Cast: | Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Keenan Wynn and many others. |
Director: | Sergio Leone (story: Bertolucci, Leone, Argento and others) |
Studio, year: | Prigge (?) 1969 |
Story outline: | Film begins with a scene at a lonely small station where a handful of
killers wait for a man coming with the train. Allthough this last for
about 10 minutes every second is absolutely gripping. The train
arrives and 10 seconds later the kilers are dead, shot by the
mysterious harmonica player (Charles Bronson) who arrived with the
train. - Hard cut, evil is breaking into an idyll: A farmer and his
children were brutally shot by a gang, leaded by unscrupulous and
uncredibly cold villain Frank who shoots personally the little son
(Henry Fonda playing an evil character for the very first time). Later
we learn that Frank is in service of a railroad company which intends
by all means to build a line through the farm land. When the farmers
new wife, the former prostitute Jill (Claudia Cardinale), arrives at
the farm she realizes that she is also menaced because of her
heritage. Now a fascinating story with many ups and downs and
complicated involvements begins. In principle, the stranger
"Harmonica" (we do never hear his name) and Chayenne, chief of a gang
of "respectable" outlaws (who at least do not shoot children), become
allies and help Jill against Frank. Chayenne helps Jill because he is
suspected by the sherrif (Keenan Wynn) of the massacre and because he
fells in love with Jill who herself seems to fall in love (a little
bit?) with "Harmonica".But one does not know who "Harmonica" is, why
he is there, and what he wants until the last dazzling duel with
Frank. The film is absolutely fascinating, thrilling and in many
scenes (sometimes maybe unintended?) homorous. |
Railway content: | The whole film is - on one level - about building a railway line in
the wild west. You can see stations (filmed partly in Calahorra,
Spain), trains, simple and luxurious salon waggons (where the chief of
the railway company lives), water towers (with thrilling dropping of
water), station clarks, workers who lay sleepers and rails and so on.
But of course, maybe three quarter or more of the film do not play in
trains or stations. |
Format: | Italian, Italo western, Technicolor, Mono sound (most famous and
intensive music by Ennio Morricone), 165 Minutes (do not see any
chopped version!) |
Available on video: | VHS, probably other systems (one of the top films of the world), but
for the first time, try by all means to see the film in cinema. |
Ratings: | Movie:     (for me the best Western ever made, one of the world top
films)
Percentage of railway:  
Quality of railway: ??? (no idea, I m not familiar with non-German railways, but it's nice to see) |
Reviewed, recommended by: | Dr. Christoph Perleth (EMail: [email protected]) |