The film is the simple story of the final days of an elderly couple as they both cope with health issues as well as their deteriorating conditions along with the fact that they’re drifting apart. It is a film that follows the lives of this couple as they spend their days together with the husband (Dario Argento) is finishing up a book about films and dreams while his wife (Francoise Lebrun) is tending to the home having retired from her work as a psychologist. Yet, a recent event where she was supposed to go to the pharmacy only to get lost at a market raises concerns among other things as it is clear the wife is suffering from dementia while the husband is dealing with heart issues. Adding to the chaos are incidents relating to the wife’s dementia that only makes the husband go into panic mode as their son Stephane (Alex Lutz) would make a few visits with his own son Kiki (Kylian Dheret). Gaspar Noe’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative yet he would do something on a visual level that would make the story far more unconventional.
Noe’s direction opens with the husband and wife having a lunch at their Parisian apartment balcony as they look outside and relax as it then cuts to a performance of Francoise Hardy singing Mon Amie la Rose as it plays into this blissful feel as it is shot on full-frame ratio and it then goes into a 2:40:1 widescreen aspect ratio after 7 minutes where the screen suddenly splits into two. Much of the action that occurs between the couple separately takes place in real time as well as their own individual activities with the husband often talking on the phone to a publisher or lamenting his thoughts on a former lover in Claire (Corrine Bruand). During a moment when he’s on the phone, the wife is crushing pills for some medication for him to take though Stephane suggests that she’s trying to poison him as there’s a lot of ambiguity into what she is doing or does she really know what she’s doing.
Much of Noe’s direction utilizes largely some long shots as well as close-ups and medium shots to maintain a sense of intimacy including a conversation between the husband, wife, and son over an incident involving the oven. It’s a scene that goes on for minutes yet the camera never moves in its two different angles as it is shot on real time where Noe plays into this growing deterioration between the husband and wife. It adds to this minimalist approach that Noe does in order to capture a family coming undone as it is often told through perspective of the husband and wife. In the film’s third act, it also goes into Stephane’s perspective as someone who is struggling raising his own son as well as having his own problems that prevents from being there for his parents. Its third act is expected in what Noe explores in these final days of this couple yet its final images are more startling into a life that was once so vibrant and loving only to deteriorate due to things beyond their control. Overall, Noe crafts a heartbreaking yet intoxicating film about the final days of an elderly couple.
Cinematographer Benoit Debie does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it aims for a naturalistic look for many of its interior settings at night as well as some exterior scenes at night where Debie aims for something straightforward rather than something stylish. Editor Denis Bedlow does amazing work with the editing in its unconventional usage of jump-cuts to help bring some abrupt rhythms to some long shots as well as give the film an offbeat pace in some parts of the film. Production designer Jean Rabasse, with set decorator Nathalie Roubaud and art director Anna Prat, does excellent work with the look of the apartment that the old couple live in that is filled with books, film posters, video tapes, and all sorts of things as it is messy yet is full of life. Costume designer Corrine Burand does terrific work with the costumes as it is largely casual that also include the robes that the elderly couple wears and a few other bits that play into the world they’re in.
Visual effects supervisor Pierre Buffin does nice work with a lot of the film’s minimal visual effects with the scene of the screen splitting into two being a key moment along with a few bits of set-dressing for some of the long shots. Sound editor Ken Yasumoto does superb work with the sound in maintaining a low-key and naturalistic atmosphere in the apartment as well as how music is heard from a stereo or from a location outside of the apartment. Music supervisors Steve Bouyer and Pascal Mayer do wonderful work with the film’s soundtrack that is largely a mix of music ranging from electronic pieces, indie rock cuts, score music from films including a few by Ennio Morricone, and a song from Francoise Hardy as much of the film’s music is presented on location.
The film’s remarkable ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Corrine Bruand as a former lover of the husband whom he meets at a dinner with other writers, Kamel Benchemekh as an attorney that appears late in the film, Nathalie Roubaud as a junkie that Stephane meets, and Kylian Dheret as Stephane’s son Kiki. Alex Lutz is excellent as the son Stephane as a man who is trying to help his parents though he is also someone struggling to maintain his own finances and such as well as doing what he can to help his parents. Finally, there’s the duo of Dario Argento and Francoise Lebrun in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as the unnamed husband and wife. Argento brings this sense of awareness of a man that realizes something isn’t right as well as coping with his own health while Lebrun has this sense of wonderment of a woman who doesn’t know what she is doing as well as having trouble remembering due to her growing dementia. Argento and Lebrun bring in a chemistry that is key to the film as a couple who love each other but are both increasingly ill with the old man dealing with his health and the old woman unsure of who this man is as they are the highlight of the film.
Vortex is a sensational film from Gaspar Noe that features great leading performances from Dario Argento and Francoise Lebrun. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, somber visuals, its minimalist approach to storytelling, and unconventional presentation. It is a film that doesn’t aim for melodrama in favor of something far more eerie in its exploration of a couple’s final days as it also plays into this idea of death looming and there’s no way to avoid it. In the end, Vortex is a phenomenal film from Gaspar Noe.
Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - I Stand Alone - Irreversible - Enter the Void - Love (2015 film) - Climax - Lux Aeterna – The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe
© thevoid99 2023
Based on the 1977 film by Dario Argento that was written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi that partially based on Thomas de Quincey’s essay Suspiria de Profundis (Sighs from the Depths), Suspiria is the story of an American ballet student who travels 1977 West Berlin to enroll at a prestigious dance academy unaware that it’s run by a coven of witches. Directed by Luca Guadagnino and screenplay by David Kajganich, the film is a homage to Argento’s film while exploring the many mysteries a young woman encounters at this dance academy. Starring Dakota Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mia Goth, Angela Winkler, Ingrid Craven, Sylvie Testud, Fabrizia Sacchi, Malgosia Bela, with special appearances from Jessica Harper, Lutz Ebersdorf, and Tilda Swinton. Suspiria is an enthralling and horrifying film from Luca Guadagnino.
Set in the fall of 1977 in Berlin during one of the city’s most tumultuous events relating to the German Autumn involving the kidnapping and murder of industrialist Hanns Martin Schyleyer as well as the Lufthansa Flight 181 hijacking. The film is about an American ballet student who is accepted at a prestigious dance school unaware that it’s run by a coven of witches as mysterious disappearances and events occur during the school. While the film is similar to its original film by Dario Argento in 1977, it’s told in a different take as it is set during a moment in time where a generation of young Germans cope with the sins of World War II and the guilt they have over the events of the past. Even as this coven believe they have something that can bring them back to prominence following a period of seclusion following World War II.
David Kajganich’s screenplay is told through six acts plus an epilogue as it explore the life of a dance studio in 1977 Berlin where it’s divided by the Berlin Wall as the studio is set in West Berlin just close to the wall. The main protagonist in Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) is a newcomer to the studio as she is revealed to come from a Mennonite community in Ohio where she is dealing with the her ailing mother (Malgosia Bela). Bannion’s arrival comes in at the right moment when a dancer in Patricia Hingle (Chloe Grace Moretz) had left the school mysteriously where lead choreographer Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton) takes great notice of Bannion’s gift as a dancer believing she has something special to offer for a special dance piece she wants to direct. While Bannion would adjust to her new living situation and befriend fellow dancer Sara Simms (Mia Goth), she would notice that something is up as would Simms who becomes concerned with another disappearance of a dancer.
Hingle would play a key element to the plot early in the film as she drops off a diary and notes to psychotherapist Dr. Josef Klemperer (Lutz Ebersdorf) who is dismissive of her claims until he notices that she has disappeared where he believes something isn’t right as he would later turn to Simms for help. During the course of the film, there is a discussion among those who run the school about who should become the coven’s new leader as many prefer the mysterious Mother Markos (Tilda Swinton) instead of Madame Blanc who is concerned with this venture just as many in the coven believe that Bannion is the one to bring the coven back to prominence with Madame Blanc watching closely. Even as the eventual performance would play into everything Madame Blanc has been preparing for, it also has these elements that prove that it’s something much bigger in what is to come for Bannion to discover.
Luca Guadagnino’s direction is definitely riveting in terms of the setting, the time period, and the sense of intrigue that is happening in and out of the dance academy along with bits of scenes at Ohio which Bannion would think about from time to time. Shot on various locations in Varese, Italy and parts of Berlin, the film does play into this moment in time where it is chaotic with protests over what is happening in Germany in relation to the events of the times. Guadagnino’s direction would emphasize on stylistic shots that do bear elements of what Dario Argento did with the original film but it’s more restrained in the compositions with an emphasis on the physicality of the dancing. With the aid of choreographer Damien Jalet, the dancing and ballet has an intensity in the movements where it helps tell the story as well as play into something much bigger relating to the world of the witches as well as the mysteries that is happening inside the dance studio. Guadagnino would use wide and medium shots for some of the dancing to get a scope of the performances as well as some terrifying moments in Bannion’s performance in close-ups that would be inter-cut with something else happening that play into what the coven wants.
Guadagnino would also emphasize on atmosphere since the film is set during the autumn and winter of 1977 where there is a more realistic look rather than the more heightened usage of colors that Argento did in the original. Particularly as it help play into the sense of terror that is coming relating to this ceremony where Bannion is at the center of the ceremony unaware of what her role is. There is not just this idea of surrealism but also horror of the most extreme with revelations about a world that proves to be no different from what is happening in 1977 Germany with the political and social turmoil that is happening. Even as it emphasizes this element of guilt of past actions that a future generation has to cope with as well as the idea of motherhood in what one expects to teach a younger generation right from wrong. Overall, Guadagnino crafts an evocative yet visceral film about a young American woman being accepted at a prestigious dance academy run by a mysterious coven of witches in 1977 Berlin.
Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key colors and lighting that help play into the eerie tone of the film without being overly stylized as well as using light for the interiors as well as the big dance number in the film. Editor Walter Fasano does amazing work with the editing as its usage of rhythmic and jump-cuts help play into the energy of the dance and suspense as well as in some of the film’s dramatic moments. Production designer Inbal Weinberg, with set decorators Christin Busse and Merissa Lombardo plus art directors Merlin Ortner and Monica Sallustio, does excellent work with the look of the dance studio as well as some of the rooms and secret places including the room of mirrors and the homes of Dr. Klemperer in both East and West Berlin. Costume designer Giulia Piersanti does fantastic work with the costumes from the stylish late 1970s dresses the women wore when they go out to the costume they wear for the dance scene.
Prosthetic makeup designer Mark Coulier does incredible work with the makeup for some eerie sequences that include elements of the third act in the unveiling of Mother Markos as well as other things including a horrendous scene early in the film. Special effects supervisor Franco Ragusa and visual effects supervisor Luca Saviotti do superb work with the special effects that include some of the moments of horror as well as bits of set-dressing in some parts of the film. Sound designer Frank Kruse does marvelous work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere of the locations and dance numbers to showcase how sparse the sound of movements are as it is one of the film’s highlights. The film’s music by Thom Yorke is phenomenal for its mixture of low-key piano-based orchestral music, ambient, and Krautrock-inspired cuts as it help play into the suspense and drama while music supervisor Robin Urdang provides a soundtrack that features bits of classical music pieces and some of the music that was popular in Germany at the time.
The casting by Stella Savino is remarkable as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Fred Keleman and Mikael Olsson as a couple of police investigators who try to investigate the academy following claims from Dr. Klemperer, Malgosia Bela as Bannion’s ailing mother, Alek Wek as one of the dance teachers in Miss Millius, Vanda Capriolo as a dancer in Alberta who shows Bannion how to jump high for the dance, Sylvie Testud as the big glasses-wearing yet mysterious Miss Griffith who never says anything, Renee Soutendijk as a teacher in Miss Huller, Ingrid Caven as another teacher who kind of runs the place in Miss Vendegast, and Jessica Harper in a brief yet terrific one-scene cameo as Dr. Klemperer’s wife Anke. Elena Fokina is superb as a Soviet dancer in Olga Ivanova who is despondent over Patricia’s disappearance as she suspects the school staff while Angela Winkler is wonderful as Miss Tanner as a teacher who is Madame Blanc’s most trusted confidant as she knows something doesn’t feel right. Chloe Grace Moretz is fantastic as Patricia Hingle as it’s a small yet crucial performance of a dancer who is on the run as she’s made some discoveries about the dance academy.
Mia Goth is excellent as Sara Simms as a dancer who befriends Bannion and becomes her closest confidant while being aware that something isn’t right as it relates to the disappearances where she would help out Dr. Klemperer. Dakota Johnson is brilliant as Susie Bannion as a young American dancer who travels to Berlin from a sheltered environment as she deals with her gifts as a dancer as well as her own sexual awakening through the dance and coping with the mysteries surrounding the academy. Lutz Ebersdorf is amazing as Dr. Josef Klemperer as a psychotherapist still pondering about the whereabouts of his wife as he deals with what Hingle has discovered believing that some form of evil is emerging. Finally, there’s Tilda Swinton in an incredible dual performance as Mother Marko and Madame Blanc as she only appears briefly as the former due to its look while provides a straightforward yet maternal approach in the latter as someone who is trying to run a school and do things for the coven while being aware that something is off just as she is becoming concerned for Bannion’s physical and mental state of mind.
Suspiria is a tremendous film from Luca Guadagnino. Featuring a phenomenal ensemble cast, eerie visuals, Thom Yorke’s intoxicating score, brooding sound design, and a provocative story that touches upon many themes of guilt, identity, and motherhood. It’s a film that is confrontational in its themes but also play into the idea of a world that a young woman is about to venture into that is just as terrifying as the real world that is happening around her. In the end, Suspiria is an outstanding film from Luca Guadagnino.
Related: Suspiria (1977 film) - (Goblin-Suspiria OST) - (Thom Yorke-Suspiria OST)
Luca Guadagnino Films: (The Protagonists) - (Tilda Swinton: The Love Factory) - (Mundo civilzado) - (Cuoco contadino) - (Melissa P.) - (The Love Factory No. 3 Pippo Delbono - Bisogna morire) - I Am Love - (Bertolucci on Bertolucci) – A Bigger Splash - Call Me by Your Name - The Staggering Girl - (Fiori, Fiori, Fiori) – (Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams) – (We Are Who We Are (2020 TV series)) – Bones & All – Challengers (2024 film) - (Queer) - (After the Hunt)
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the essay Suspiria de Profundis by Thomas De Quincey, Suspiria is the story of an American ballet student who attends a German ballet academy as she deals with its surroundings and a series of strange events. Directed and narrated by Dario Argento and screenplay by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, the film is an exploration into the supernatural and a woman who goes into the unknown as she copes with fear of this unknown. Starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bose, Alida Valli, Udo Kier, and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is a rapturous yet terrifying film from Dario Argento.
