The man who would reinvent the Western in the 1960s, there is no filmmaker who is lauded for this effort better than Sergio Leone. Though he would make a film films that were outside of that genre, the Italian filmmaker helped create a new sub-genre in the form of the Spaghetti Western that brought new levels of violence, protagonists, and a visual style that strayed from the world of the American west. Since his death in 1989, Leone is considered to be one of the great filmmakers as he would end up influencing countless filmmakers in the years to come.
Born in Rome, Italy on January 3, 1929, Leone was the son of filmmaker Vincenzo Leone and actress Edvige Valcarhengi where the former was considered a pioneer in Italian silent cinema. Leone grew up around the film industry as he would often be in the set of his father’s films. It was there he would learn his trade. By age 19, Leone was already the assistant director for Vittorio de Sica during the making of de Sica’s Bicycle Thieves. Leone would spent the late 1940s and most of the 1950s as an assistant director while writing screenplays for the sword-and-sandal films of the time.
Among the works Leone was doing as an assistant director was shooting scenes for movies like Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur as his work in the chariot race scene in the latter made it to the film’s final cut. Still, it was his work in the sword-and-sandal films that got him continuous work as it was very popular in Italy at the time despite the wave of Italian neorealist movies that were emerging as well as the art films by directors like de Sica, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti, and many others.
The Last Days of Pompeii
During Leone’s tenure as an assistant director, he was asked to help assist filmmaker Mario Bonnard in making the sword-and-sandal film Gli Ultimi giorni di Pompei. The film was to tell the story about a centurion who seeks revenge for the death of his father in the hands of hooded bandits as it plays into a conspiracy to overthrow the rule of the Roman Empire and accuse the Christians of these crimes. Leone would write the film’s screenplay with a group of writers including Ennio de Concini and Sergio Corbucci. It was there that Leone and Corbucci would also work together for location scouting in Spain as it would give them ideas for the future westerns the two would make in the 1960s.
With Leone serving as assistant director and Corbucci shooting second unit, production went underway as it would star genre mainstay Steve Reeves and famed Spanish actor Fernando Rey. Yet, things grounded to a halt on the first day when Bonnard suddenly fell ill with liver issues preventing him to continue work on the film. Leone was eventually asked to take over during the production as he also helped Bonnard finish a previous film that also had Leone serve as assistant director. It was during the shooting where Leone would devise many framing devices as he was able to take advantage of the CinemaScope film stock to create amazing wide shots.
Despite the constraints he had to work with, Leone was able to do something with the story such as the film’s opening sequence in which a family is massacred as it revealed a lot of Leone’s penchant for graphic violence. It was Leone wanting to establish the kind of power that the villains wanted as it would later drive the protagonist’s vengeance. Even as he would create unique shooting styles for the film’s action that included the climatic scene when Mount Vesuvius erupts that would spell the end of Pompeii.
The film was released in November of 1959 as it was credited largely to Bonnard with Leone getting some credit in the end. The film was a hit in Italy where the sword-and-sandal genre was still popular at the time. The film’s success allowed Leone the chance to finally be promoted as a director as he was ready to take his first steps into his journey as a filmmaker.
The Colossus of Rhodes
With the clout he got his work as an assistant director and helping Mario Bonnard finish The Last Days of Pompeii, Leone was given the chance to make his first film as a director. With the sword-and-sandal genre already giving many filmmakers in Italy work, Leone decided to take part in the genre by creating another epic sword-and-sandal film in The Colossus of Rhodes. While the story was sort of a rehash of his previous film, Leone was able to get the chance to helm the film by himself as he created a project that would be ambitious despite the low budget he had to work with.
One of the film’s biggest coup was getting American film star Rory Calhoun in the lead of Dario while playing the leading lady would be Lea Massari who had just appeared in Michelangelo Antonioni’s landmark 1960 film L’Avventura. The film would revolve around a Greek military hero who arrives to an island to visit his uncle where the island was in turmoil over a rebellion to overthrow a tyrannical king who is unaware that is his insubordinate is staging a coup of his own. This would lead to the film’s protagonist to take part in the rebellion and reveal the coup.
Working with the same crew that he did with his previous film, Leone was able to keep the film’s budget in tact as well as stage some fantastic sequences that required lots of lavish set pieces. Notably the climatic earthquake scene towards the end of the film as it would have Leone maintain something that was big but with a small budget.
The film was released in 1961 where it was modestly successful but something happened along the way that would shake up the Italian film industry as the sword-and-sandal epics started to fail in the box office. The 1963 epic Cleopatra was a highly expensive film that barely recouped its budget while Luchino Visconti’s Il Gatopardo (The Leopard) was a commercial disappointment. This new crisis for the Italian film industry sent many reeling about what to do. For Leone, the end of the swords-and-sandal genre was a blessing as he was about to embark on something that would help revitalize the ailing Italian industry.
A Fistful of Dollars
During this transitional period in the Italian industry, Leone decided to forge ahead on his next project. Having been a fan of the Westerns since his days as a child while his mother starred in the first Italian-produced Western many years ago. Leone wanted to make a Western that would be very different from not just the ideals of its roots but also wanted to employ new ideas to the genre. While Leone loved the works of John Ford and other filmmakers of that genre, he felt that the idealism that was carried by John Wayne became heavy-handed. In wanting to strip down the idealism and go back to something that was more realistic and to the point. He would help create a new sub-genre that would re-shape the Western into new territory that many had not seen.
While Leone was inspired by the works of Dashiel Hammett that included Red Harvest, Leone was also inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film Yojimbo. The latter of which Leone believed was inspired by Hammett’s novel as the film was about a samurai who doubles for two feuding gangs in hopes they kill each other off. Teaming up with a group of writers to create the project that was then titled The Magnificent Stranger, the project would be a remake of sorts on Kurosawa’s Yojimbo but refashioned into the Western.
While Leone gathered a cast of actors from Italy and Spain as the production was to be set in Spain as the U.S., Leone had difficulty getting an actor to play the lead role. Leone wanted more established actors like Henry Fonda, James Coburn, and Charles Bronson but they were too expensive for a film that was budgeted at around $200,000. Leone would finally find his lead in the form of a young actor named Clint Eastwood who had only done a few films while working regular in the TV western Rawhide. Eastwood accepted the part for $15,000 as he brought his costumes from the show and flew to Spain.
The film would mark the first of three films Leone would make with Eastwood as Eastwood would prove to be a formidable collaborator for Leone as he asked for less lines during the production. It was around that time that Leone would gain other people who would become part of his collaborative team in the years to come. The first of which was art director/costume designer Carlo Simi who would help create a look that was very different from other Westerns as it would shape the visual style that Leone wanted. The second person that would be part of the team was music composer Ennio Morricone. Morricone was an old schoolmate of Leone as the two reconnected after Leone heard some of Morricone’s work for other films. Their collaboration would widely be considered to be one of the great director-composer collaborations in cinema.
Knowing that he would make a film that was very different from the Italian art films of Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni, Leone wanted to incorporate something that audiences from the South of Italy would understand. Among them would be a lot of Catholic imagery that would surround some of the set while the violence would also be far more brutal. Leone would also employ cutting styles that would play up to the action that he would later perfect in the coming years as it would be part of a style that would define the genre.
The film was released in October of 1964 where it was not well-received by the critics in Italy who were appalled by the film’s low-budget schematics and its violence. Commercially, the film turned out to be a major hit as it helped the troubled Italian film industry while the film managed to gain attention throughout Europe. The film would become a major success in the continent as it would get better reviews from critics in Europe. Despite the film’s success, Leone was sued by Akira Kurosawa for copyright infringement as it was settled out of court were Kurosawa received 15% of the film’s box office gross as Kurosawa stated that he made more money off of that film than any of his films at the time. The film’s success not only gave Leone clout but also gave rise to an emerging sub-genre that would re-shape the Western.
For a Few Dollars More
The success of A Fistful of Dollars gave Leone more creative control of what he wanted to do with his next project. Teaming up with up-and-coming producer Alberto Grimaldi, Leone decided to up the ante of the Western by going into more original storylines that would set itself apart from its predecessor. Entitled For a Few Dollars More, the film would revolve around the Man with No Name who teams up with a mysterious man in black to go after a ruthless criminal and his gang so they can collect a bounty on all of these men.
Leone collaborated with Fulvio Montella and Luciano Vincenzoni to create the script for the film while Leone and Grimaldi waited word about Eastwood’s participation in the project as he had not seen A Fistful of Dollars. Eastwood was reluctant to take part in the project until he finally saw the film as he decided to work with Leone for the second time. With Eastwood on board, Leone and Grimaldi got a chance to have more freedom as well as a bigger budget as the film would cost around $600,000 to make. The bigger budget would allow Leone to try and get established actors for the project as he tried to get Lee Marvin and Henry Fonda for the role of Colonel Douglas Mortimer. Unfortunately, they were too expensive as he eventually settled on famed character actor Lee Van Cleef as Mortimer.
