Your favorite moment/scene?


My favorite moment/scene is the Sweetwater massacre. The emotions, pacing, music, cinematography.. everything in that moment was perfect. Close second would be the first 10 minutes.

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The entire film is perfect, but I'll go with the sequence of Frank riding toward Harmonica on the fence as the music swells. Then the "ancient race" exchange begins...how can anything in cinema be better than this?

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

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WOW!! There are so many favorite scenes to choose from that I wouldn't know where to begin. But, if I had to choose one?

Then I guess it would be when Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) first arrives on the train, only to quickly become confused over why none of the McBain's are there at the station when she arrives to escort her out to the Sweetwater Ranch and meet the rest of her new family for the very first time.

The music begins to play as Mrs. McBain, and thus the audience, follows along with Mrs. McBain in a small wagon as she rides through the unfamiliar small town with a driver that she hired, before they both enter the vast empty western country side on their way to the ranch.

After a brief stop at a saloon in the middle of nowhere that provides Jill, and thus the audience, with a formal introduction to all the main protagonists of the movie.

The journey soon continues through the country and concludes when she arrives at the McBain Ranch only to discover that her husband and new family was recently murdered, which ends with a mass funeral of the entire family. And, a personal vow that she is determined to stay despite the recent tragedy.(end music)

That, and the final gun battle between Harmonica and Frank are my favorite scenes. OOOPPSS!!! I was only suppose to choose one scene. My BAD!!!

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There are soooo many.

A MOMENTARY favorite, is when, after the final duel, Harmonica puts the harmonica into the mortally wounded Frank's mouth. Then Frank's epiphany comes - you can see it in his eyes, and he nods - realizing its the grown brother of the man he hanged so cruelly, years before, who has just answered the question "who ARE you!".....


At the film's beginning, the reverse-telescoping panoramic scene of the town, as the camera ascends above the depot station roof, is a work of art by itself (a bit reminiscent of the Atlanta train yard scene, in 'Gone With the Wind', also).

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"you can see it in his eyes"

Great actors can convey a message without saying anything.

Henry Fonda's portrayal of a stone cold killer is chilling in this movie ... he's one of the greatest villains ever put on film IMO. Those blue eyes are evil LOL.

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There are so many shots that are so wonderful. Picking one, though, is easy for me - Jill's arrival at the train station. The production is so rich and full of ... the west. The pacing, the direction, the jumps/gaps in time as she waits and remembers ... and then the music. THE MUSIC as she finally leaves the station, as if she were being born, leaving the womb. The track/crane shot over the roof as she leaves, with the music, makes this, for me, THE best sot in cinema. BTW, I like it. :-P

Here we go:


http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/277885/Once-Upon-a-Time-in-the-West -Movie-Clip-Jill-McBain.html




KIAI ... please.

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I couldn't agree more. And, as James Lipton might say, "Well played sir. Well played."

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She leaves the station---like being reborn---leaving the womb---the shot over the roof---WOW! What a comment! What intuitiveness you have to capture that moment so well in words. I love that scene, but never had the imagination to see the vision you painted until now. And the haunting music makes it all work.

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Just saw it for the first time.

How can anyone pick a scene other than the "origin" reveal at the end? So awesome. Especially when young Harmonica's head hits the dirt. Beautifully shot.

Approximate number of movies I've seen in the theater: 83.

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I'd have to say the final showdown between Frank and Harmonica is my favorite moment. I also agree with NFLFilmsFan on how it is finally revealed why Harmonica is after Frank. That was a beautifully shot scene. I especially love how you see Henry Fonda come into focus as he's walking up to young Harmonica. Another powerful scene was the scene when Frank kills the McBains and the little boy comes out to see what happened and Frank and his boys approach him. Fonda almost wore brown contacts for the movie, but Leone stopped him. He said we had to see those blue eyes in the close-up for Fonda's entrance. Great move by Leone.

People scare better when they're dying.

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Just saw it for the first time.

How can anyone pick a scene other than the "origin" reveal at the end? So awesome. Especially when young Harmonica's head hits the dirt. Beautifully shot.


I saw this for the first time last night, and strongly agree that the 'reveal' was my favorite scene. Very powerful.

