Revenge, redemption, peace. Less silly than most spaghettis. Horrid DVD transfer, Van Cleef was great. 3.5 stars
Follow-up: This movie is now public domain, and who knows why Netflix has this dismal pan & scan hacked up fuzzfest of a version when we know MGM has a well-preserved widescreen version they sell in the UK. I'm assuming this DVD was made from a VHS made from God knows what, but seemingly a Youtube video. Interestingly, the horrible quality did not diminish Lee Van Cleef's ability to capture your eye and make you believe him. That guy had it.
Showing posts with label spaghetti western. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spaghetti western. Show all posts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
For a Few Dollars More
Better that "Fistful" but nowhere near "High Noon". I even liked Clint alright and Van Cleef was great. It's definitely a genre issue - I'm just not that into spaghetti westerns it seems. I'll see "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" but if that doesn't change my mind I might call it on spaghettis and stick to classic westerns At least I got to see Klaus Kinski - totally bonus for me. I do love how different ways that man could play crazy. ;) 3/5
For a Few Dollars More on Netflix
For a Few Dollars More on Netflix
Friday, January 7, 2011
High Noon
Honor. Some talk about it, some pretend to have it and some people simply live as if it were in their blood. 5 stars.
Follow-up: Gary Cooper deserves every bit of the praise he gets. So many complex things happen happened on his face without copious amounts of dialogue to spoon feed it to an audience.
DONNA'S TURN:
So Jim walked into the room before I was about to watch another movie, handed this disc to me and said "Watch this... RIGHT NOW." I took his word for it and did.
Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!!! Taut writing, wonderful, understated acting, tight direction - this is exactly what I was expecting from Leone but didn't get. I'm really thinking Jim is right - I like westerns, but not spaghetti westerns. Cooper was magnificent and the real-time direction was just marvelous. More like this, please! 5/5
High Noon at Netflix
Follow-up: Gary Cooper deserves every bit of the praise he gets. So many complex things happen happened on his face without copious amounts of dialogue to spoon feed it to an audience.
DONNA'S TURN:
So Jim walked into the room before I was about to watch another movie, handed this disc to me and said "Watch this... RIGHT NOW." I took his word for it and did.
Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!!! Taut writing, wonderful, understated acting, tight direction - this is exactly what I was expecting from Leone but didn't get. I'm really thinking Jim is right - I like westerns, but not spaghetti westerns. Cooper was magnificent and the real-time direction was just marvelous. More like this, please! 5/5
High Noon at Netflix
Friday, December 31, 2010
The Good, the Bad, the Weird
Tweet 1 - Korean homage to Leone's epic that manages to remix spaghetti, classic westerns and wuxia.
Tweet 2 - Odd to see story cues from Ugly translated to early 20th cen. Manchuria but it was all there. 3.5 stars
Follow-up - I was oddly glad that amongst all the crazy flying around and bad guys that can't hit the broad side of a barn with 6,000 bullets, the movie did not amp up the sound of the gunshots. Handguns made a small pop, as they do, and only the shotgun had a deep boom. It grounded the madness somehow, and was just the thing this crazy movie needed to help you accept what you were seeing.
Now what amuses me is that Donna slagged Leone's Fistful, but she praised this thin-as-tissue-paper script which gave almost nothing in the way of character whatsoever. It's essentially one giant kick-ass set piece with massive, complex running gunfights from start to finish.
STOP HATING ON EASTWOOD, DONNA! It's tainting your view of an entire pantheon of classic cinema!
DONNA RESPONDS: Hey, now! It is entirely true that I don't dig on Eastwood as an actor. Never have and I doubt I ever will. However, that wasn't even close to my biggest problem with "Fistful" and you know it. I actually liked Eastwood far more in "Fistful" than I have anywhere save maybe Gran "Torino". I think you were dead right in saying it's a genre clash - I just don't seem to get westerns. "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" was only half a western, and it was the half that *wasn't* a western I liked the best. I found more character development in this film done subtly and with that textbook Asian nuance I adore than I did in "Fistful". If we were to believe this movie took place in "the real world" I would be crying about logic flaws, but this wasn't really "the real world", and it never violated it's own rules. I can't say the same about "Fistful". And, quite honestly, I thought the direction of "The Weird" outclassed Leone in "Fistful". So shoot me, but it did in my oh-so-humble opinion.