With the production once again shot in Almeria, Spain with interiors shot at Cinecetta Studios in Rome, Leone gathered his crew that included Carlo Simi to create a film that was much broader than its predecessor. Even as Leone would work with a cast that was a mixture of Italian, Spanish, and West German actors that would also include Klaus Kinski as one of the bandits in the hunchback Wild. The production gave him more to do with the compositions he wanted as well as the presentation of the showdowns. With cinematographer Massimo Dallamo, Leone got a chance to create lighting schemes and shots that would be much broader in scope.
While the production was a fun one for the most part, Leone and his crew found themselves dealing with actor Gian Maria Volonte who had previously played one of the key villains in A Fistful of Dollars. Volonte and Leone sparred over Leone’s insistence in having multiple takes as Volonte would end overacting during the production as Leone decided never to work with Volonte once filming was finished. Another aspect of the production that made things interesting for Leone was his collaboration with Ennio Morricone who would create pieces for the film before shooting had begun. It would allow Leone a lot of ideas for what he wanted as Morricone’s score broadened to include Fender guitars, whistles, and chimes to play up the sense of suspense and drama.
The film was released in November of 1965 to great acclaim and box office as the film was a major hit in Europe. The film’s release allowed the Italian film industry to produce Westerns that would be known as the Spaghetti Westerns as filmmakers like Sergio Sollima and Sergio Corbucci would arrive to create their own westerns that are considered hallmarks of the genre. The film also gave more attention to both Eastwood and Van Cleef as the latter found himself getting numerous offers to star in European-produced westerns as he became a major star there just as his career in the U.S. was waning. For Leone, the success of A Few Dollars More proved that he was no fluke as he aimed to take his ambitions even further for his next project.
The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
With two back-to-back big hits under his belt, Leone went ahead to write what would be the third and final film of his trilogy. Entitled The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, the film would have the Man with No Name face off against two men on a race to find Confederate gold during the American Civil War. It would be a project that would have Leone up the ante in terms of storylines, visual presentation, violence, suspense, and everything else that he had done previously with his films.
,br />
Collaborating with Luciano Vincenzoni, who had co-wrote For a Few Dollars More with Leone, on the film’s screenplay along with the duo of Furio Scarpelli and Agenore Incrocci with American translation by Mickey Knox. The project would involve many ideas that Leone wanted to incorporate into the story that would include the uneasy alliance between the Man with No Name and a bandit named Tuco as well as the themes of war as the film’s three central characters would encounter a battle during the American Civil War. Leone also decided to make the film into a prequel of sorts into how the Man with No Name got his famed poncho and hat along with attributes to the character.
With Carlo Simi and Ennio Morricone back on board for the project, Leone would gain two new collaborators who would be part of his team as well as expand his visual style. The first was editor Nino Baragli who would help devise a cutting style that would become one of the definitive moments of the film with its three-way showdown as he collaborated with Eugenio Alabiso for the film. The other was cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli who was already famous for his work with Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. Delli Colli would provide a much more broader visual style to the film as he would give Leone the wide depth of field that was craved for the film’s shootouts and other big moments such as the battle scene that the characters would encounter.
With Lee Van Cleef immediately joining the project to play the antagonist Angel Eyes, Clint Eastwood was once again reluctant to reprise his role until Leone offered him $250,000 to star in the film as well as taking a 10% gross of profits from the film’s American release even though the previous films hadn’t been shown in the U.S. Also joining the cast is famed character actor Eli Wallach who was already a mainstay with Western as Leone casted him in the role of Tuco. With a cast of Italian, Spanish, and West German actors fitting in for the rest of smaller roles in the film, production went underway in the spring of 1966.
Once again shot in Spain, Leone had ideas that were much bigger that alarmed the film’s cast and crew as Delli Colli would help creating some long shots and scenes that matched up to epic films of the early 1960s. Leone’s ambition definitely was a surprise to some as well as Leone’s sudden desire for perfection. Leone’s filmmaking tendencies wasn’t favored by Eastwood who was becoming disenchanted with the Spaghetti Western sub-genre as well as having trouble with dealing with Leone’s newfound ambition. The result would have the two men falling out as Eastwood decided to never work with Leone after shooting wrapped. The two would become estranged for years until they briefly reconciled toward the end of Leone’s life.
With Morricone creating the music just before the film was to be shot, the music would show a newfound evolution into what the composer would create. Among them was the film’s theme as it featured an array of sounds including a whistle, a Fender guitar, human voices, and various woodwinds as it would become one of the most defining themes in film. Morricone’s score would also delve into operatic arrangements such as the piece Ecstasy of Gold and the theme for the final duel as it would play up to the ambition that Leone wanted for the film as Morricone’s score is often regarded as one of the great film scores in history.
The film was released in late December of 1966 with a running time of 177-minutes where despite the negative reception it got for its violence. The film was a major hit in the European box office as plans for a U.S. release was delayed as United Artists were unsure of how to release the film. After cutting 14 minutes of the original film, much to the dismay of Leone, for its U.S. release, the film became a surprise hit as its subsequent films were also released including a slightly re-cut version of For a Few Dollars More. The Dollars Trilogy not only gave the western genre a shot in the arm but also brought Leone more widespread attention internationally. The film would also finally make Clint Eastwood a star in the U.S. though he and Leone were already moving on with the next phases of their careers.
Once Upon a Time in the West
The success of the Dollars trilogy gave Leone clout internationally as well as the attention of Hollywood. Yet, Leone was unsure about tackling another western as he wanted to move on to different territory. Despite an offer from United Artists to make a film with such big names like Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas, Leone turned down the offer until Paramount Studios came in with an offer he couldn’t refuse. It would be the chance to work with one of Leone’s favorite actors in Henry Fonda as Leone decided to create a western with Fonda in the starring role.
For this new project, Leone decided the film would be part of another trilogy that would based on key events that would shape the landscape of American culture. The first part entitled Once Upon a Time in the West would be about two men who would come to the aid of a widow as she’s targeted by a railroad baron who has hired a killer as they want her precious land. For the story treatment, Leone would work with up-and-coming filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento, who at the time was a film critic before making a name for himself as a horror filmmaker. Leone’s longtime friend Sergio Donati would eventually write with Leone for the film’s screenplay as they wanted to make a western that was different from their previous films as well as many other westerns.
Leone traveled to the U.S. for location scouting as he got to travel to famous landmarks where John Ford had shot some of his westerns as the film was shot partially in the U.S. as well as some of the locations set in Spain. Retaining his team of collaborators for the project, Leone also went ahead to start casting for the film as he grabbed two of Italian cinema’s big names in Claudia Cardinale as the film protagonist Jill McBain and Gabriele Ferzetti as the railroad baron Morton. Though Leone originally wanted Clint Eastwood in the role of Harmonica, Charles Bronson was chosen for the role while playing the role of Cheyenne would be Jason Robards. The film’s biggest shock would be in the antagonist Frank as Leone decided to have Henry Fonda in the role. The idea of Fonda as the villain was shocking as Fonda was unsure about doing the film until Eli Wallach convinced him to play the part.
Leone also brought in many character actors from westerns such as Woody Strode, Al Mulock, Keenan Wynn, and Jack Elam for small parts where Strode, Mulock, and Elam played the three men Harmonica meets in the film’s opening sequence. The sequence would be the start of many key visual moments Leone would devise with cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli where he wanted to slowly build up the element of suspense as well as create something that was more psychological in its motivations for the characters involved. It would also be the first time Leone used flashbacks as a plot device for the film as it revolves around Harmonica’s search for Frank.
Another major change that Leone wanted was to make a film that revolved around a female character as a lot of his previous films were dominated largely by male. It was Leone wanting to take chances with his narrative as the film would also be multi-layered with lots of storylines revolving around the film’s five central characters. With lots of wide shots, unique camera angles, and other visual traits that Leone would refine for this film, the film would be a far more ambitious project that anything Leone would make in his career.
Adding to the film’s grand visual style is the music of Ennio Morricone as he would create four different themes for Frank, Harmonica, Cheyenne, and Jill McBain. The mixture of folk and operatic orchestral music would play a key part to what Leone wanted for the film as Morricone devised harmonica-driven music for Harmonica while Frank is led by a dorbo-guitar riff. Cheyenne would be accompanied by a banjo while Jill’s theme is led by an operatic voice that add to the sweeping tone of the film. Notably with its ending as it revolved around what many believed to be the end of the west by the arrival of the railroad cross country.