A young American ballet student arrives in Munich to attend a prestigious ballet academy where she encounters a series of strange events that led to the deaths of a few who either left the academy or were forced out. It’s a film that plays into a woman who wonders if this academy that she was asked to be in has some kind of secret where the first thing she sees on her arrival is a young woman leaving in terror as she screams some words during the rain. The film’s screenplay by Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi doesn’t exactly play into traditional horror as it’s more about Suzy Bannon (Jessica Harper) coping with her surroundings but also the strange events that is happening where her roommate Sarah (Stefania Casini) believes that something is going on. Especially when certain things happen around Munich to a few characters as it seems like the ones who are killed are those who have antagonized someone in the academy. It adds to the since of intrigue and suspense where Suzy would ask questions about what is going on just as the pile of deaths start to get bigger.
Argento’s direction is very mesmerizing for not just the usage of the anamorphic lenses which captures a great depth of field of the rooms at the academy. It also helps establish a world that is unlike anything from its usage of the locations in Munich to the places some of the characters go to. Much of it is presented in a very stylish manner with lots of red as a backdrop of sorts as well as some lavish colors in some of the hotels and places where the film takes place. Argento’s approach to wide shots as well as some intricate dolly, tracking shots, and some stylish crane shots help play into the atmosphere of some scenes where it’s not about the suspense or horror but rather to play into what these characters are doing at the ballet studio. Even a simple scene where a child stares at a blind man’s dog would have a lot to say but would also create moments to slowly set-up the suspense.
The scenes of terror such as a sequence early in the film where this young woman named Pat (Eva Axen) who had just left the academy ponders what is chasing her. The moments of terror are swift as red definitely serves as a symbolic color not just because it’s the color of blood but also something much more. Argento’s approach to using colored lights help add to the atmospheric tone of the film while knowing where to play with the rhythms of suspense. Especially in the film’s climax where Suzy is forced to wonder what is really going on in this academy as it slowly unveils itself as there is also that sense of dread of something bad is about to happen. Overall, Argento crafts an intoxicating yet unsettling film about a young woman who goes to a place where dark things happen that she doesn’t know about.
Cinematographer Luciano Tovoli does incredible work with the film‘s cinematography with its usage on lights and color for many of the interior scenes including the ones set at night as it adds a lot to the look and tone of the film as it is one of the film‘s major highlights. Editor Franco Fraticelli does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts and other stylish cuts to help play into the film‘s suspense and horror. Production designer Giuseppe Bassan does fantastic work with the design of the apartment the character Pat goes to early in the film as well as the look of the academy in its interior/exterior settings. Costume designer Pierangelo Cicoletti does brilliant work with the costumes as they all have an air of style to distinguish some of the characters including the very innocent Suzy who wears simple dresses and other clothes to play into her personality.
Makeup supervisor Pierantonio Mecacci does terrific work with the makeup for some of the characters including those who get killed in some of the most gruesome ways. The special effects work of Germano Natali are superb for some of the key elements that play into some of the film‘s terrifying moments including a very chilling scene at a plaza. Sound recordist Mario Dallimonti and the sound effects work of Luciano Anzellotti do amazing work with the sound as it helps create an air of suspense and atmosphere into some of the scenes as well in some of the film’s quieter moments. The film’s music by Dario Argento and the progressive rock band Goblin is phenomenal as it is another major highlight of the film with its discordant approach to progressive rock with its haunting keyboard textures, bombastic percussions, chilling string pieces, and all sorts of arrangements as doesn’t just help play to the horror but manages to do a lot for the film as it is one of the finest scores in horror.
The film’s remarkable cast include some notable small roles from Franca Scagnetti as a mysterious cook, Jacopo Mariani as a young boy living at the academy named Albert, Eva Haxen as the student who fled the academy in Pat Hingle, Barbara Magnolfi as the vivacious ballerina Olga, Udo Kier as a psychologist Suzy talks to about what is happening, and Rudolph Schundler in a superb performance as Professor Milius as a man who tells Suzy what he might know about what is happening at the academy. Miguel Bose is terrific as the silent but chilling servant Mark who always deliver food and wine to Suzy during her illness while Flavio Bucci is excellent as the blind pianist Daniel who gets accused of having his dog attack Albert.
