Not having seen this until very recently, I'm going to try and give an objective review for this film with tentative criticism. I'm not all too educated in the Western genre, but supposedly this is the best, so I figured it to be a good place to start.
Absolutely stunning cinematography technique, excellent characters and actors, and one of the most memorable musical scores ever help define TGTBATU's spot in film history. It's no wonder it's achieved the status it has. Having never seen any of the old spaghetti westerns before, I really didn't know what to expect. I was surprised but also delighted. For some reason I thought this film was going to be extremely realistic, so I was a little surprised to see hats getting shot off and rope cut in half by a bullets. I suppose it is part of the genre's characteristics and probably takes a little getting used to. Also, at the same time the film is very realistic as it introduces the theme of the Civil War at different parts throughout the film giving us a small glimpse of it's effects back then.
Easily my favorite component to the film, the cinematography is simply amazing. Panoramic backgrounds and extreme close-ups do their respective jobs quite nicely to give this film more character that it needs, which is not a bad thing. I'm sure it's played a huge part in the film's notoriety and support since it's release. The score and the well-cast actors obviously had a part in this also. Oh yeah, and one more thing, Clint Eastwood...born for these parts.
Being new to the genre of Spaghetti Westerns, I offer up my criticism with much reluctance. For the record, I enjoyed the film quite a bit and was not disappointed. However, I was a little surprised to find the film rated so high, even if it is the genre-defining classic that it is. What's wrong with it? Well, it's a tad too long for one. Not that I can't stay interested, I just felt they could have cut a few of the scenes. Also, while the cinematography is beautiful, and complimented by long shots, I feel these longs shots are sometimes a little too long. The cemetery and stand-off scenes in the end come to mind. They're wonderful sequences, just too long. It's not that big of a deal, just sensing a little pretension leaking out here and there. And lastly, the sound quality is fairly terrible, even if the score is decent. The quality makes it sound like everyone was in a cave, including the impressive score. I do realize that the film was dubbed...some of which isn't all that great, which explains some of the off-key lip movements from some of the characters, some of them English speaking. Other than those three little gripes, that may not have been such forty years ago, this is a great film that I enjoyed immensely. I will definitely add it to my collection soon and continue my quest to see all of the great Westerns. Anyone interested in Westerns, great adventures, or simply film in general should not miss this hallmark.
Highly recommended, but not for everyone.
Absolutely stunning cinematography technique, excellent characters and actors, and one of the most memorable musical scores ever help define TGTBATU's spot in film history. It's no wonder it's achieved the status it has. Having never seen any of the old spaghetti westerns before, I really didn't know what to expect. I was surprised but also delighted. For some reason I thought this film was going to be extremely realistic, so I was a little surprised to see hats getting shot off and rope cut in half by a bullets. I suppose it is part of the genre's characteristics and probably takes a little getting used to. Also, at the same time the film is very realistic as it introduces the theme of the Civil War at different parts throughout the film giving us a small glimpse of it's effects back then.
Easily my favorite component to the film, the cinematography is simply amazing. Panoramic backgrounds and extreme close-ups do their respective jobs quite nicely to give this film more character that it needs, which is not a bad thing. I'm sure it's played a huge part in the film's notoriety and support since it's release. The score and the well-cast actors obviously had a part in this also. Oh yeah, and one more thing, Clint Eastwood...born for these parts.
Being new to the genre of Spaghetti Westerns, I offer up my criticism with much reluctance. For the record, I enjoyed the film quite a bit and was not disappointed. However, I was a little surprised to find the film rated so high, even if it is the genre-defining classic that it is. What's wrong with it? Well, it's a tad too long for one. Not that I can't stay interested, I just felt they could have cut a few of the scenes. Also, while the cinematography is beautiful, and complimented by long shots, I feel these longs shots are sometimes a little too long. The cemetery and stand-off scenes in the end come to mind. They're wonderful sequences, just too long. It's not that big of a deal, just sensing a little pretension leaking out here and there. And lastly, the sound quality is fairly terrible, even if the score is decent. The quality makes it sound like everyone was in a cave, including the impressive score. I do realize that the film was dubbed...some of which isn't all that great, which explains some of the off-key lip movements from some of the characters, some of them English speaking. Other than those three little gripes, that may not have been such forty years ago, this is a great film that I enjoyed immensely. I will definitely add it to my collection soon and continue my quest to see all of the great Westerns. Anyone interested in Westerns, great adventures, or simply film in general should not miss this hallmark.
Highly recommended, but not for everyone.