The film was released in December of 1968 in Italy where it was well-received en Europe under its original running time of 166 minutes. When it came time for its U.S. release in May of 1969, Paramount decided to cut more than twenty-minutes of footage from the film against Leone’s consent where the film was not well-received in the U.S. and flopped in the U.S. Though the film would later be considered to be one of the great films of the western genre as well as being heralded by some filmmakers and critics as one of the best films ever made. The disappointing reaction the film had in the U.S. had Leone beginning to distrust Hollywood as he went on hiatus for the next few years.
Duck, You Sucker!
In the aftermath of Once Upon a Time in the West, Leone laid low during that period as he watched from afar to see that Spaghetti Western sub-genre that he helped popularize was now becoming derivative as elements of comedy was seeping into the genre. Leone was becoming disenchanted with the genre as he was also seeing a lot of political strife happening in Italy as social changes were going on. In response to the social revolutions that were happening in Italy, Leone decided to make a project that was about the fallacies of revolutions as he collaborated with Sergio Donati and later Luciano Vincenzoni to write a screenplay that was called Giu la testa! which meant in English, “duck your head, asshole!”
Leone’s intention for the project was to be involved as a producer where he would collaborate with another director for the project. Peter Bogdanovich was the first choice as briefly signed on only to leave due to lack of control issues. There were also claims that Sam Peckinpah was to helm the project only to not be involved due to financial issues with U.S. distributors in United Artists. It was around that time that Leone was also casting the film as he hoping to get some big names involved for the film. He eventually got James Coburn for the role of former IRA revolutionary John Nolan while Rod Steiger was cast in the role of Juan Miranda when Leone couldn’t get Eli Wallach for the part due to the studio wanting a bigger name.
With Italian star Romolo Valli signed on for the supporting role of revolutionary leader Dr. Villega, the film was set to go into production with assistant director Giancarlo Santi to helm the project. Yet, Coburn and Steiger refused to work with Santi as they wanted Leone to helm the project as Leone eventually agreed to helm the project full on with Santi shooting second unit. While Leone was able to retain Ennio Morricone and Nino Baragli for the project as Carlo Simi and Tonino Delli Colli were unavailable due to other commitments. Leone was able to hire Giuseppe Ruzzolini to shoot the picture as it was shot mostly in Spain with some of the film shot in Dublin, Ireland.
With the story set during the Mexican Revolution in the early 1900s, Leone wanted to create a film that was about changing times as it relates to the social revolutions of the early 1970s. With the film’s main story that revolves around the conflict between this IRA revolutionary and a poor man, Leone wanted to reveal his own views on revolution as he opens the film with a quote by Mao Zedong on the fallacy of revolution that is followed by robbery scene of Miranda robbing rich people who had earlier said things about the poor.
With Leone’s wanting to carefully plan his visuals, he was also inspired by paintings as he created one notable scene about an execution that looked similar to Francisco Goya’s The Third of May 1808 painting. Leone and Ruzzolini would create lighting schemes that was similar to that while Leone would also use flashbacks to establish Nolan’s background with revolutions and the loss of innocence that he encountered that would be accompanied by lush, operatic music by Ennio Morricone.
The film was released in the fall of 1971 in Italy where it did well commercially in its native country despite lukewarm reviews yet it got big praise from Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini who found it to be Leone’s most interesting work to date. For the film’s subsequent releases in the rest of Europe and the U.S., the film went through many drastic cuts as its original 157-cut went through many versions including a slightly shorter version in Europe under the film’s then-working title Once Upon a Time… the Revolution while the U.S. release received a much shorter version of 121-minutes under the title A Fistful of Dynamite where both versions cut the Zedong quote as well as graphic scenes of violence. In 2007, the film was finally restored in its original cut for a DVD release as it also got a brief U.S. theatrical release where many critics praised the film as Leone’s most overlooked work.
My Name is Nobody/A Genius, Two Partners, & a Dupe
With the wave of the Spaghetti Westerns becoming derivative, Leone decided to be involved more as a producer where he would develop projects for other filmmakers at the time. One of them was a parody of the genre that he helped created in a film that was called My Name is Nobody that starred one of the sub-genre’s big stars in Terence Hill as a young gunslinger who teams up with an aging gunslinger going up against a ruthless gang. To play the role of the legendary Jack Beauregard, Henry Fonda accepted the role due to his friendship with Leone. Leone only chose to direct the film’s opening scene and shootout while letting its director Tonino Valerii helm the rest of the film.
The project was a success though both Leone and Valerii were unhappy about the film’s promotion being attested to Leone as it led to Leone to produce a loose sequel of sorts called A Genius, Two Partners, & a Dupe that would also star Hill. The film also featured Klaus Kinski, Miou-Miou, and Patrick McGoohan as it revolves con artists trying to swindle an Indian-hating cavalry man. The project would be directed by Damiano Damiani as Leone directed the film’s opening scene. The project was another commercial success in Europe upon its 1975 release but it was not well-received with critics as Leone was unhappy with the film’s final results as he stayed away from the directing chair in order to stay further in the background producing other films as it would continue a long hiatus period.
Once Upon a Time in America
Following a period during the 1970s and parts of the 1980s where Leone produced various projects for other filmmakers while directing commercials on the side. Leone was trying to develop a project that he had been wanting to do since the late 1960s. It would be in an adaptation of Harry Grey’s 1952 novel The Hoods as Leone wanted to create a gangster film that was unlike anything else out there. A project he originally wanted to do after the Dollars trilogy, Leone took a long time to get it made as he even turned down an offer to direct The Godfather during that period where he would also meet Grey to get him to agree to adapt The Hoods into what would become Leone’s final film in Once Upon a Time in America.
While Leone didn’t have the rights to the project at the time, he would write the film with six co-writers including Franco Arcalli who had co-written Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 film Last Tango in Paris as well as editing some of Bertolucci’s films in the 1970s. American writer Stuart Kaminsky was hired to translate the screenplay into English while adding some dialogue to the script as Leone continued to get the project going as it went through a period of development issues as actors like Gerard Depardieu, Jean Gabin, Richard Dreyfuss, James Cagney, Paul Newman, and many others were attached. When Leone finally got the rights to the story with Grey giving him permission, Leone was finally able to do the project with renowned producer Arnon Milchan backing him up.
Though Leone had intended to produce the film while a younger director would helm the project as John Milius was approached, Leone ended up helming the project himself. With the casting still in development, Leone finally got his cast as Robert de Niro got the lead role of Noodles while James Woods played the role Noodles’ friend Max, and Elizabeth McGovern in the role of Noodles’ love interest Deborah. Other actors who were cast for notable supporting parts included Tuesday Weld, Danny Aiello, Treat Williams, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, and William Forsythe as Leone was also looking for young actors to play the young versions of the film’s central characters. A young model named Jennifer Connelly was cast in the role of the young Deborah as filming finally began in June of 1982.
Leone would retain many of his collaborators for the film including cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli and art director Carlo Simi while it would expand to include costume designer Gabriella Pescucci and production designer Walter Massi for the film. Shooting took place largely in New York City with many of the film’s interiors shot at Cinecetta Studios in Rome, Italy along with additional scenes in St. Petersburg, Florida and in Quebec. Leone wanted to explore the world of the gangster era during the Prohibition as the film would span into three different timelines from the early 1900s when the characters were children to the era of Prohibition where Noodles, Max, and their gang were young gangsters on the rise. The third time period the film is set is in the late 1960s where Noodles returns to New York City where he’s given an assignment to kill a politician as he reflects on his past.
Leone wanted to create a story that was very different from other gangster films as it explored many themes of ambition, betrayal, loss, and regret as the story moved back and forth from Noodles’ time in the 1960s to the past as he recalls his time as a young hood who becomes a gangster. It would be a narrative device that Leone wanted in order to create the sense of dramatic impact Noodles would have as he deals with tragedy at an early age as well as loss and regret where it climaxes with this meeting between the man he’s supposed to kill. With editor Nino Baragli helping to flesh out the film’s narrative device, it would give Leone the chance to establish everything Noodles went through as it also featured an ending that many described to be an ambiguous one.
For the film’s score, Ennio Morricone created lots of pieces that he had been working on for years as it lived up to the ambition that Leone wanted. Though he was reluctantly about one of the film’s themes in the lush theme for the character of Deborah that sounded similar to the score for Once Upon a Time in the West. It would prove to be effective as Morricone also used an array of Chinese instruments including the pan flute that would also be effective for the film.