Joan Bennett is fantastic as the academy co-director Madame Blanc as this mysterious woman who starts off as very kind and always listening to Suzy but has an element of ambiguity that makes her more compelling. Alida Valli is brilliant as Miss Tanner as this dance instructor who is stern but fair as she is also very ambiguous while being very antagonistic towards those who either question or criticize the academy. Stefania Casini is amazing as Sarah as a ballerina who believes something is up as she tries to figure out what is going on while giving notes to Suzy in case something happens to her. Finally, there’s Jessica Harper in a remarkable performance as Suzy Bannon as an American ballet student who arrives at this mysterious academy where she becomes ill as she wonders what is going as it’s a performance that does contain the conventions of horror but also one that is engaging.
Suspiria is a magnificent film from Dario Argento. Filled with a great ensemble cast, exotic visuals, intricate art direction, and a hellacious score by Goblin. The film is truly not just one of the finest films for the horror genre but also one that isn’t afraid to be style over substance. Especially as it plays into a heightened sense of reality where no one is safe and everything could be some form of dark reality with lots of blood. In the end, Suspiria is an outstanding film from Dario Argento.
Dario Argento Films: (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) - (The Cat o’ Nine Tails) - (Four Flies on Grey Velvet) - (The Five Days) - (Deep Red) - (Inferno) - (Tenebrae) - (Phenomena) - (Opera (1987 film)) - (Two Evil Eyes) - (Trauma (1993 film)) - (The Stendahl Syndrome) - (The Phantom of the Opera (1998 film)) - (Sleepless (2001 film)) - (The Card Player) - (Do You Like Hitchcock?) - (The Mother of Tears) - (Giallo) - (Dracula 3D)
Related: Suspiria (2018 film)
© thevoid99 2015
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/8/06 w/ Additional Edits & Extensive Revisions.
Directed by Sergio Leone and screenplay by Leone and Sergio Donati, with English translation by Mickey Knox, from a story by Leone, Dario Argento, and Bernardo Bertolucci, Once Upon a Time in The West is the story about an outlaw and a mysterious man protecting a woman from hired killer who is trying to attain a piece of land for a railroad baron. The film serves as Leone's first part of a trilogy about the changes of American life as well as an exploration into revenge and gain. Starring Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, and Gabriele Ferzetti. Once Upon a Time in the West is a grand yet operatic western from Sergio Leone.
At a desert far from the town of Flagstone, Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) prepares for a feast as he's set to pick up his new wife Jill (Claudia Cardinale). Suddenly, a gang of gunslingers arrive to kill the McBain family as its led by its leader in Frank (Henry Fonda). Jill arrives at the town of Flagstone via train from New Orleans as she waits for the arrival of McBain as she ends up taking a ride from a local named Sam (Paola Stoppa) where they stop at a bar where she hears a mysterious man (Charles Bronson) playing the harmonica as another man named Cheyenne (Jason Robards) arrives with his gang. Jill watches Cheyenne confront the mysterious man known as Harmonica as she continues to ride with Sam to the McBain home where she learns about what happened. After the local sheriff finds evidence believing that Cheyenne is the killer, Jill decides to stay at the McBain home.
After news spread about the McBain massacre, Harmonica tortures a man named Wobbles (Marco Zuanelli) who reveals information about who killed the McBain family as it relates to the involvement of a paralyzed railroad baron named Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti). Morton isn't happy about what Frank and his gang did as they conspire to own the entire railroad system so that Morton can have a legacy to hold on to as they learn that Jill has arrived. After hearing Harmonica's playing, Jill attempts to leave only for Cheyenne to arrive at his home with his gang where they talk about her life in New Orleans as Jill realizes that Cheyenne isn't the killer. Harmonica later arrives after Cheyenne's departure as he reveals some information about what happened to McBain. Harmonica and Cheyenne decide to work together to figure out what Frank and Morton are up to while Jill makes a discovery of her own about the land her late husband had bought.
Frank kidnaps Jill for his own reasons as he tries to convince her to sell the McBain land at an auction that is held until Harmonica arrives with a tied-up Cheyenne to get the reward money so he can buy the McBain land. Jill realizes there is a connection between Frank and Harmonica as Frank's alliance with Morton falters as Frank discovers about the plans McBain had fro the land. This would eventually lead to a showdown between Frank and Harmonica as Cheyenne watches from afar realizing that the days of the West is about to end.
In Leone's past trilogy of Westerns with Clint Eastwood, he wanted to reveal what was great about the genre while giving it a fresh coat of European sensibility in terms of its violence. For this particular film, Leone clearly wanted it to be not just his best Western but a tribute to the genre itself. Leone aimed for an operatic end of the genre by making the film play as a background where it's the time where the railroad starts to emerge where it's the start of modernization and the end of the West. In some ways, the film is considered to be a political film by Leone since the railroad is where the power is. In many ways, it's Leone's most complex film among his Westerns while the structure and plot is a bit more simple.
