MovieChat Forums > C'era una volta il West (1969) Discussion > Would someone care to explain all the hy...

Would someone care to explain all the hype?

posted 8 years ago by fishncheez
33 replies | jump to latest

I watched this film today having read that this was the only western you ever need to see. I didn't like it.

I have seen the Good, the Bad and the Ugly and thought it was brilliant. Great characters, great story, great cinematically for its day.

I saw another Bronson film the Gunfighter and I was gripped by the story.

I sat through 3 and a half hours of Seven Samurai with eyes wide open and when it ended I longed for more.

But this film just seemed to drag on forever. Yeah the cinematics were great but we've seen that before. The story was totally confusing until the end. Some people like that but I just found it made the long drawn out drama all the more tedious. I didn't find any of the characters particularly remarkable. The end was an anti climax. Many of the key scenes were predictable, like when Bronson makes a winning bid for the land at the last minute. I even found the music annoying.

I just don't think this film added anything to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I agree with earlier posters who said this seemed like a lousy sequel. Yet somehow it's got an 8.6 rating.

So I would be interested to know what other people think. If you disagree with me completely please have the courtesy to explain the reasons behind your thoughts, as I have explained mine.

I honestly don't think I would ever want to sit through those 159 minutes again, yet I can't help wondering how this film managed to get so much praise.

[–] Naughty-God 8 years ago

This movie came out before "hype" was part of the American vernacular

[–] kpocala 8 years ago

This is an easy movie to not like after the first viewing. But repeated viewings bring out the sly, dark sense of humor that are often "dreary and tedious". The characters simply can't be understood in one viewing, too much is left unspoken, but not "unsaid". I've seen the movie over a hundred times through the years, and I can say that I still get surprised at not "getting something" in earlier viewings. FWIW, pay attention to the camera angles, the focusing, and the way that faces are framed, books could be written on the non-verbal dialogue that takes place. There are a number of books that I've read on this movie. You might want to watch the movie a few more times, and look on Amazon for Christopher Fraylings' book/s on this movie, as well as Leone. There are other books as well, but I'm a bit fagged and shagged from the day, it being a day of no small energy expenditure, so look around. Give the movie a few chances, it builds up manic devotion in the people who put the mental energy/focus to the film. Cheers!

[–] Daddy_Juice 8 years ago

"I even found the music annoying."

Well, there you go. Morricone's music is half the movie.

[–] kpocala 8 years ago

Amazing. I thought the score was one of The All-Time Great's short list. I've become such a fanatic about this movie that maybe I should try to form a tax-free charity 😀.

[–] raincoatriver 8 years ago

Yeah, "you don't SELL the dream of a lifetime"...you became like me, totally obsessed and enthralled by a film that I've watched more than any other, loved more than any other and have had a lifetime of music and quotes running through my mind.

"gonna throw, my raincoat in the river...gonna toss, my umbrella in the sea"...Sammy Turner.

[–] cooljoebay2 8 years ago

I'm 44 years old and grew up watching every kind of movie there is, including foreign films. And this movie is a biggest load of crap ever put on film. It doesn't even deserve to be called a movie. Someone named Sergio made it. And clearly he didn't know how to make a western. The beginning was enough to NOT take it serious at all. A flipping fly bothering a guy's face. Yet, his hands must have been tied behind his back. Another dude being stalked by water drops on his head. Yet, his feet must have been glued to the floor. Foreign westerns always did suck. They can't come anywhere close to what the American west was like. But that's not the reason to hate this film. This film just plain sucks. Period. They got the wrong writer and director. They might as well have gotten Mel Blanc to do all the character voices. Because it would have been more entertaining to hear Bugs Bunny voice the actors.

[–] seph82 8 years ago

*English is not my primary language.

Same as the OP. It's my least favorite Leone movie.

[–] mmq1 7 years ago

Saw this when it came out as a teen.

Knew immediately it was a timeless masterpiece.

Some of us just get it. Some don't.

And it gets better with age.

[–] jbrooks-unityfilm 7 years ago

I can understand your opinion. I watched TGTB&TU religiously when I was a teen and loved it. The characters and their motivations were easy to understand.
When I first watched OUATITW my reaction was very much meh. It just didn't grab me. But I did go back and view it again, and now I really do appreciate this film. I would watch this over the dollars trilogy now. I found this film to have a much more meaningful story and have come to appreciate the score and cinematography. Not that there is anything wrong with TGTB&TU in that respect.

[–] box_398 7 years ago

"I agree with earlier posters who said this seemed like a lousy sequel."

Are you sure you are talking about the right movie? This wasn't a sequel to anything.

[–] chilone (17385) 5 years ago

I wholeheartedly agree. I don't know how many times I've watched The Good, The Bad and The ugly and I'm kinda hankerin' to watch it again but I don't really foresee watching this one again.