After numerous delays in the editing as the film went through various versions as Leone even thought of releasing the film in two parts as it featured a total running time of six hours. Not wanting to risk a major failure due to the troubled release of Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1976 epic Novocento that had a running time of over five hours. Leone finally cut the film to a running time of 229 minutes as he premiered the film at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival where it received a 15-minute standing ovation. When it came time for the film’s U.S. release, the MPAA had issues over the film’s violence and sexual content that included a very graphic rape scene. When the film was subject to test screenings in the U.S. before its official release, things got worse as James Wood stated in the 2004 documentary Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession saying “because of one lousy test screening in Chicago. They hired the editor of Police Academy to re-cut the film.”
The Ladd Company and editor Zach Staenberg would cut the 229-minute film into 139-minute film and turn the film’s back-and-forth narrative into a more chronological-based film. Leone was extremely upset by the re-cut version of the film as many of Leone’s friends knew how heartbroken he was by how the studio butchered his film. For the American film critics that saw the original film and had praised it, they panned the re-cut version which flopped in the U.S. while for those that hadn’t seen the original version like L.A. Times critic Sheila Benson who named it the worst film of 1984 only to see the original version when it played on the L.A.-based cable channel Z-Channel a year later and later put the original version as one of the best films of the 1980s.
In the aftermath of the film’s release, Leone spent the last five years of his life trying to develop a project about the Russian Revolution called Leningrad: The 900 Days that would star Robert de Niro as an American photographer covering the war as he falls for a Russian woman. It was among a slew of projects Leone wanted to do as he later gained funding for Leningrad in 1989. Then on April 30, 1989 at the age of 60, Leone died of a heart attack as it marked the end of one of cinema’s great careers.
In the years since Leone’s death, countless filmmakers have acknowledged Leone’s influence on cinema while critics and film buffs also cite Leone as one of the great filmmakers of the 20th Century. In 1992, Clint Eastwood released the western Unforgiven to great acclaim and box office as it won four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director to Eastwood as he dedicated the film to Leone as well as his Dirty Harry director Don Siegel. In the 1990s, two emerging American filmmakers in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez both acknowledge Leone as one of their key influences. Rodriguez’s Mariachi trilogy was directly inspired by the Dollars trilogy while Tarantino’s Kill Bill series featured elements of the Leone visual style as well as the music of Ennio Morricone.
Other filmmakers outside of the Western genre has also acknowledge Leone’s influence such as Rian Johnson whose 2005 high school-noir film Brick had touches of the Leone visual style. Gore Verbinski is another filmmaker who expressed love for Leone as his 2011 animated film Rango featured lots of references to the western including the films of Leone. Since his passing, Leone’s films had also been re-evaluated by critics as the arrival of the DVD helped raise Leone’s reputation where in 2003, MGM released a restored version of The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly with material that got cut out of the film’s original American release. This led to the release of newly-restored versions of For a Few Dollars More, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Duck, You Sucker! as they were finally presented in their original cuts to a new generation of filmgoers.
In 2012, Martin Scorsese commissioned a restoration of Once Upon a Time in America that features more than 20 minutes of footage that was cut from the film’s original release. While the extended version is still in the works for an upcoming DVD/Blu-Ray release, audiences got a chance to see at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival as it was presented by Robert de Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Jennifer Connelly, and Ennio Morricone.
It’s been nearly fifty years since the release of A Fistful of Dollars and nearly thirty years since the release of Once Upon a Time in America. Yet, Sergio Leone has managed to create a legacy that is simply unforgettable. Through the westerns he made in the 1960s and early 70s along with Once Upon a Time in America, there is clearly no doubt that Leone is among one of the great filmmakers to ever step behind a camera. His influence is definitely widespread as he is beloved by film buffs and filmmakers alike. Though Sergio Leone may no longer be around, his legacy will still live on through the films he’s made as there will always be someone to watch them.
Related: Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone
© thevoid99 2012
Written and directed by Howard Hill, Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is a documentary about the life and career of one of cinema’s great filmmakers in Sergio Leone. The documentary explores the evolution of his career from his days making sword-and-sandal films in Italy to how he reinvented the western with his Dollars trilogy. The result is a fascinating story about one of the world’s most beloved filmmakers.
The documentary reveals the life of Sergio Leone through his widow Carla (whom the film was dedicated to) as well as biographer Sir Christopher Frayling where the two unveil a lot about Leone’s personal life. Also interviewed are those who worked with Leone like Eli Wallach, Rod Steiger, Jason Robards, James Woods, Claudia Cardinale, James Coburn, music composer Ennio Morricone, and some of men who co-wrote some of his films. Clint Eastwood appears in an archived piece where he talks about his admiration for Leone.
The documentary also reveals a lot about his importance to the world of cinema though not much is revealed about his pre-Western work like The Last Days of Pompeii and The Colossus of Rhodes as well as the films he supposedly had done additional direction like My Name is Nobody and A Genius, Two Partners, and a Dope. What is shown that Leone fans will love are the commercials he made during the 1970s that definitely bears a lot of the Leone trademarks. Still, the documentary takes it time to reveal a lot about the great films he made such as the Dollars trilogy and Once Upon a Time in America where there’s a lot of stories regarding to the latter and how it was badly mishandled in its re-cut form by the American distributors.
James Coburn recalls how heartbreaking it was for Leone after the film had been badly butchered by the American distributors while James Woods revealed that the re-cut version was voted the worst film of 1984 by Sheila Benson of the L.A. Times while she later saw the uncut version which she named it as one of the best films of the 1980s. Quentin Tarantino reveals a lot about how Leone influenced his work including the close-ups he does which is often a tribute to Leone. Through some rare still photos and other rare footage, Howard Hill makes something is truly a delight for Leone fans.
Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is an excellent documentary from Howard Hill that explores the life and works of Sergio Leone. It’s a documentary that fans will definitely enjoy despite some its flaws in not unveiling a lot of information about his films. In the end, Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is a superb film from Howard Hill.
Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii (1959 film) - The Colossus of Rhodes - A Fistful of Dollars - For a Few Dollars More - The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - Once Upon a Time in the West - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America
Related: The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone
© thevoid99 2012
Directed by Sergio Leone and written by Leone, Luciano Chitarrini, Ennio de Concini, Carlo Gualtieri, Luciano Martino, Ageo Savioli, Cesare Seccia, and Duccio Tessari, Il Colosso di Rodi (The Colossus of Rhodes) is the story of a Greek military hero who becomes part of a rebellious group of soldiers to overthrow a tyrant king in the year of 280 B.C. The film marks Leone’s first time as a credited director as he would helm a sword-and-sandals film that bears a lot of the attributes of the film epics of the late 50s and early 1960s. Starring Rory Calhoun, Lea Massari, Georges Marchal, and Angel Aranda. Il Colosso di Rodi is a good and exciting film from Sergio Leone.
Arriving to the island of Rhodes is a Greek military hero named Dario (Rory Calhoun) who is there to visit his uncle Lissipu (George Rigaud) during a ceremony to unveil the statue of Apollo to guard its harbor. At a party held by its king Serse (Roberto Camardiel), Dario meets a beautiful woman named Dalia (Lea Massari) as he learns about a rebellion led by Peliocles (Georges Marchal) to overthrow the king. During Dario’s attempt to woo Dalia, Dario comes across a tomb of kings where he accidentally enters a room where Serses and his second-in-command Thar (Conrado San Martin) is having a meeting about an alliance with Phoenicians which would be a threat to Greece. After an encounter with the rebels and learning about what they want to do, Dario attempts to leave Rhodes only to realize that no one is to leave the island as he’s believed to be a suspect in the rebellion.
Dario decides to help the rebels in carrying a message to the Greeks only to learn about the true usage of the Apollo statue as Dario, Peliocles, and many others are captured. When one of the rebels in Karos (Angel Aranda) learns what Thar is trying to do as he smuggled a Phoenicians as slaves, he helps free Peliocles, Dario, and the rebels as they escape. Realizing that the statue is the main weapon, Peliocles wants to head an attack in order to control it and free the slaves under the statue. Dario however, believes that just going to the statue will be trouble as he goes on a reconnaissance mission to find out how to open the statue as he get Dalia’s help to enter where he learns about its mechanisms.
Suddenly, he’s trapped as he learns more of Thar’s plans as he barely escapes the statue as he returns to the rebels’ hideout only to learn that many of them are captured with the exception of Karos and his sister Mirte (Mabel Karr). Learning what Thar plans to do, Dario creates a plan to keep the rebellion going only for something that will change the face of the island.