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Harmonica asks
"Did you bring a horse for me"

The 3 Gunfighters look back at their 3 horses and turn back and say
"We are one horse short"

Harmonica pauses and then shakes his head and says
"No you brought 2 too many"





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The fake attempted rape scene involving Harmonica and Jill in the barn as she intends to finally leave the ranch, leading to luring the assassins out of the hills to eventually be dismissed by Harmonica, is my favorite scene in the movie, for Jill had no idea what Harmonica was intending 'til after he gunned down the assassins. It was well-acted and played out.

Lastly, a side comment to this movie is the many close-up facial shots of all the prominent actors in the film (Charles, Claudia, Jason and Henry, plus the railroad man and the gofer), leading one to interpret what they meant in each of the scenes. Reading the responses to this movie on various subjects, it appears opinions vary widely, rarely is there accord on what is being interpreted by "reading the eyes". I wonder if this was the intent of the director/producer of this film.

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As with all Leone films, there's so many stand out scenes to choose from. If I were to narrow it down to just three it would be-

-The opening ten minutes. Very nearly perfect.

-The McBain massacre, especially when the music builds and Frank emerges before killing the kid.

-Harmonica's flashback. After all the build up and mystery about his character, it was such a great pay-off. A brilliantly done scene, that still leaves you with some mystery (why did Frank kill Harmonica's brother? Why did he feel the need to do that to Harmonica as well? etc.)

"To me, absurdity is the only reality."
-Frank Zappa

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Those are my favorite moments as well. Is Once Upon a Time In The West your favorite from Leone?

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Well, so far I've only seen the Dollars trilogy and OUATITW once each and will have to rewatch them all (and get round to watching Duck You Sucker! and Once Upon A Time In America).

But so far, OUATITW probably takes the lead. But TGTBTU was brilliant too... as was For A Few Dollars More. Agh, it's tough.

One thing I will say though, I thought Harmonica was a better protagonist than The Man With No Name, but didn't like Frank as much as Angel Eyes or El Indio.

"To me, absurdity is the only reality."
-Frank Zappa

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Once Upon a Time in America is excellent. Duck You Sucker is pretty decent, but not great.
I actually thought the Man With No Name was a better than Harmonica(maybe because I love Clint Eastwood) and Frank was better than Indio, even better than Angel Eyes, IMO. Though Angel Eyes was excellent, Indio I thought was a bit over-the-top..

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Just DVR'd ...In America. Will get round to it as soon as I've finished Goodfellas

I guess I liked Harmonica because I thought he was just a more interesting character than TMWNN, and unlike TMWNN all the mystery around his character actually had a pay-off.

I think I was disappointed with Frank because I'd seen him built up as the most evil bastard in the history of film, yet he only really does two things in the film that I thought were really despicable. The rest of it, he just came across as an average villain (though the performance from Fonda was great) Angel Eyes may not have done anything as "evil" as Frank, but he had a much better presence as a villain, if you take my meaning.

"To me, absurdity is the only reality."
-Frank Zappa

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I think Harmonica was a lot better character than MWNN, but IMO Eastwood had a better presence than Bronson had. I see where your coming from, but I just love Eastwood.

OUATIA is very long btw. Which version did DVR? The longer is better, a lot better.

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Well, it was about 3hr 45 minutes. It's on a channel with commercials, but they're only about every half an hour or so (less for longer movies) so I'm thinking it's the proper version

(I live in Britain as well and I'm pretty sure our channels don't butcher films as much, the only editing they do is for swearing and violence in films airing before 9pm)

"To me, absurdity is the only reality."
-Frank Zappa

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Henry Fonda shot a kid!!!!!!!

Brilliant!!! The audience must have dropped their popcorn right there and then!

The entire film was epic.


Smoke me a kipper. I’ll be back for breakfast

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Really the opening scene was perhaps my favorite. Purely a visual masterpiece with minimal dialogue. It holds your interest immediately and you simply want to know who the badass with the harmonica is.

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Make sure "America" is around 3hrs. 45min....If it's around 2hrs. 30min., don't watch it. Find the long version, the real version. American suits chopped up the masterpiece for initial release.

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

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I prefer 'A Fist Full Of Dollars' to 'A Few Dollars more' But the final 10 minutes of 'A Few Dollars More' is better. My favourite is probably 'OUATITW'. Which film do you think has the best final confrontation? I like the three way stand off in 'TGTBTU'

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The last fight between Frank and Harmonica.

The scene is just too *beep* perfect.

