The movie opens with several killers waiting patiently at the train station. One of them is dozing off constantly being bothered by flies, and the other is helpless with the leaky roof. These details imply that they are just a group of young men, but we don’t know they are at this time. What are you waiting for. Until the train passed by, a cowboy appeared on the other side of the track, and the two sides began a gunfight. The best thing about life in the West is that marksmanship and speed determine everything. Although our lone hero was wounded, he still killed three others. This paragraph also mentions a name-Frank, which is the villain played by Henry Fonda. At the same time, another line began: The McBain family of four living on the edge of the desert was mercilessly murdered by Frank. Mrs. McBain, who had just returned from New Orleans, could only face the dead family. Although she knew the road ahead was sinister, she decided to live alone in the desert. Outskirts.
The western movies I used to watch basically did not have female characters. The appearance of Jill (Ms. McBain) in "Once Upon a Time in the West" can be regarded as breaking this stereotype. It is said that the director originally thought about using Jill as the first protagonist. The appearance in the design is that she hides under the platform, and the camera sees her body in the skirt. As a result, the heroine was too revealing and refused the request, so the director changed the role of Jill into the woman behind the man. On the one hand, I am curious, I don’t know what a western movie with women as the protagonist will look like; on the other hand, I am very grateful that this movie is still great even if it is not terrifying. I have watched several domestically selected top 100 films before. "Once Upon a Time in the West" was on the list, but "The Good, the Bad and the Bad" by the same director failed. Speaking of conscience, I also prefer "Once Upon a Time in the West" compared to "The Good, the Bad and the Good." After all, the latter is more in line with Chinese aesthetic habits.
First of all, "Once Upon a Time in the West" tends to be a group drama. It does not have a particularly prominent protagonist. The characters all serve the story, and multiple clues go hand in hand. Looking for the murderer of the McBain family is an open line, and until the end of the film I realized that there is another dark line, that is Harmonica's revenge for her brother. During the whole process, I was wondering, I don't know why Harmonica was arranged for such a role. In the second half, when the villain played by Henry Fonda was hunted down, the atmosphere was extremely tense and full of suspense. But Harmonica rescued him repeatedly, which made people very puzzled. But then I saw some clues from the conversation between him and Jill wearing a bath towel-maybe, he just wanted to kill this person himself. Sure enough, the reason for revenge revealed at the end of the credits confirmed my suspicion. Henry Fonda's character is a cruel killer, even children and women are not let go, I have been looking forward to his death soon. So what makes people incomprehensible is that Jill knew that the other party was killing her husband and the enemy, or had a relationship with him. The possible explanation is that she was suppressed for too long, and the enemy was a handsome man. Or the director's little revenge against the actors for refusing to be naked, we have no way of knowing.
Secondly, "Once Upon a Time in the West" is a tragedy on the whole, and a good tragedy is always more unforgettable. From the beginning McBain's originally happy family suffered misfortune, to Jill guarding the vacant house, and then the old urchin Cheyenne died not heroically... A series of sad stories are all beautiful flowers dotted in the wreath of this western memoir. From the perspective of the soundtrack alone, "Once Upon a Time in the West" is also more atmospheric than "The Good, the Bad and the Good." Together with the desolation and vastness of the desert, the melodious music highlights the charm of the west. When the characters' feelings are unfolding, the music changes again and again; when the shootout begins, the rapid melody adds a bit of tension; when the life and death are separated, the sad tune is shocking.
Finally, "Once Upon a Time in the West" has a more skilful storytelling method and a more detailed structure. From the title of "The Good, the Bad and the Good" (literally translated in English is "good guys, bad guys, and clowns"), one can think of a story about good and evil being rewarded. Since the clue of 200,000 wealth appeared, we can roughly imagine the ending. It is nothing more than bad people do not die, good people get rewards, and the clown is destined to be teased and humiliated. The multiple clues of "Once Upon a Time in the West" have undoubtedly created more suspense. Regarding the role, I have to admit that Clint Eastwood has a greater appeal. After all, everyone loves heroes, especially charming heroes. But group play can test the director's ability to control and the degree of tacit understanding between actors. When we watch "Crash" and "Sky Tower", we pay more attention to the whole story rather than individual stars, even though there are big names like Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in "Sky Tower".
I didn't watch a few westerns in total, almost all of them were made by the Italian director Sergio Leone. Western films were once all the rage, and there are so many, but maybe only this Italian really understands the glory of the west and loves that land deeply, otherwise it would not have made such an excellent film. Similarly, Chinese directors joked about so much Qing Dynasty history. When will they leave us with a memorable classic?
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