The film is essentially the story of a Greek man visiting his uncle where he learns about a rebellion occurring in this island where he eventually takes part of the island after being suspected as a spy. It’s a premise that is typical of the swords-and-sandals genre where the first half of the film is about this man who comes from a different world where he learns about not just this rebellion against a tyrant king but also a coup from the king’s second-in-command to take control. It’s that half where it takes a while for the story to be really engaging while the second half becomes more exciting once Dario takes part in the rebellion where he learns about what is going on as there’s also a few twists on the way that would impact his time with the rebels.
Sergio Leone’s direction is definitely engaging at times though he seems out of step in the scenes where there’s a lot of parties and meetings around where there’s not much going on other than to establish the characters and situations. While Leone’s use of the widescreen format does have him create some entrancing compositions that would be a testament to his later work in the years to come. The film does become more interesting in the second half due to the action as it includes a scene with chariots as well as a lot of extravagant set pieces in the action that shows the kind of ambition Leone wanted. Even as the third act features a climax that plays to the fates of everyone although it’s really more of a rehash of what he did in his previous film The Last Days of Pompeii. Overall, Leone does make a film that is exciting at times despite an underwhelming first half.
Cinematographer Antonio L. Ballestros does nice work with the photography to play out the extravagance of the party scenes as well as the film‘s colorful daytime exteriors along with a more entrancing look for its nighttime scenes. Editor Eraldo da Rama does some excellent work in the editing by creating some rhythmic cuts for the film‘s action scenes. Set decorator Ramiro Gomez does some spectacular work with the set pieces to create the lavish sets to create the world of 280 B.C. Rhodes.
Costume designer Vittorio Rossi does some wonderful work with the costumes from the robes the men wear to the dresses that Dalia wears. The film’s music by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino is terrific for its bombastic orchestral score to play up the film’s suspense and action.
The film’s cast is superb for the ensemble that is created as it features some noteworthy performances from George Rigaud as Dario’s uncle Lissipu, Felix Fernandez as Dalia’s father Carete, Angel Aranda as the young rebel Koros, Mabel Karr as Koros’ sister Mirte, and Roberto Camardiel as King Serses. Georges Marchal is pretty good as the rebel leader Peliocles while Conrado San Martin is wonderful as the villainous Thar. Lea Massari is quite good as Dalia as she falls for Dario although her character isn’t as developed throughout the film as well as what happens to her character in the third act. Finally, there’s Rory Calhoun in a terrific performance as Dario where he displays a bit of charisma to the role as well as the abilities to play a leader despite some issues with the script that has him emoting where it doesn’t really work.
Il Colosso di Rodi is a fine debut film from Sergio Leone that does bear some of the visual traits that his fans will enjoy. For a swords-and-sandal film, it’s quite entertaining despite a somewhat weak and tedious first half that takes a long time to establish characters and plot points. Yet, it gets carried by a strong second half that is exciting once the fighting starts to happen. In the end, Il Colosso di Rodi is a stellar film from Sergio Leone.
Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii - A Fistful of Dollars - For a Few Dollars More - The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - Once Upon a Time in the West - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America
Related: Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone - The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone
© thevoid99 2012
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 2/7/06 w/ Additioanl Edits & Revisions.
Based on Harry Grey's novel The Hoods, Once Upon a Time in America is the story of an aging gangster who looks back on his time as a young hood working with other Jewish boys in New York City as they later become top criminals during the days of Prohibition. Directed by Sergio Leone and screenplay by Leone, Franco Arcall, Franco Ferrini, Leonardo Benvenuti, Pierro De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, and Ernesto Gastaldi with additional dialogue and translation by Stuart Kaminsky. The film explores the world of the gangster life during the era of Prohibition among four men as it leads to huge ambitions and betrayals as a man reflects on that time as he returns to finish an assignment. Starring Robert de Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Treat Williams, William Forsythe, James Hayden, Danny Aiello, Larry Rapp, James Russo, Scott Tiler, Amy Ryder, Brian Bloom, and in her film debut, Jennifer Connelly. Once Upon a Time in America is a majestic yet harrowing film from Sergio Leone.
On the final night of Prohibition in 1933, David "Noodles" Aaronson is at a Chinese theater high on opium unaware of some startling news as his girlfriend Eve (Darlanne Fluegal) was killed while his friends Patrick "Patsy" Goldberg (James Hayden), Philip "Cockeye" Stein (William Forsythe), and Maximilian "Max" Bercovicz (James Wood) were also killed in a botched heist. After saving his friend and barkeeper Fate Moe Gelly (Larry Rapp) from the gangster Beefy (Frank Gio), Noodles decides to flee town with a key to a suitcase only to discover that it's empty. 35 years later, Noodles returns to New York City as he visits Fat Moe while getting a letter about the grave site of his friends having been moved. Staying at Moe's for a while, Noodles learns that Moe's sister Deborah (Elizabeth McGovern) has become a famous actress as Noodles recalls his time as a young man (Scott Tiler) who fell for the young Deborah (Jennifer Connelly) as she was practicing her ballet recital.
The young Noodles lived in the Jewish community in Brooklyn with his friends Patsy (Brian Bloom), Cockeye (Adrian Curran), and Dominic (Noah Moazezi) where they did small crimes as they also meet up with a new kid from the Bronx named Max (Rusty Jacobs). Noodles and Max become close as help blackmail a corrupt cop named "Fartface Whitey (Richard Foronjy) who was trying to have his time with an underage hooker named Peggy (Julie Cohen). Though Deborah offers him a life outside of crime, Noodles is still tempted as he and Max manage to get themselves in trouble with a local crime figure named Bugsy (James Russo). Noodles and Max decided to form their own gang with Patsy, Cockeye, and Dominic while helping out another local, older gang in the Capuono brothers that becomes profitable. With an agreement among the five boys over the money made, things seemed great until an encounter with Bugsy leads to trouble. Noodles retaliates by killing Bugsy and accidentally killing a cop as he's forced to serve time in prison. Many years later as an adult, Noodles resumes his life of crime with Max and the gang where Moe runs a speakeasy and Peggy (Amy Ryder) is a brothel madam while Deborah tries to work her way up as a dancer.
After stealing some diamonds for Joe (Burt Young) and Frankie Minaldi (Joe Pesci) while learning about its value, Noodles learn that the theft was a plan to kill Joe Minaldi in order to gain the diamonds for themselves. With Noodles trying to maintain his business as they later save a local union spokesman named Jimmy O'Donnell (Treat Williams) from Chicken Joe (Richard Bright), business begins to boom when Max's new girlfriend Carol (Tuesday Weld) joins the team. While Noodles tries to pursue Deborah by having a lavish dinner with her, she reveals that she's leaving for Hollywood leaving Noodles confused. With Max becoming more ambitious in his dealings just as Prohibition is about to end, Noodles remains unsure as Max decides to create a big heist. Many years later as Noodles reflects, he finds a key to a locker at the old train station he hung out as he's been given an assignment that has to do with a commerce secretary named Bailey. After meeting Carol in a foundation building to learn more about Bailey, he finally gets an answer in the last person he expects where he makes a troubling discovery.
What this film has in common with The Godfather series and Goodfellas is the mythology of the gangster/mob world. Unlike those two films, Leone goes for a study of ambition and morality through the viewpoint of one man consumed with guilt. Since Leone and his writers aimed for that approach of study, the result isn't just this absorbing epic of young boys who are entranced by a world of crime but how far they're willing to go to become successful. Now a near, 4-hour running time might seem long but Leone and his approach to narrative structure makes the experience to be amazing in how Noodles sees things and how he reacts to them. Especially in the end when he is summoned for a job where he realizes what he has to do. In the end, he becomes powerless but content to the point where for anyone wondering where has he been hiding what he's doing for those 35 years. It doesn't matter what he did, in fact that is an entirely different story. What matters is why he’s been contacted.
It's in Leone's script with his writers that the film's non-linear structure is unique. The first act being Noodles' reflection of his childhood, his first meeting with Max, and the tragedy that would shape his outlook on the world. The second act is Noodles seeing how his own crime operation has changed and his own ideas of how things should be done where he wanted to keep a low profile and remain in the streets. The third act is Noodles and Max's disagreement over ambitions and how it all fell apart when Noodles tries to save Max. Also in that third act is when Noodle is in 1968, he searches for all the clues to why he's been contacted only to learn some horrible truths. Then there's a strange sense of completion in how the film began and end in the Chinese theaters with Noodles, high on opium, is at. The result only leaves an open interpretation where he could be dreaming of all of these things.