The shots, the camera angles, the way the music starts perfectly.

You have two guys who have been gunslingers their entire lifes. BUt its something that is fading in the west because civilization is coming. So, instead of assuming the spot light, they go to the back of the building, a simple spot where there are no watchers, no audience. Its an unimportant event: no one gives a *beep* about these two. On the other side of the house, dozens of workers bringing civilization.

JUst as harmonica positions himself, he is natural in his enviroment. He is still a man of the west: a true gunslinger. Civilization hasnt reached him yet. But it did have some effect on Frank. He got confortable. He knew that cities, money and wealth can give him. He is becoming old, he wants to settle down and live a life as a boss instead of a gun for hire.

He is not confortable coming back to the wild. You can see it by the way he drops his coat (a fine piece of cloathing), that symbolizes his new way of life as a business man. He drops it, just a bit before going into the arena, and goes back to being a gunslinger. But he isnt confortable anymore. He looks around, unconfortable, trying to find a place for himself.

You see, that place represents the old west. All the time Frank is getting used to the place, Harmonica is there, confortable, because all this time he never left the west. He is ready to fight, to survive, to die. Frank isnt. ANd that is why Harmonica looks at Frank, realize it and smile. Frank is coming into his world, a place where he controls it.

This probabily last a few seconds, but there is tons of symbolism in it. People that dont apreciate the movie doesnt understand it. From every single action there is a hidden meaning in it. Even Harmonica clothes have a meaning: look at those white robes that make him blend with the sand on the desert. This guy belongs to the desert. It also contrast with Frank, who is wearing black, and stands out on this place like he doesnt belong here. It is also white vs black, good vs bad, justice vs violence.

All the while, these two movie graciously around with music as their guide, changing positions to create more and more amazing static shots, where every one looks like a painting that is percetly positioned.

The long shots at the actors face allow them to properly portray their characters feelings. You can see the sadness over Harmonicas face when he starts to remember the things that hapened to his brother.

And when he remembers, he shoots. And its a duel, something that could happen in reality. Short, brutal, definite. Frank goes down. Harmonica gives the harmonica back to Frank. Its like he is dying, because the reason why he lived was for revenge, and by doing it he isnt Harmonica anymore, so he doesnt need the instrument anymore. Frank created Harmonica and now is being killed by his own creation. The harmonica sound changes to Frank dying breathing. And as Frank dies, also Harmonica dies, as does the music.

The scene is perfect. There is nothing like this anywhere else, character, photography, edition, story and music wise.

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Wonderful analysis of that scene, man! I think some of your ideas are spot on. To me, the whole build-up and pay-off of that duel outshines any other climax of Leone's westerns (even the infamous truel from TGTBTU)

"To me, absurdity is the only reality."
-Frank Zappa

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WOW, blown away by your interpretation of that incredible final gun battle between Harmonica and Frank. You expressed what I think every fan of 'Once Upon A Time in the West' was feeling when they first saw that final gun battle. But, never found the words to express what they were sensing about the dynamic of the two characters during the scene. Good Job Dog!

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The first 10 minutes, for sure. “Snaky” (Jack Elam) along with two other surly gunmen are waiting to kill a man, “Harmonica” (Charles Bronson), who is arriving on the train. When they finally confront one another, as “Snaky” looks back at the group’s 3 horses they rode in with, he says, “It appears we’re shy one horse.” To which “Harmonica” replies, “You brought two too many.” Classic! And Henry Fonda was brilliant as the sociopathic killer, Frank, with those 'steel-blue' eyes!

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I couldn't agree with you more. When I first watched this movie, I felt that the introduction was too slow, although still excellent in Leone's way, and my favorite scene was at the final showdown when Charles Bronson's character places the harmonica into Frank's mouth. Over the years I've began to like the opening scene more and more, and to me it is as close to perfect as anything in cinema.

"When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk."

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All The Claudia Cardinale scenes.

Jill: If you want to, you can lay me over the table and amuse yourself. And even call in your men. Well. No woman ever died from that. When you're finished, all I'll need will be a tub of boiling water, and I'll be exactly what I was before - with just another filthy memory.

Cheyenne: You make good coffee, at least?

[ Cheyenne's entrance is also a piece of impressive cinema.]


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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~nec spe,nec metu :*•.. ¤°.¸¸.•´¯`»

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The whole movie from beginning to end. That's the best scene. :)

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