A buzzing fly, a train whistle, the wind blowing through the desert, and harmonica –
After “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly”, Italian maestro Sergio Leone came up with this brilliant story, wrote by himself, which he described as “a fresco on the birth of a great nation”. Leone emerges a 300-page treatment which was eventually distilled into the script, penned by Leone and Sergio Donati in this meticulously-plotted screenplay.
In fact, he builds a myth with modest elements, an organ mouth, a blue-eyed glance, long coats. He introduces lyricism and immoderation, to sublimate the manners of this specific spectacle. The daring of realization, inverted or encircling shot, and artistic choice express an authentic will to break the common rules, in order to confer sensible density on characters and an aesthetic energy on his scenery. Paradoxically, this glittering vision of Redemption, which was hesitating between homage and parody. Looking for ruins poetry and contemporary commencement. Insignificant details become epic. The fly and the dripping water for instance, are given real significance, and are integral to the pace of the scene. Not a word is said but the pacing and magnification of the smallest details add human depth to the scene, the director has created an absolute.
Henry Fonda plays the psychotic gunslinger Frank hired by a railroad contractor to scares stubborn redheaded Irishman Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) and his family. In the meantime his beautiful new wife Jill (Claudia Cardinale) comes for the wedding announcement who turns into a funeral ceremony. And for that circumstances, she inherited that altercation land. Nevertheless, the central figure in this film are, crafty-mysterious antihero harmonica player (Charles Bronson), search vengeance to the mighty Frank. And fortunately Cheyenne (Jason Robards) teamed up with him in the middle of the hunt.
Leone brought us a series of flamboyantly choreographed set-piece confrontations. While characterisation suffers slightly under the weight of the visual theatrics, astonishing script, astute dialogue, combine with an exquisite score, a tight matching of soundtrack and visuals, remarkable.
It is one of the greatest Westerns film ever made. Outstanding.