If the script that Leone concocted is filled with amazing character study and a non-linear structure, his direction is just as potent and involving in every scene that he shoots. For the first act, especially with the young cast, Leone aims for an innocence in the idea of sex and crime where the boys are hoping to make something of themselves. Even Noodle's attraction to Deborah has this unique presence of first love. Then when it reaches that first moment of tragedy, that innocence ends where Leone definitely aims for this area of confusion in terms of sex and violence in its most graphic depiction. Particularly in the way Noodles treats women to the point that he doesn't know. Leone doesn't condemn or sympathize for his actions but only to reveal Noodles' major flaw. Especially in Leone's approach of rape where he reveals Noodles' action in graphic detail to the point that he aims for a level to make the audience uncomfortable.
Leone's epic-scope of direction where he uses wide, far away shots to cover the area and time of where his character in is absorbing to watch. Especially with the close-up of the characters where the audience sees how emotionally involved Leone is in with all of his characters. The close-ups he does comes from an emotional point for the characters of whatever reaction they're in. While it's an old technique that Leone has used in his great films, it's a technique that still works and imitated for many years. Another great technique Leone does with the structure of his script is how he moves from time period to time period, especially that first shift of time changing where the Noodle of 1933 is in a train station walking into a Coney Island attraction and then walking out as an old man in 1968. Overall, Leone's direction is a potent as ever in the way he creates and cares for the situations and characters around him.
Helping Leone in his epic, visual scope is cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli whose camera work creates the large canvas Leone wanted. Colli's cinematography is filled with enormous lighting schemes to convey the sense of loss and change throughout the characters. From the lush, interior settings where everything feels intimate to the evocative look in many of the film's exterior scenes as Colli does great work in the photography. Production designer Walter Massi and art directors Carlo Simi and James T. Singelis also do amazing work in the detail the contrast look of the drab 1920s look of the community the young boys in to the rich world they live by of the 1930s. Even the place of Fat Moe's has a change where early, it's a family restaurant filled with all of these old things that later becomes an underground speakeasy with all the works. Then when the film shifts to 1968, it becomes a former shell of itself as a regular old tavern with little of what was from the past to convey that loss.
Helping out in the costume design is Gabriella Pescucci whose design of the suits for the young characters and their older counterparts work well with time and how they shift, especially the look of the women. Doing some great work for the film's structure and leisurely pacing style is editor Nino Baragli whose use of long cuts and shifts from time to time really makes the audience aware of what’s happening and not lose its pace. For a film as epic like this, Baragli does amazing work with the editing and tightening up scenes that could've been too slow but slow enough for the audience to be aware of what's happening. The sound work of Jean-Pierre Ruh is also great for the sound effects, especially early on in the film with the constant ringing of the telephone that is heard to the point of deliberate annoyance that conveys the action of what's happening.
Then there is the music which features additional compositions used from the likes of Irving Berlin's God Bless America that is played early on in the film and towards the end along with an orchestral version of the Beatles' Yesterday as well as orchestral cuts of Joseph M. LaCalle and Gioacchino Rossini. The main music that is played throughout the entire film whether its hummed, whistled through a pipe or a mouth is the music of Ennio Morricone, a longtime collaborator of Leone. Morricone’s lush arrangements and dreamy textures conveys the loss of innocence and sense of fantasy that is shown through the mind of Noodles and Max. Morricone's score is distinct in its arrangements and use of windpipes that are played throughout to its connection with China where Noodles seems to escape to in their theater. It's probably one of the best musical scores ever done by the great Ennio Morricone.
Finally, we have the film's large ensemble cast that features great small performances from Richard Bright, Robert Harper, Frank Gio, Gerard Murphy, James Russo, Darlanne Fluegel, plus Clem Caserta, Frank Sisto, and Jerry Strivelli as the Capuano brothers who help the boys early on, and cameos from Sergio Leone as a ticket man, his daughter Francesca in a party scene late in the film, and producer Arnon Milchan as Noodles' chauffeur. In small yet memorable supporting roles, Burt Young, Joe Pesci, and Treat Williams all do excellent work in their performances while Amy Ryder does a good performance as the older Peggy while Julie Cohen does excellent work as the young Peggy. Richard Foronjy does hilarious work as the corrupt cop the boys get to mess with while Danny Aiello also plays a foil in a wonderful performance as a police chief who loses his cool. One of the best supporting performances goes to Tuesday Weld as Carol, a rare woman of sorts in Leone's films who has enough power and independence to do whatever she wants though later on, she sees trouble and in the aftermath, is filled with regret as she and Noodles make peace over what happen in a great performance.
The film's young cast features some wonderful performances from the likes of Brian Bloom, Adrian Curran, and Noah Moazezi as Dominic with standout scenes and performances. Bloom and Curran's respective counterparts in the late James Hayden (who died of a drug overdose months before the film’s release at the Cannes Film Festival) and great character actor William Forsythe have hilarious, memorable performances throughout the entire film. Mike Monetti is also excellent as the young Fat Moe whose friendship and loyalty is counted on as his older counterpart by Larry Rapp is also amazing for his companionship and sense of comfort to those around him, even with Noodles in the 1968 scenes. Rusty Jacobs does a great job in playing the young Max with his confident swagger and street-wise ambition as he does a great job living up to playing a young James Woods. Scott Tiler also is excellent in playing the young Noodles with his wide-eyed innocence and penchant for trouble as he does a great job in living up to playing the same stature in the character for de Niro.
In the role of Deborah, Elizabeth McGovern does a fine job in playing the older version whose sense of disappointment towards Noodles is conveyed well but doesn't carry a presence that was set early on through the film where McGovern doesn't really live up to her own flaws for the character. Jennifer Connelly though, does amazing work in playing the young Deborah where she ends up overshadowing McGovern despite being in the film for a short time early on. Connelly's performance is filled with a natural vibe where her presence is exhilarating to watch with her wide-eyed innocence and street smart knowing that she wants to get out but in the most honest way she can think of. While McGovern had to do more of the challenging stuff, her performance is weak in comparison to Connelly who just lights up the screen.
In a performance that can be described as one of the most overlooked of the 1980s, James Woods does great work in the role of Max. Playing an ambitious, confident man with big plans, Woods personifies the character with great wit and charm throughout the entire film. Doing great work, side-by-side with de Niro, Woods plays the perfect counterpart in a role Woods often says his one of his favorite and a performance he's most proud of. It's certainly one of his greatest performances of his great career.
Finally, there's Robert de Niro in one of his finest performances to date in a very complex, layered role as Noodles. Throughout the entire film, de Niro displays ranges of emotions by doing little as he acts throughout half the film in a silent manner revealing his sense of loss, regret, and wasted opportunity. In the 1930s scenes, de Niro reveals that he's a guy who wants to be in the streets and remain low key while being unsure of the things around him while refusing the idea of change around him. In those sequences, de Niro has great scenes with Weld, McGovern, and most of all, Woods. When de Niro plays the old version of Noodles in the 1968, de Niro sells all in his performance by not doing much and revealing the layered sense of melancholia in probably one of his finest and overlooked performances of his career.
In the Region 1, 2-disc DVD set released in 2003 by Warner Brothers comes the full 229-minute version that was presented at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, uncut and uncensored. Presented in widescreen in a dual-layer format, the new digital transfer of the film with a remastered soundtrack in 5.1 Dolby Digital looks and sounds great overall for a film like this. The only problem with this restoration and remastering is that because the film is nearly four hours, it had to be split in two which is annoying and abrupt where discs had to be changed. Still, the quality of the movies in its original presentation with restored scenes that didn't make it to the American version (in its 2 1/2 hour botched studio cut and Leone's 3 hour, 49 minute cut).
The special features in the film that mostly appear in the second disc includes a wonderful photo gallery of the film on set with Leone directing all of his actors in several scenes while looking relaxed and having fun. Also shown are a cast/crew list of the people involved and the film's original theatrical trailer which doesn't have that kind of excitement or anticipation that is felt in today's trailers but an example of what they were at the time. One little feature is shown in the second disc of the DVD is an excerpt from the Turner Classic Movies documentary of Sergio Leone entitled Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone where the focus is on Once Upon a Time in America. The documentary that features interviews with several of the writers involved with the film, Leone's wife Carla (who died shortly before the doc was finished in 2001), and his daughters Francesca and Raffaella plus composer Ennio Morricone and actors James Coburn, James Woods, Scott Tiler, and director Quentin Tarantino.
The discussion in the doc is focused on the film where Tarantino described his love for Leone's close-up and the years it took to develop the script which took nearly 10 before they went into production in 1982. James Woods talked about his own experience which he claimed was the greatest one he's ever lived and loved this film more than anything he's done. There was also the discussion of what happened when the film got released in America in its 2 1/2 hour cut in chronological sequence that got horrific reviews in the U.S. in 1984. James Coburn talked about how heartbreaking it was for Sergio who remained heartbroken till his death in 1989 when he was planning to do a film about the Russian Revolution. Woods also talked about how Sheila Benson from the L.A. Times called the film the worst movie of 1984 until she saw Leone's uncensored, uncut version in which she voted it as one of the best films of the 1980s. It's a wonderful excerpt about the film and the people involved.