Okay, I'll get out of your post now. ;)
The Good, The Bad and The Weird at Netflix
Tweet 2 - Odd to see story cues from Ugly translated to early 20th cen. Manchuria but it was all there. 3.5 stars
Follow-up - I was oddly glad that amongst all the crazy flying around and bad guys that can't hit the broad side of a barn with 6,000 bullets, the movie did not amp up the sound of the gunshots. Handguns made a small pop, as they do, and only the shotgun had a deep boom. It grounded the madness somehow, and was just the thing this crazy movie needed to help you accept what you were seeing.
Now what amuses me is that Donna slagged Leone's Fistful, but she praised this thin-as-tissue-paper script which gave almost nothing in the way of character whatsoever. It's essentially one giant kick-ass set piece with massive, complex running gunfights from start to finish.
STOP HATING ON EASTWOOD, DONNA! It's tainting your view of an entire pantheon of classic cinema!
DONNA RESPONDS: Hey, now! It is entirely true that I don't dig on Eastwood as an actor. Never have and I doubt I ever will. However, that wasn't even close to my biggest problem with "Fistful" and you know it. I actually liked Eastwood far more in "Fistful" than I have anywhere save maybe Gran "Torino". I think you were dead right in saying it's a genre clash - I just don't seem to get westerns. "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" was only half a western, and it was the half that *wasn't* a western I liked the best. I found more character development in this film done subtly and with that textbook Asian nuance I adore than I did in "Fistful". If we were to believe this movie took place in "the real world" I would be crying about logic flaws, but this wasn't really "the real world", and it never violated it's own rules. I can't say the same about "Fistful". And, quite honestly, I thought the direction of "The Weird" outclassed Leone in "Fistful". So shoot me, but it did in my oh-so-humble opinion.
Okay, I'll get out of your post now. ;)
The Good, The Bad and The Weird at Netflix
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
A Fistful of Dollars
Sorry Jim, but this did nothing for me. Plot? Character? Motivation? Sorry, not in this film. Seriously, there were plot-holes I could drive a truck through & it wasn't nearly pretty enough to forgive all the weaknesses. 2/5
ADDED: Okay, to break this down a little more. I wanted to know something about The Stranger. I found out next to nothing. I wanted to understand the two sides of the battle. I found out next to nothing. I wanted to know what drove the characters. Naw, not that either. REALLY thin on the motivation front, which for me is always important in a film, and that was my biggest disappointment. The logic flaws really killed me. How did The Stranger know the shortcut back from The Small House when the Rohos didn't? If your enemy family was THAT easy to kill off, why hadn't they done it already, especially since not a one of the Rohos had any sort of conscience? If shooting a guy in the heart seven times isn't killing him - AND he's taunting you about it - why not try the head? I mean come on! And I'm sorry, I really did try, but the bad over-dubbing really got to me, as did Eastwood's acting. I've never been a fan of Clint's acting and I'm still not. I can't really explain it but he just rubs me the wrong way. This, sadly, was no exception.
Was it pretty? Sure. But I've seen so many better shot movies that it simply doesn't make up for everything I found lacking. Hell, I saw at least two films in the last two weeks that were shot FAR better than this was. I'm hoping that I'll have a better reaction to the next in the series but honestly I'm not holding my breath.
Oh, and Jim, for the record, I was right about the visual similarities to Herzog - they definitely shared a vision. Leone loved his deserts and Herzog adored his water. But, for my money, this was on par with Herzog's weaker works and Eastwood was never and will never be a Kinski. I'd put this up against Herzog's "Cobra Verde", which is IMO the weakest of his Kinski collaborations. Both Herzog and Kinski were well off their game and it showed, so while it was beautiful it suffered from the same logic and character flaws this film did. So, in your opinion, if this is Leone's "Cobra Verde", what's his "Fitzcarraldo"? Where does Leone shine the most and have his best collaborative work? That I'll be curious to see.
