Leone doesn’t do anything to break from the realism, and the subsequent violence is just as shockingly blatant. The resulting shootout that follows comes after a brief exchange of dialogue where the men discuss the quantity of horses in their company while Harmonica’s line “you brought one too many” hints at some sort of intentionality, the rest of the conversation is fairly plain spoken and dull. However, any further expositional notes are expunged the scene is presented like the introduction to a fairy tale or fable, which makes one re-consider the “Once Upon a Time” context of the title. Scant dialogue indicates that they’re under the employment of Frank, a character whose ruthlessness would be depicted momentarily during the disturbing house raid sequence.
Their impatience only adds to the tension the audience is weirdly in the same position as the bandits, as they’re waiting for some sort of declaration to break the ice. It’s fascinating to see how Leone appears to mirror his past work by recreating the iconic ending sequence of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly as the killers assemble to face off against Harmonica. Within the opening moments, Leone doesn’t try to turn Harmonica into an empathetic character like everyone else who makes a living as a killer, he’s someone to be feared. While Eastwood certainly had a signature dark edge to him, Bronson lacked the subtle sense-of-humor and casual decency that had made “The Man With No Name” so beloved.
The opening of the film introduces the main protagonist simply known as “Harmonica” ( Charles Bronson), a character who is only honorable in comparison to the even more ruthless outlaws that surround him.īronson was not the type of actor who would traditionally play these types of heroic roles Western heroes tended to be popular, charismatic stars like John Wayne, Gary Cooper, or Steve McQueen, and not character actors like Bronson who tended to work on B-movies and darker revenge thrillers. Leone used the development of the railroad system as a way to explore the end of ranching and the “Western era” as cinema had depicted it up until that point the violence was also more extreme, and the performance of Henry Fonda as the film’s main antagonist Frank was an interesting case of casting an actor known for playing heroic roles as one of the most detestable characters in screen history.
#Western door openin g series#
While the “Dollars Trilogy” was an action-packed series of adventures, Once Upon a Time in the West was more reflective.
0 kommentar(er)