Another special feature that is in both discs is a commentary from Times magazine film critic Richard Schickel. Schickel's commentary is filled with some insightful trivia on the film and Leone while he gives his own thoughts on several scenes including the ending. He also talks about the botched cut it got and the version that he's commenting in the film which he says is the definitive version. He does wonderful critique in praising the actors and technical detail, particularly on Leone's direction. He also interprets the film as not just a fantasy film of sorts but a heterosexual love story between Noodles and Max. Schickel also talks about Leone's original plan to make the film a 2-part, 6-hour cut which had several deleted scenes involving Noodles' last meeting with Carol and more of Noodles' relationship with Eve. Schickel said Leone decided not to and instead went for the near 4-hour cut which he was happy about.
While the DVD's lack of feature is a bit disappointing on some parts, probably some time in the future where the DVD will evolve to the point of getting this entire film into one disc without interruptions. It would be a great DVD release with the botched cut to give insight on what not to do and maybe some of those famous deleted scenes. Though it would be interesting to see the unseen 6-hour cut Leone had originally wanted but this original presentation in its 4-hour running time is probably and will always be the definitive version. In the end, this DVD is an excellent purchase for those who love the work of Sergio Leone.
Overall, Once Upon a Time in America is an amazing, intelligent, and heartbreaking gangster drama helmed by one of cinema's finest masters, Sergio Leone. With a great cast led by Robert de Niro and James Woods with a great supporting cast including Tuesday Weld, Jennifer Connelly, Rusty Jacobs, Scott Tiler, Larry Rapp, William Forsythe, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams, and Joe Pesci. Fans of gangster films will indeed find this film to be definitive of the genre while it also has something to bring for epic film fans. While it's hard to tell if it'll top any of Leone's other films, it's clear that he can do more than just a western while the best thing now for him is that his classic has now found an audience. In the end, Once Upon a Time in America is a true cinema classic and a fond farewell from the great Sergio Leone.
Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii (1959 film) - The Colossus of Rhodes - A Fistful of Dollars - For a Few Dollars More - The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - Once Upon a Time in the West - Duck, You Sucker!
Related: Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone - The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone
(C) thevoid99 2012
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/19/09 w/ Additional Edit.
Directed by Sergio Leone and screenplay by Leone, Sergio Donati, and Luciano Vincenzon from a story by Leone and Donati, Duck, You Sucker! or in the more well-known title, A Fistful of Dynamite tells the story of a Mexican outlaw who meets an ex-IRA revolutionary in 1910 Mexico. When they set out to rob a bank, they discover some political turmoil in Mexico that prompts the two men to be involved in the Mexican Revolution. Part-western and part-political drama, the film marks a transitional period for Leone as he would stray away from the west into something much broader for what was to come in his later work. Also starring Romolo Valli, Franco Graziosi, Antoine Saint-John, and David Warbeck. Duck, You Sucker! is a thrilling, powerful, stylish film from Sergio Leone and company.
After robbing a stagecoach with his six sons and father, Juan Miranda (Rod Steiger) has done another successful robbery when a man in a motorcycle rides past him. Juan shoots at the motorcycle where the man in the motorcycle decides to shoot a hole in the stolen stagecoach with explosives. He is revealed to be a former IRA terrorist named John Mallory (James Coburn). Impressed by his collection of dynamite and liquid explosives, Miranda asks Mallory if he could join them which Mallory declines. When Miranda mentions the Mesa Verde bank that he wants to rob, Mallory becomes interested though the two butt heads over who should run things. When Mallory takes a job to destroy a mine run by a German, he gets unexpected help from Miranda and his gang.
On their way to Mesa Verde as Mallory, Miranda, and their entourage are on horseback, they encounter a train that Mallory takes. Miranda and his team take the next train where they meet a man in glasses reading a book who quietly helps them in dealing with train conductors. Upon their arrival to Mesa Verde, Miranda is surprised to see that the town has changed as it's surrounded by soldiers under the orders of Governor Jaime (Franco Graziosi). Miranda finally founds Mallory at a restaurant where in the back is a revolutionary led by the man Miranda met at the train in Dr. Villega (Romolo Valli). Villega makes plans about organizing an attack on the troops in Mesa Verde while he wants Miranda and Mallory to lead an attack at the Mesa Verde bank. After Mallory sets up plans for explosives, Miranda goes into the bank where he makes a shocking discovery that would make him an unlikely hero in the Mexican Revolution.
Miranda, who had been through a previous revolution, becomes reluctant in taking part as he feels screwed by Mallory. Though the revolution could mean great things for his family, he isn't so sure since it often favors the rich. When an army led by Colonel Gunther Reza (Antoine Saint-John) is coming to the hills where a large group of revolutionaries are hiding. Mallory and Miranda stay put with machine guns where they succeed in blocking an entire battalion but return to their hideout at the caves with a shocking discovery. Miranda gets captured forcing Mallory to make another discover that recalls an event involving an old friend (David Warbeck) back in Ireland. After successfully freeing Miranda from Reza and his men, Miranda and Mallory hide in a train where they would encounter not just the Govenor. They also get an encounter from Pancho Villa's troops as they ask for the help of Miranda and Mallory where Mallory makes a drastic move.
A mixture of Leone's westerns but also political films and drama, the film marks as a transitional film for Leone as he moves away from the Western for something more ambitious. Leone, who had never delve into politics with his previous films shows his leanings towards Socialism. Though Leone doesn't dwell too much into his views, the film does reveal the fallacy of revolutions from the viewpoint of a man like Miranda who is poor and felt revolutions hasn't done much for the poor. For Mallory, it's a chance to make himself feel useful while dealing with guilt over what happened in his past in Ireland that involved his best friend.
The script definitely has Leone's trademark of playful dialogue, banter between characters, and set pieces. Yet, at the heart of the film is the love-hate relationship between the two Johns. Juan Miranda and John Mallory. Two different men from different backgrounds and intellects. Yet, they bring the best in each other for a revolution they're both reluctant to take part in. The film begins with a quote from Mao Zedong about class struggles and revolutions where the opening 20 minute sequence that involves a stagecoach robbery with rich people reveals rich people's view on peasants the poor with Miranda listening in as an observer before he robs them all. While Miranda is this ragged Robin Hood of sorts with little ambition. Mallory is a man who believes that explosives can change the world and hopes to get Miranda involved fully in the revolution. What neither expect is a friendship that would change their perspective on the world.
The script Leone co-wrote with his collaborators definitely show some ambition in the storytelling. Yet, it's Leone's direction that shows the man doing what he does best. While a lot of the compositions recall some of the ambitious set pieces and camera movements of his previous film Once Upon a Time in the West. Leone's visual approach is broader with its wide landscape of the Spanish mountains pretending to be Mexico while flashback scenes shot in Dublin which are more intimate and dream-like. With action sequences filled with grand explosions, battles, and gunfights. It looks like a Leone western but the difference is the time, setting, and event that is occurring throughout the film.
Some of the scenery Leone creates which involves moments of chaos has a strange beauty to its movement. Notably a crane shot that moves to emphasize the struggle between the poor and adversaries at the Mexican Revolution. Compositions include scenes of executions that are inspired the paintings of Francisco Goya. Part of Leone's grand visual styles include great close-ups that are prominent throughout, notably the first 20 minutes with all of these shots of rich people eating with their mouths full and talking. Plus the shot of eyes with these amazing close-ups that are a trademark of Leone. The grand visual style, depth of field and Leone's camera movements with fast-paced action shows the director still at the top of his game as a director.
Cinematographer Giuseppe Ruzzolini does an excellent job with the film's cinematography with amazing, broad shots of desert exterior of Spain that is a great mixture of rugged landscape and sunlight. The interiors for some of the scenes in the caves and trains are wonderfully lit to convey a sense of intimacy for the film while some of the best work comes in a battle sequence shot at night. With its mixture of fire and moonlight, it's got some beautiful compositions with movements by Ruzzolini's camera that is truly spectacular. Leone's longtime editor Nino Baragli does some brilliant cutting with rhythmic edits and fast-cuts to convey the sense of action and energy that happens. Baragli's stylish cutting for the close-ups has an amazing sense of rhythm and timing as it maintains the energy and pacing of the film without being too slow or too fast. Baragli's work is phenomenal as he is one of the most overlooked editors in cinema.