A Fistful of Dollars on Netflix
ADDED: Okay, to break this down a little more. I wanted to know something about The Stranger. I found out next to nothing. I wanted to understand the two sides of the battle. I found out next to nothing. I wanted to know what drove the characters. Naw, not that either. REALLY thin on the motivation front, which for me is always important in a film, and that was my biggest disappointment. The logic flaws really killed me. How did The Stranger know the shortcut back from The Small House when the Rohos didn't? If your enemy family was THAT easy to kill off, why hadn't they done it already, especially since not a one of the Rohos had any sort of conscience? If shooting a guy in the heart seven times isn't killing him - AND he's taunting you about it - why not try the head? I mean come on! And I'm sorry, I really did try, but the bad over-dubbing really got to me, as did Eastwood's acting. I've never been a fan of Clint's acting and I'm still not. I can't really explain it but he just rubs me the wrong way. This, sadly, was no exception.
Was it pretty? Sure. But I've seen so many better shot movies that it simply doesn't make up for everything I found lacking. Hell, I saw at least two films in the last two weeks that were shot FAR better than this was. I'm hoping that I'll have a better reaction to the next in the series but honestly I'm not holding my breath.
Oh, and Jim, for the record, I was right about the visual similarities to Herzog - they definitely shared a vision. Leone loved his deserts and Herzog adored his water. But, for my money, this was on par with Herzog's weaker works and Eastwood was never and will never be a Kinski. I'd put this up against Herzog's "Cobra Verde", which is IMO the weakest of his Kinski collaborations. Both Herzog and Kinski were well off their game and it showed, so while it was beautiful it suffered from the same logic and character flaws this film did. So, in your opinion, if this is Leone's "Cobra Verde", what's his "Fitzcarraldo"? Where does Leone shine the most and have his best collaborative work? That I'll be curious to see.
A Fistful of Dollars on Netflix
Saturday, December 25, 2010
High Plains Drifter
From the "There are no good guys" school of film, a shoot-y, rape-y tale of (angelic? demonic?) revenge. 4 stars.
Follow-up - When I say shoot-y & rape-y, I mean the Stranger rides into town, finds a bar and buys a beer. Less than three minutes later he shoots three men, grabs a woman, drags her into a barn and rapes her to teach her some manners. And hes the hero. Jesus allegorical Christ this movie ain't easy to like. But that's not the point, liking it or liking the Stranger. The point is don't let corruption and greed lead you to sell your soul, or someday someone might use that very thing to destroy you and everyone with whom you collude.
High Plains Drifter at Netflix
Follow-up - When I say shoot-y & rape-y, I mean the Stranger rides into town, finds a bar and buys a beer. Less than three minutes later he shoots three men, grabs a woman, drags her into a barn and rapes her to teach her some manners. And hes the hero. Jesus allegorical Christ this movie ain't easy to like. But that's not the point, liking it or liking the Stranger. The point is don't let corruption and greed lead you to sell your soul, or someday someone might use that very thing to destroy you and everyone with whom you collude.
High Plains Drifter at Netflix
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The Good, The Bad, The Weird
This awesomely epic Asian western is comedic and still action-packed. Very stylish & cool - it's "Desperado" meets Raimi's "The Quick & The Dead" meets "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Very awesome. 4.5/5
The Good, The Bad, The Weird on Netflix
The Good, The Bad, The Weird on Netflix
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Once Upon a Time in the West
In-Progress tweet: The mustaches in Once Upon A Time In The West are...well, spectacular. HELLO I AM BAD YOU CAN TELL BY THE CAT ON MY FACE.
Actual FTRQ Review: EPIC visual masterpiece. Could've been edited a bit. Bad men do good things for a woman. 4 stars
Follow-up: Leone, man. Leone. No one has EVER used the vastness of deserts to better effect. Ever. Every frame is a painting, every moment a composition. Today if a directors can do that, they fail at capturing people. Leone did that well too. Camera right in the face of an ugly, dirty, grubby desperado, perfectly framed with some massive, overwhelming landscape behind him. Close in on the eyes of a woman when she sees her man dead on a table. A lone figure riding out of a cloud of dust. Intimate shots of a steam engine but not the traditional wheel/piston shot. Everything was a character, from the cards on the table to the pipes that dripped water. The man knew how things should look, I tell you what.