The script's structure and timing might seem slow to some viewers but its pacing and observation is deliberate to the way Leone tells his story. The credit for hashing out Leone's script is his co-writers in Sergio Donati and Mickey Knox plus contributions from Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento. What the script reveals is Leone's transition from action-driven, stylized Westerns to more dramatic elements that helped evolve his unique ability as a storyteller. While there's only a few main characters of the film, they're all wonderfully developed and fully realized in their intentions and in the presence they bring. Particularly the way heroes and villains are portrayed as multi-dimensional characters. Cheyenne and Harmonica aren't true good guys since Cheyenne is a fugitive who does bad things but at least has his own morals while Harmonica is a bit more vicious since he's here for far more personal reasons in a vendetta.
Part of Harmonica's story is told in flashback since his objective is to find Frank where it eventually reveals itself in a flashback and how he got the name. The main villain of Frank is truly one of the most chilling villains in the history of cinema. Notably for his lack of remorse as he is willing to kill anyone including women and children without no pretenses and morals. He is a sadist and he doesn't have a care in the world except for money and pride. While another villainous character in Morton is in the story, he's not that much of a villain since he has his own morals and his desire to dream of a legacy. Plus, he’s the brunt of abuse in his already tumultuous business relationship with Frank where all Frank cares for is money and power. The real hero of the film is the most unlikely hero of any of Leone's film and that is in the part of a woman.
In the films prior to this one, the women Leone had were often portrayed as hookers or mothers trying to take care of their children. For this film, his main protagonist is a woman where she ends up becoming an unlikely heroine. Not with shooting or playing cowboy but a woman who isn't playing a just a former hooker, but someone who ends up helping create a lost dream while maintaining her dignity. It's in not just the script of Leone but his wandering direction that allows the characters to connect while making them their own as characters that audiences can care about or totally dislike. In his epic vision, Leone aims for a scope where all the tricks he used in previous films work for him where he goes from a close-up of a house and then have the camera move to show an entire town in one long shot.
Leone's love for conventional Western cliches, notably the shootouts are done with great style while making them unconventional at the same time. He starts off with a near-ten minute opening where for a while, nothing happens until Harmonica arrives playing this haunting, harmonica melody. Then, the film immediately opens with a shootout. Even the final shootout between Harmonica and Frank is done with great complexity about the history that reveals a key point to the film's plot in Harmonica's hatred for Frank. Its his presentation that gives voice to the Western while declaring it dead at the same time. While his love for many Westerns including the ones by John Ford are mentioned, he also breaks them to give the genre a great send-off where we understand some of Frank's motives for not wanting the McBain dream to stay alive. In many ways, what Leone would do for ending the West with Once Upon a Time in the West. Sam Peckinpah would confirm it even more in its ideology a year later for his 1969 film, The Wild Bunch.
Helping Leone out in his epic, visual-scope is his longtime cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli. Colli's widescreen photography is not very good when its shown on a fullscreen format but on widescreen, the presentation is beautiful. Taking advantage of the light from the sun in many of the film's exterior settings and giving the interior a grungy yet true atmosphere to the genre. The photography in the film is wonderfully authentic in every frame. Two more of Leone's longtime collaborators also do great work in their respective trade. Longtime art director/costume designer Carlo Simi whose presentation of the Western towns and bars is wonderful in its detail while his creation of the Flagstaff town is rumored to be worth more than the entire budget of Leone's first Western in A Fistful of Dollars. Simi's costume work is great while giving Henry Fonda a great look to his villainous persona and doing great work on the clothing of Claudia Cardinale.
Editor Nino Baragli whose iconic cutting style in The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly is used to great form as he does great work in dissolves and transitional cuts to create a wonderful atmosphere and pacing to the film. Helping with the film's sound work are Fausto Ancillai and Claudio Maielli who help create the atmosphere of the West. Notably, the film's first scene where the sound is amazing from its windmills, creaking chairs, and the noise of a fly. The makeup team of Alberto and Giannetto de Rossi do great work in getting the tanning look to help create the heat of the West along with the red sand of the American West.
The final key collaborator of all of Leone's great films is the work of music composer Ennio Morricone. The score of Morricone is divided into four themes to be played for its main characters. The first is a sweeping, operatic arrangement of strings for the character of Jill while Cheyenne gets a rhythmic, banjo-like guitar accompaniment that plays to the film's humor. The character of Harmonica has a theme to the tune of a haunting harmonica melody while Frank gets a droning, dorbo-like guitar riff when his character arrives. Each arrangement and note Morricone would put would often mix into some of the greatest score work ever assembled which he wrote just before the film was even made. Morricone aims for the same tone of opera and tension, notably in the film's final shootout where the arrangements are sweeping to convey the sense of momentum. In the end, it's one of the best film scores ever composed by the always brilliant Ennio Morricone.