Art director Andrea Cristani and set decorator Dario Micheli does some fantastic work with the set design of the stagecoach, interior train sets, banks, and basements that reveal the idea of a new modern world against the old West that the main characters still live in. Costume designer Franco Caretti does some nice work with the lavish clothes of the woman in the stagecoach mixed in with the rugged look of the main characters and the clean look of Dr. Villega. The sound work by sound mixer Fausto Ancillai and editor Michael Billingsley is brilliant for its layering of sounds of explosions, gunshots, and everything else. Notably the climatic battle scene where the mixture of explosions, gunshots, and machine gun battery is amazing in its layering.
One of the film's technical highlights and often in a Sergio Leone film is the music score by the Maestro, Ennio Morricone. The themes Morricone brings from the comical score to accompany Juan Miranda to the opening, clavinet keyboard introduction of John Mallory. Yet, the score also has a mixture of intense action pieces with broad orchestral arrangements to the dream-like theme with the word "Sean" sung repeatedly for an operatic piece featuring an operatic vocal. While it may not be as memorable as some of his other score pieces, the music that Morricone does create works as it's one of his finest music scores of his career.
The cast is overall excellent with appearances from Franco Collace and Goffredo Pistoni as two of Miranda's kids plus Antonio Casale as a notary in the stagecoach, and Maria Monti as a woman in the stagecoach. Other notable small roles include David Warbeck as John's old friend Sean in a flashback scene along with Vivienne Chandler as the woman in the flashback. Franco Graziosi is excellent in his small role as the power-hungry governor while Antoine Saint-John is really good as the villainous Col. Reza. Romolo Valli is excellent as Revolution organizer Dr. Villega who is a man of great intelligence yet he isn't what he seems to Mallory as Valli does a fantastic job in underplaying his character with charm and humor.
The film's best performances definitely go to the duo of Rod Steiger and James Coburn as the two have an amazing rapport with each other as well as a sense of humor to their roles. Though Steiger's role is more comical than Coburn's, Steiger brings a lot of joy to the character of Juan Miranda with bravado and Old World values. While having to sport a tan and an accent to play a Mexican, Steiger manages to be great in his character while often being the guy who is deceived. James Coburn is great in the straight-man role of the two as he sports an Irish accent while having some deadpan humor of his own in his performance. Yet, Coburn is the most tortured performance of the two while Steiger gets to show his own mastery of drama as the two men are the heart and soul of the film.
The 2007 Region 1 2-Disc DVD from United Artists is part of the Sergio Leone Anthology Box Set with remastered 2-disc versions of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. Presented in the widescreen format for the 2:35:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound in English plus mono in English and Spanish while French is presented with Stereo with English & Spanish subtitles. The DVD set presents the film with a dual layer disc for the film while the special features disc is presented in a single layer disc. The first disc features the restored and remastered version of Duck, You Sucker! with footage not shown originally to U.S. theaters until 2007 for a brief theatrical run in art house theaters.
The big special feature in the first disc is an audio commentary track from film historian Sir Christopher Frayling. Frayling's insight, informative commentary recalls on the film and how it is linked to its predecessor Once Upon a Time in the West and the next film, Once Upon a Time in America. Notably in the film's original title as well as the idea of immigrants coming to America where they would make an impact on American society and help lay the groundwork for the gangster era. Frayling also recalled Leone's reluctance to direct the film when he originally wrote the project for other people to do with him in minimal involvement. The reason things between Leone and Peter Bogdanovich didn't work out due to their love of the Western. Whereas Bogdanovich came from the world of Howard Hawks and John Ford, Leone was something different.
The film also recalled the early tension between Leone and Rod Steiger due to Leone's directing style and Steiger's method acting approach. Though things didn't work out at first, Steiger immediately got into Leone's approach while did agree to do little post-production work for the sound which Steiger never liked to do. With James Coburn, it was easier as Coburn chose to work on the film due to the suggestion of Henry Fonda, who worked with Leone on Once Upon a Time in the West. Coburn, like Clint Eastwood, wanted less lines which Leone was gracious to do. Frayling also recalled on Leone's politics which got him in trouble with left-wing film critics because Leone was apolitical. Leone used the Mao Zedong quote to reveal the fallacies of revolutions and how characters become either disillusioned by it or are forced into it against their will.
Frayling also revealed the scenes that got cut of the film in its various versions for this restored, completed version. Among them was a scene where Miranda catches up with John as they blew a church where the entire sequence was cut. Explicit language was cut along with the Mao quote, the opening shot of the film, some flashback sequences, and some violent scenes. Often for length or the extreme nature of the film. Frayling also revealed Leone's relationship with some fellow Italian directors, notably Luchino Visconti whom he shared similar ideas of directing while Pier Paolo Pasolini said that Leone has never made an uninteresting film. Duck, You Sucker! Pasolini says, is Leone's most interesting to the very Socialist director who agreed with Leone's political commentary in relation to the state of Italy and its films. Frayling's commentary is overall superb and most insightful while never being boring at all.
The second disc is filled with loads of special features. First is the 22-minute featurette The Myth of Revolution in which Christopher Frayling discusses a lot of the things discussed in the audio commentary. Yet, he also divulges more about Leone's dissolution with Italian politics and his ambitions for the film. The segment also revealed some of the original casting for the John Nelson character that included Jason Robards, Malcolm McDowell, and Clint Eastwood, the last of which had never heard about. For Juan Miranda, Eli Wallach was originally cast but the studio wanted a bigger name that eventually led to a falling out between Wallach and Sergio Leone. The film also revealed that one of the reasons Eastwood and Leone fell out because of Leone's ambitions to make bigger films. At the same, Leone was becoming clearer about what he wanted as his improvisational approach in early films were traded for something more planned.
The seven-minute segment Sergio Donati Remembers Duck, You Sucker! features the film's co-screenwriter and longtime Leone collaborator as he discusses the film. He talked about writing a treatment for the script when Once Upon a Time in the West was in production. He also talked about Peter Bogdanovich's involvement and how it fell apart along with tension between Leone and himself. Donati likes the film though he wished Sergio made more films because he was alienated a bit by Leone's ambitions. The six-minute Once Upon a Time in Italy (The Autry Exhibition) is about a 2005 museum exhibition at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles dedicated to Sergio Leone. Headed by Christopher Frayling with people at the museum, the exhibition is more about posters and artifacts from the films of Leone as the team is creating a fascinating exhibition that Leone fans will love while getting as many people involved from Leone's film to talk about the man and those films.
The 11 ½ minute Sorting Out The Versions featurette is an analysis of what got cut from the film and the different versions of it. Featuring still pictures of deleted scenes involving Mallory dehydrated from a walk in the desert before the church blow-up scene and a torture scene involving Dr. Villega. The film also reveals scenes that were trimmed for international releases where in France, it was called Once Upon a Time... the Revolution and in the U.S., A Fistful of Dynamite where the U.S. version cut a lot of the political context of the film. The six-minute segment Restoration Italian Style featuring MGM Technical Operations Director John Kirk on the restoration of the film based on the 1996 Italian restored version. Kirk reveals one of the big problems in the restoration was the various versions of the film as it took years for a complete restoration of Duck, You Sucker! that Kirk feels is one of his best works in restoration.
The nine-and-a-half minute Location Comparisons Then & Now is basically a look into all of the locations from Ireland, Italy, and Spain from the scene where the film was shot to what it looks like in 2007. Some of which are now filled with grass and in ruins in the deserts while the train station looks great with its modern settings. The Ireland locations still look beautiful while the tree in the flashback scene is still there. The second disc also includes four minutes of 6 radio spots for the film back in 1972 along with its and several trailers. The trailers include the original theatrical trailer under the A Fistful of Dynamite title. Other trailers include DVD releases for The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly Collector's edition DVD, The Great Escape, Hoosiers, Raging Bull, and the Rocky anthology. Included in the DVD is a booklet about the film and DVD release.
Duck, You Sucker! is an exhilarating, entertaining, and exciting film by Sergio Leone featuring top-notch performances from James Coburn and Rod Steiger. Fans of Leone will no doubt see this film as essential while be overjoyed that it's finally shown in its completed version. While it may not live up to the brilliance of other Leone films like The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Once Upon a Time in America. It's definitely a film that lives up to Leone's brilliance while serving as a great transitional film between West and America. It's also a film that reveals Leone finally taking on something that was modern but still relevant in the political sense about the fallacies of revolutions. In the end, Duck, You Sucker! is a mesmerizing, sprawling film from the late, great Sergio Leone.
Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii (1959 film) - The Colossus of Rhodes - A Fistful of Dollars - For a Few Dollars More - The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - Once Upon a Time in the West - Once Upon a Time in America
Related: Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone - The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone
(C) thevoid99 2012
-screenshot.jpg.gif)