Casting iconic blue eyed-boy Henry Fonda as the bad guy, Leone simultaneously pays homage to a fistful of westerns and subverts them. With story credits for Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento, both young turks at the time, this is a foundation myth writ large, one of the most imposing Scope films ever made. It’s also a real slow burn: Leone lays it out and bides his time, yet it’s not a minute too long.
As for Morricone’s contribution, never has a harmonica played a more pivotal role in a film’s pacing and impact; the instrument even gives Charles Bronson’s character his name. Morricone composed the score before filming and the actors performed the scenes while listening to the music, which set the film’s stately tempo. Leone even timed his crane shots to synch with the crescendo in the score. Then there’s the famous ten minute opening to the film: the music of creaking windmills, dripping water and buzzing flies.
Community Partner
Sergio Leone
Claudia Cardinale, Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards
Italy/USA
1968
English
Book Tickets
Sunday March 23
Indigenous & Community Access
Credits
Screenwriter
Sergio Donati, Sergio Leone
Cinematography
Tonino Delli Colli
Editor
Nino Baragli
Original Music
Ennio Morricone
Art Director
Carlo Simi
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With a screenplay by David Mamet and a magnificenct cast (De Niro, Costner and Connery!) De Palma enjoyed one of his biggest hits with this big scale, mythic rendering of the Al Capone story, bolstered by one of Morricone's most stirring scores.
The Great Silence
A mute gunfighter, Silenzio (Jean Louis Trintignant) circles the vicious bounty hunter Loco (Klaus Kinski) in the snowy mountains of Utah, in this, one of the greatest westerns ever made. Morricone's music caps an under-seen but unforgettable classic.