WarrenMax007
Member
I want to watch Once Upon a Time in the West, but i was wondering if this movie is somehow tied with the Dollars trilogy? Or i'm ok and i can watch OUATITW as my first Leone's movie?
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Westerns of Sergio Leone. Where to start?
- Thread starter WarrenMax007
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SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
It's unrelated to the Dollars trilogy. Go ahead. It should also be noted the 'trilogy' is use loosely for the Dollars films. The narratives are unrelated. They're more like spiritual sequels.
Watch in this order
1. A Fistful Of Dollars (a remake of Yojimbo. Yojimbo is superior).
2. For A Few Dollars More (Amazing)
3. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (Amazing)
Then
4. Once Upon A Time In The West (Amazing)
5. Look in the mirror and ask yourself why you didn't watch them earlier.
1. A Fistful Of Dollars (a remake of Yojimbo. Yojimbo is superior).
2. For A Few Dollars More (Amazing)
3. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (Amazing)
Then
4. Once Upon A Time In The West (Amazing)
5. Look in the mirror and ask yourself why you didn't watch them earlier.
Secret Fawful
Member
Don't skip A Fistful of Dynamite/Duck, You Sucker! It's his most underrated film, and it's easily my second or third favorite of his movies.
Gozer the Gozerian
Member
Could you explain John's final flashback in that movie?
Maybe I'm just dumb but I feel like it's supposed to be some really big revelation but all I get from it is okay so him and his buddy had some weird open relationship thing with that girl? So what?
Secret Fawful
Member
He and his friend were part of a nationalist revolution in their country. They were also both in love with the same woman. His friend betrays him to the authorities, possibly over the woman, and John kills him over the betrayal and the police and escapes the country on the run from the British. History repeats itself when Dr. Villega betrays John and Juan and the revolutionaries to the army. John gets Villega into a situation where he could kill Villega, but his memories of his friend get him to change his mind and beg Villega to escape the train alive with him. Villega remains on the train due to guilt over his betrayal, and is killed.
This is how I saw them. I don't think it matters when you see once upon a time though.
All of them except fistful are masterpieces. Even fistful is really good just not as good as the rest IMHO. So many amazing scenes in these movies. And dat music...
Secret Fawful
Member
I'd argue that Fistful of Dynamite is a spiritual successor to Once Upon a Time in the West, and Once Upon a Time in America is a spiritual successor to Dynamite, simply as a progression of historical periods.
Prinz Eugn
Member
I saw them randomly on TMC (I think), back in the day, and the most confusing part was actors playing a completely different character in the sequel (Clint/No-name is constant however). Lee Van Cleef's two characters in particular are totally different.
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
Once your done with his Westerns, get onto Leone's actual masterpiece Once Upon a Time in America.
Secret Fawful
Member
You mean after the extended director's cut is out in September, right?
He has two masterpieces. This, while enjoyable, is neither of them.
Ether_Snake
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Start at the start.
Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good the Bad & The Ugly
Those three seen in that order will give you a good idea of how Leone and his team progressed over time. Pay good attention to everything; the acting, the music, the framing. Fistful was really low budget, so it's better to see it first.
Then:
Once Upon a Time In The West
Giu La Testa (Fistful of Dynamite/Once Upon a Time The Revolution)
Once Upon a Time in America, or wait till the new blu-ray release in September with added footage.
Fistful is a copy of Kurosawa's Yojimbo, so that one is good seeing too later on if you haven't, great too.
edit: Don't listen to people here saying to watch only this or that movie, all his movies have been great, you'd miss something not watching them all.
No! Once Upon a Time must be watched after the trilogy, because it's specifically about the era of Westerns coming to an end. It would be a mistake to watch it before.
OP: Watch them in the order I said, it only makes sense. If you have access to the commentaries by Christopher Frayling and others, watch them too, but only after having watched all the movies. They are pretty insightful. Frayling really explains well how "Italian" Leone's movies really are, which you might not realize at first.
Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good the Bad & The Ugly
Those three seen in that order will give you a good idea of how Leone and his team progressed over time. Pay good attention to everything; the acting, the music, the framing. Fistful was really low budget, so it's better to see it first.
Then:
Once Upon a Time In The West
Giu La Testa (Fistful of Dynamite/Once Upon a Time The Revolution)
Once Upon a Time in America, or wait till the new blu-ray release in September with added footage.
Fistful is a copy of Kurosawa's Yojimbo, so that one is good seeing too later on if you haven't, great too.
edit: Don't listen to people here saying to watch only this or that movie, all his movies have been great, you'd miss something not watching them all.
No! Once Upon a Time must be watched after the trilogy, because it's specifically about the era of Westerns coming to an end. It would be a mistake to watch it before.
The last shootout happening while everyone is completely oblivious to it, as the workers are laying out the railway before, during and after the fight, with the shootout having changed absolutely nothing, is really meaningful in that regard. It's a vanishing myth, the new era coming through, the old stories left in the past, hence the title.
OP: Watch them in the order I said, it only makes sense. If you have access to the commentaries by Christopher Frayling and others, watch them too, but only after having watched all the movies. They are pretty insightful. Frayling really explains well how "Italian" Leone's movies really are, which you might not realize at first.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Felt like an overlong Godfather parody
Just watch the Dollars trilogy and then Once Upon a Time in the West
D
Deleted member 102362
Unconfirmed Member
You're all forgetting Leone's best movie, The Colossus of Rhodes.
Duck, You Sucker is my second favorite Leone movie after TGTBATU. Do yourself a favor and track it down, especially if you like the Dollars "trilogy."
Duck, You Sucker is my second favorite Leone movie after TGTBATU. Do yourself a favor and track it down, especially if you like the Dollars "trilogy."
Yep, this. Dollars trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West are masterworks. Duck You Sucker and Once Upon a Time in America are...not.
although I kinda like My Name is Nobody, which by most accounts Leone basically ghost directed. It's way too goofy and silly, and is never funny, but has a couple of really good scenes and some nice catchy music.
I've actually never seen this or Last Days of Pompeii. I've never really given a shit about these old sword and sandal movies before, and I can't imagine they're any good even if Leone directed them, but the completist in me will probably drive me to check em out at some point.
flintstryker
Banned
Watch everything by him, while The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is my personal favorite movie of all time I have a very high amount of love for his other works especially For a Few Dollars More which I find to be almost as good as TGB & U, Lee Van Cleft character in that movie is a pretty stark contrast to what he was as Angel Eyes too.
I'd agree too and I usually refer to the three films as the Once Upon a Time... trilogy. (And the others as the Dollars trilogy).
It's Leone's homage trilogy: Once Upon a Time in the West is a tribute to American westerns (and the west in general), Duck You Sucker to Zapata westerns, and America to gangster films.
IISANDERII
Member
I would definitely watch Once Upon a Time in the West before taking on a trilogy. Don't get me wrong, The Man with No Name trilogy is brilliant, but that spectacular end is a long time coming, can definitely see fatigue setting in. I would go with the tidier story to whet appetites, to prepare for the long haul.
BloodMoney
Banned
Once upon a time in the west is a masterpiece. DAT Charles Bronson QuickDraw. Beautiful beautiful film.
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