair… I agree about Duck you sucker… it is awesome… the soundtrack… James Coburn…very good indeed. I saw it a few years back on British TV, but never found a dvd or video copy of it.
Are any of Donald Bruce’s books available? I see you have good knowledge of movies… so I trust your judgement.
CS… sounds nice… I’m jealous!!
Quite a few DVDs of it are available, but a definitive English language set has yet to surface. The Korean DVD set features the American version (same as the British but without the “Once Upon A Time… The Revolution” title it had in the UK) and the complete version - in Italian and offering only Korean subtitles.
Other DVDs are foreign language versions, but most are the uncut (Italian) version.
The old American laserdisc had some of the deleted scenes featured as extras.
I’m not sure. I know he was a consultant on the ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST DVD, but it’s criminal that windbag Freyling was given a commetnary.
You should now seek out the two other Sergios who were the backbone of the best Euro Westerns:
Sergio SOLIMA
and
Sergio CORBUCCI.
Cheers Ric…
I have seen Corbucci’s “Django” which I thought was excellent… and another in the Django series which, from what I read are not connected. The film I saw had the title “Django Rides Again” or something similar. I remember it being crazy as f%ck with one guy dying because molten gold was poured on him and I seem to remember gold bullets being important… The details are sketchy… because I saw it 10 years ago. Solima is new to me though.
I have always liked the Spaghetti Western as a genre but never really had the oppotunity to get into to it hardcore. You know any definitive movies I should watch?
Sergio Corbucci:
Django (it’s worth repeating)
Navajo Joe (with Burt Reynolds)
Companeros
The Mercenary
The Ballad of Sonny & Jed
The Grand/Great Silence
Sergio Sollima:
The Big Gundown
Face To Face
Run Man, Run!
Others worth hunting down:
Guiseppe Colizzi’s trilogy of
God Forgives, I Don’t
Ace High
and
Boot Hill (all featuring Terence Hill & Bud Spencer)
They Call Me Trinity
Trinity Is Still My Name (Terence Hill & Bud Spencer again)
My Name is Nobody
A Genius, Two Partners & A Dupe (both produced by Sergio Leone, with Leone reportedly ghost directing the first film, with both staring Terence Hill)
A Man From The East (Terence Hill)
Django, The Bastard (aka Stranger’s Gundown - and the uncredited source material for Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter)
Four of the Apocalypse (one of the most unhappy Euro Westerns ever)
Cutthroats Nine (a Spanish entry that is the grimmest, goriest Euro Western ever made)
Sartana’s Here, Trade Your Pistol For A Coffin
Heads I Live, Tails You Die: They Call Me Halleluja (both featuring “Anthony Steffan”)
A Reason To Live, A Reason To Die (James Coburn’s only other Euro Western, also with Bud Spencer)
A Man Called Blade
Sabata
The Return Of Sabata (featuring Lee Van Cleef!)
Deaath Rides a Horse (Lee Van Cleef)
There are more to recommend, but it will take you a while to track these down.
Happy hunting.
wow… cheers Ric, I guess I’d better start saving. Looking through the list I think I may have seen Sabata… Does LVC have a 8barrelled gun or something similar?
Do you have any idea about the identity of the Django film I described?
anyway…cheers I’ll try to return the favour one day
wow… cheers Ric, I guess I’d better start saving. Looking through the list I think I may have seen Sabata… Does LVC have a 8barrelled gun or something similar?
Do you have any idea about the identity of the Django film I described?
anyway…cheers I’ll try to return the favour one day[/quote]
Lee has something similar in SABATA. The SABTA films (well, the two with Van Cleef, the other - same director but with Yul Brenner, called ADIOS, SABATA! is a different beast altogether) are like WILD WILD WEST (the tv show) done right. Lots of odd folks, angles and gadgets.
I didn’t see the DJANGO entity you described, however, DJANGO STRIKES AGAIN, with Franco Nero - is the only “official” sequel (it was made in the late eighties, I believe). All other “DJANGO” films are rip-offs, inspired wannabes, or unofficial entries (and many of them are quite good).
I won’t even go on about the SARTANA films…