Now we come to the film's amazing, large ensemble cast. While there's some nice, memorable roles from Claudio Mancini as Harmonica's brother and Dino Mele as the young Harmonica in a flashback sequence along with Marilu Carteny and Enzo Santaniello as the McBain children. There's some great performances from veteran Western character actors Jack Elam, Woody Strode, and Al Mulock in the film's opening sequence. Notable small roles like Paola Stoppa, Keenan Wynn, Lionel Stander, and Marco Zuanelli are memorable as is Frank Wolff as the ill-fated McBain. The most memorable supporting role is the role of Morton by Gabriele Ferzetti. Playing a cripple, Ferzetti brings a complexity to his role of a villain who wants to hold on to a final dream as he keeps on hearing and looking at images of the sea. Ferzetti holds his own in many scenes, especially with Henry Fonda as its really two actors just acting with each other while being very comfortable. While he may not be known to Americans, Ferzetti holds a lasting impression.
Claudia Cardinale gives an amazing performance as the hooker with dignity known as Jill. While most of her dialogue was dubbed to cover up her heavy Italian accent, Cardinale still maintains a presence that is matched by her beauty while most of her performance is in reaction shots and observance. It's truly one of the best performances in any Western while she becomes an unlikely heroine despite her past as a hooker. Cardinale has great chemistry with her co-stars but its with Jason Robards that has the greatest impact of sensitivity. The late Jason Robards gives a great performance as the sensitive but dirty Cheyenne whose knowledge of morals and codes of the West brings a man with a lot of integrity despite his criminal background. Robards also plays the moral conscience in the film of sorts despite his deeds while he is the only one to calm someone like Harmonica and bring some good company to Jill. It's a great role from the late actor who also had a great performance in another Western, the often-underrated Sam Peckinpah film, The Ballad of Cable Hogue.
The late Charles Bronson is great in his role as the mysterious Harmonica. Bronson brings a dark, quiet presence to the film where the audience is aware that he's dangerous and he's got something up on his sleeve. His face also carries a sense of pain and mystery as he uses his body language to maintain a performance that is minimalist in its lack of emotions. It's truly an iconic performance from the late actor, who has been an icon in being a badass. The film's most shocking performance goes to none other than the late but legendary Henry Fonda. Throughout his career, especially in films like The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men, Fonda has played men of struggle and men who just wants to do and do the right thing. In this film, he does the exact opposite. Fonda uses the right look and tone to play a character that is pure evil from every of his intentions for his own gain. Fonda truly captures everything that a villain is needed to the point that he's a villain some can like despite his actions. It's truly one of his many iconic performances.
The 2003, 2-disc Special Edition Region 1 DVD from Paramount is truly one of the best packages of any DVD. Particularly since it's the uncut version of the film where the American release cut 25 minutes from the film in 1968 where in later releases, the scenes that got cut were restored. Presenting the film in the preferred widescreen format that is the only true way to watch a Leone epic. The film looks wonderful in all of its glory while its 16x9 aspect ratio is perfect for TV. With 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound plus restored mono audio in English and French along with English subtitles. The 2-disc set features the first disc presenting the entire film in all of its glory with its only special feature is a huge audio commentary track. The second disc is filled with several documentary shorts plus cast profiles, theatrical trailers, and photo galleries.
The first disc features a full-on audio commentary track with excerpts recorded separately from different places. On the commentary are film historians Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr. Sheldon Hall, film directors John Carpenter, Alex Cox, and John Milius, and from the actual movie, co-writer Bernardo Bertolucci and the film's star Claudia Cardinale. While John Milius and Claudia Cardinale had brief commentary tracks, they're wonderfully informative as Milius talks about his friendship with Sergio Leone. Claudia Cardinale comments on her love scene with Henry Fonda which she thought was a terrible day since she and Fonda were shooting the scene in front of journalists and Fonda's wife at the time. The shooting made things tense as Cardinale recalled though she had a good time with the legendary actor. She also talks about how Leone is compared to the great directors she worked with like Federico Fellini in 8 1/2 and Luchino Visconti.
Alex Cox and John Carpenter provide the more enjoyable commentaries as Cox talks about some of the scenes that got cut in the heavily-edited American version. Carpenter talks in a couple of scenes from a technical standpoint and his enjoyment of Leone's tracking and crane shots along with the editing and pacing style that was inspired the Japanese films of Kurosawa and Ozu. Bernardo Bertolucci also had a couple of cuts where he talked about the writing of the film and how pleased he was with the film's final cut while talking about his love for the Western genre as a kid and how Leone got him to regain his love for the genre after being enamored with the French New Wave. The more informative commentaries come from Dr. Sheldon Hall and most of all, Sir Christopher Frayling where they talk about the scenes that got cut while Frayling describes a lot of the mythology of the film. Plus, the noted references into the many movies of John Ford whom Leone loved among all Western directors while the harmonica playing is a reference to Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar.
