I really thought that this film was a revolutionizer for these effects, or the start of it with Bertolucci, and bears a strong resemblence with the soldier under the bridge shot, and the opening to A Clockwork Orange.
shareBertolucci certainly was/is a revolutionary and his "opera prima" (La commare secca) doesn't feels like the work of an unexperienced director. The movie is not flawless but it's so damn good for a first work.
I mean when you have the talent of Pasolini, Bertolucci and Citti working in the same project, something good gotta happen. Bertolucci was influential since his first movie.
Just Remember the last scene: the party and the homosexual fellow who starts walking between the dancing crowd. The pace, the use of the music, the tracking shot following him, his deadpan expression, the tension built, etc. That's what made Sergio Leone's films so famous around the world! Just replace the music for a Morricone score, the dancers for cowboys, and voilà, there you have your archetypical scene found in Leone's westerns.
Obviously Leone was also influenced by italian filmmakers, not only by Kurosawa or Ford. I bet Leone saw 'La commare secca' and remembered that particular scene.
Wonderful movie.