5 – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

One of Halle Berrys earlier works.

The last Leone film on the list and it starts in true Leone style.It’s got a cool title sequence,with animated text and what not.It’s also got all the other bucks form his other films,Van Cleef,Eastwood and the guy who had the musical watch in the last film.The beginning has his familiar beginnings;a few cowboys walking around,some good close ups and not much chat.In fact it’s 10 minutes 30 before the first word is uttered.Tense stuff.This one’s set during the civil war and revolves around 3 characters , The Good – Eastwood as Blondie (doesn’t even have blond hair), The Bad – Van Cleef and The Ugly – the fat guy.Blondie and the ugly have a racket going.The ugly is wanted and Blondie captures him and gets the bounty then frees him and they split it.About the middle of the movie Blondie ‘and the ugly find out theres $200,000 hidden somewhere.Each have half of the puzzle and are keeping it to them selves.The Bad also knows about the money and tries to muscle in.It’s a good old story,I’m not sure if it warrants a full 3 hours but my d/l said it was an extended version so maybe it’s shorter normally.As always there’s a mad soundtrack to this,Leone really goes all out.I think my dad had it on C.D. when i was a kid.I thought of a good drinking game for this film. Every time someone shoots a hat take a drink.You’ll be drunk in no time.

IMDB RATING      –     8.9
MY RATING     –    8
SEEN BEFORE     –     YES
RECOMMEND?     –     YES
OVERALL     –  YEAH IT’S OKAY.BUT I’M NOT SURE IT SHOULD BE AT THIS SPOT.

 

78 – Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Noodles see his first vagina.I remember when i first seen one a couple of years ago,after i stopped getting sick it wasn’t too bad.

How i dispise panpipes and Sergio Leone sticks a good load of them into your ear balls throughout.This film is long,over three and three quarter hours.I pity anyone trying to watch this on t.v.It played in Ireland and i remember Tony telling me it was 5 hours long.OUATIA is the classic tale of some new york kids growing up and having a gang/racket.Ir seemed strange when i watched the title credits and all the 5-6 writers are either italina or have italina names.But good writing anyway.I think the film could have been split into two parts,there’s no filler realy in the whole film.So maybe two films with another side story would have been good.The gang of kids get into trouble with a neighbourhood rival called Bugsy.He shoots and kills a young kid,he looks no more than 12,and Noodles(De Niro) retaliates and nkifes him and a cop who tries to stop him.He gets sent down for what i make to be 15 years.When he gets out he looks about 40 and his love interest,Debra,looks about 20,even though there was about 3-4 years between them when he got locked up.Jail must age a man.Back to Debra,she has the look of a doped up person with major mental disabilities and its this retardedness i attribute to her accent swinging from American to Posh English.Her voice has this really deep tone to it too,i’m not sure why.Whe n noodles gets out of jail all the guys are waiting for him and have invested the grouos money and have some good stuff going for them.The probition is on and they have a bar and bootleg booze.Fastforward 35 years.Noodles is back,why?,figure it out.Debra is played by the same actress and still looks 20.No grey hair no drastic mackup no nothing.While as while as i make Noodles to be 61 now.He looks it.Also you can’t have a De Niro film without Joe Pesci who pops up for two scenes.The second one doesn’t even need to be there.

IMDB RATING      –     8.3
MY RATING     –    7.7
SEEN BEFORE     –     NO
RECOMMEND?     –     YES
OVERALL     –  LONG.THE FINAL BIT WITH MAX AS AN OLD MAN WAS A BIT CONFUSING.DID NOODLE RECOGNIZE HIM?

218 – A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)

Graham Norton as a big gay cowboy.

Great film.This is how westerns should be done.The film revolves around two rival family/gangs that live at opposite ends of a town that’s about the size of a basketball court.How they’ve managed to live this long without all killing each other is a mystery.Eastwoods character turns up and sets up the two gangs just to wipe them out of it and make off with the cash.Some deadly camera work,the extreme close-ups make this film.

IMDB RATING      –     8
MY RATING     –     8.1
SEEN BEFORE     –     NO
RECOMMEND?     –     YES
OVERALL     –   SERGIO LEONE IS BANG ON WITH THIS ONE.