The second disc of the DVD features several little documentaries relating to the movie. Three of them is about the film with interviews from Cardinale, Bertolucci, Cox, Carpenter, Milius, and Frayling along with late cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli and Gabriele Ferzetti. The first of the three-part documentary is a 30-minute segment called An Opera of Violence where Frayling discusses Leone's film background where his father was a silent film director and mother was an actress that did the first ever Italian Western. Leone would eventually become an assistant director for Mario Soldati in many Roman-like epics while doing some camera work in other movies like Cleopatra and Ben-Hur where Leone was part of the crew shooting the chariot scene. When Soldati died during production of a film, Leone took over to finish where he got to do his first ever film entitled Colossus of Rhodes in 1961.
Then in the early 60s, the Italian film industry went bust after the era of Roman epics were gone, Cleopatra just bombed while Luchino Visconti's Il Gatopardo also failed commercially. Frayling discusses that the Italian industry was at the time, an industry that will go on one trend and then make films of that same style. While there were films by Visconti, Federico Fellini, Michaelangelo Antonioni, Roberto Rosellini and Vittorio de Sica at the time, they weren't big commercial films. Then came Leone with the trilogy of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. The Italian industry went up and running again while Leone was becoming a hero. During the premiere for The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly in December 1966, Leone met with a then-new filmmaker named Bernardo Bertolucci and a local film critic from Rome named Dario Argento. Though Leone had planned to do an epic mob movie that would eventually become Once Upon a Time in America, he didn't want to do another Western.
Paramount from the U.S. convinced Leone thanks to the international buzz of his Western trilogy as he decided to do one more Western with help from Bertolucci and Argento. Bertolucci talked about how he came up with the idea of getting a female protagonist for the film which Leone resisted at first only to be won over by the idea. Claudia Cardinale discusses how she got contacted and how she wanted the part to be more complex and it helped the writing more. The documentary also features rare interview clips from Leone in 1984 when he was finishing Once Upon a Time in America and an old 1975 interview with Henry Fonda talking about taking the role for Once Upon a Time in the West. Part of a trilogy of the events that touched America, Leone wanted to pay homage to the West but also attack the American ideology while Alex Cox talked about the opening scene where there's a legendary story about the stars of The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly playing the part of the three men only to be killed in the first five minutes.
The second doc short for The Wages of Sin is a 20-minute segment where the discussion is on Leone's working style. John Carpenter, Cox, and Delli Colli discusses his precise detail for everything right. They discuss the photography style of Delli Colli as well as the work of the late art director/costume designer Carlo Simi. Frayling talks about while most of the film was shot in Spain with some interiors in Cinecetta studios in Rome. The famous shot of Jill with Sam riding through Monument Valley was one of the few scenes in America. Before shooting, Leone and Delli Colli went to America for a tour group to look at Monument Valley where Leone acted like a kid in a candy store since that's where John Ford shot some of his Westerns. Leone and his crew even went up to get the red sand from Monument Valley to use for the film. The segment also discusses the Leone close-ups and his canvas where Carpenter, Cardinale, and Frayling all feel it's the key to being a great storyteller.
The third and final part of the documentary is an 18-minute segment called Something to Do with Death where they discuss the music of Morricone where in this film, it was the first time he wrote an entire score just before the film was even shot. They discuss the themes he wrote and how Leone got inspired by them. The opening scene of the film originally was supposed to have music but the themes Morricone and Leone tried to use didn't work until Morricone went to a performance art show about a guy making sounds with ladders. There, it gave the idea for the film's opening scene with its array of amplified sounds. This leads to the discussion of the film's release where in Europe, it was a success but in the U.K. and U.S., it wasn't. Especially in America where they cut 20 minutes of the film for length reason, which would be the case for the remainder of his films in the years to come where they would get chopped up in the editing room.
The short six-minute featurette entitled Railroad-Revolutionizing the West is a short doc about the evolution of the railroad and its impact that it had on the West. Especially in its influence on the cinema where Alex Cox reveals that it talks about the process of industrialization where machines came and the beginning of the end of man. Two galleries appear for the DVD. First is a locations gallery to compare and contrast the locations of the film where many of the railway locations from Spain show no railroad but more grass. The McBain house looks more colorful while keeping the wood that was actually taken from a film by Orson Welles. The look of Monument Valley remains insatiable in its red look while the trail don't exist only as a path of sorts. The film photo gallery features black-and-white stills of the cast and crew working including a deleted scene that never made the final cut of Harmonica being assaulted by the town's sheriff.
Also included are the cast bios of the five main actors, French and English subtitles, and the original theatrical trailer for the film. Overall, this is a fantastic DVD though the only flaw is its packaging where both discs are on top of another and if anyone is trying to get the second disc. Get the first one out or you'll cause some scratches.
Once Upon a Time in the West is a majestic and outstanding film from Sergio Leone. Featuring incredible performances from Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, and Gabriele Ferzetti. It is truly one of the great films that transcends the western genre as it also serves as a worthy introduction for anyone new to the western. The film also features amazing technical work as well as an awesome score by Ennio Morricone that is truly one of the great film scores ever composed. In the end, Once Upon a Time in the West is a remarkable film from 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 - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America
Related: Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone - The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone
(C) thevoid99 2012