His fatal flaw is that sometimes, when perfecting a still moment, or using time to build tension, he'd let it get away from him. If that happens once or twice, you only have an extra minute or two in your movie. 20 times and you have much, much more. Do not watch this as your first Leone movie. Work up to it. But it'll be worth it. It's deliberate, carefully paced and only occasionally does it "feel long."
Bone to pick: Not really a spaghetti western. It's really just a western.
Wish it was on Blu-ray. Still beautiful. Leone's work is like painting with moving pictures, I swear.
Once Upon a Time in the West at Netflix
Actual FTRQ Review: EPIC visual masterpiece. Could've been edited a bit. Bad men do good things for a woman. 4 stars
Follow-up: Leone, man. Leone. No one has EVER used the vastness of deserts to better effect. Ever. Every frame is a painting, every moment a composition. Today if a directors can do that, they fail at capturing people. Leone did that well too. Camera right in the face of an ugly, dirty, grubby desperado, perfectly framed with some massive, overwhelming landscape behind him. Close in on the eyes of a woman when she sees her man dead on a table. A lone figure riding out of a cloud of dust. Intimate shots of a steam engine but not the traditional wheel/piston shot. Everything was a character, from the cards on the table to the pipes that dripped water. The man knew how things should look, I tell you what.
His fatal flaw is that sometimes, when perfecting a still moment, or using time to build tension, he'd let it get away from him. If that happens once or twice, you only have an extra minute or two in your movie. 20 times and you have much, much more. Do not watch this as your first Leone movie. Work up to it. But it'll be worth it. It's deliberate, carefully paced and only occasionally does it "feel long."
Bone to pick: Not really a spaghetti western. It's really just a western.
Wish it was on Blu-ray. Still beautiful. Leone's work is like painting with moving pictures, I swear.
Once Upon a Time in the West at Netflix
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Great Silence
Life sucks. It's cold. Bad guys win. Kinski chews scenery. Not bad for a spaghetti western. 3.5 stars.
Follow-up - Leone did it all better. Just sayin'.
The Great Silence at Netflix
Follow-up - Leone did it all better. Just sayin'.
The Great Silence at Netflix
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
For a Few Dollars More
Maybe a better film, albeit less ambitious, than Good/Bad/Ugly. Tense. Wish this one was restored too. 4 stars.
Follow-up - I saw this trilogy in pieces on TV years ago, and now recently, but out of sequence. In a way I wish I had seen "Few Dollars" before Good/Bad/Ugly. It would have made Angel Eyes even more...sadistic? Bad? More...something. Anyway...Leone had an eye that comes only once in a generation or three, and if you hate his editing and his love of cheesy bit players and his obsession with faces...watch his movies anyway, you won't find a better example of slow, deliberate direction done well. And such majestic scenery, used to frame and in some cases tell the story. Good stuff. Rent 'em all.
For a Few Dollars More at Netflix - All Sergio Leone movies at Netflix
Follow-up - I saw this trilogy in pieces on TV years ago, and now recently, but out of sequence. In a way I wish I had seen "Few Dollars" before Good/Bad/Ugly. It would have made Angel Eyes even more...sadistic? Bad? More...something. Anyway...Leone had an eye that comes only once in a generation or three, and if you hate his editing and his love of cheesy bit players and his obsession with faces...watch his movies anyway, you won't find a better example of slow, deliberate direction done well. And such majestic scenery, used to frame and in some cases tell the story. Good stuff. Rent 'em all.
For a Few Dollars More at Netflix - All Sergio Leone movies at Netflix
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
A Fistful of Dollars
Leone had 200k to make this (like 1.4mil today) Solid "gunfighter comes to town and cleans up" story. 3.5 stars. How does Clint Eastwood look tough wearing a Mexican rug? Not even Chuck Norris could pull that off.
A Fistful of Dollars at Netflix
A Fistful of Dollars at Netflix
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Incredible visuals. Leone could tell a story. 4.5 stars. Watch the extras! (This pertains to the reconstructed/restored version on Blu-ray. Worth buying!)
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly at Netflix
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly at Netflix
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