Long time since I’ve watched a Sergio Leone western, long time since I’ve watched any western. It was my intention to try and watch all the Dollars Trilogy in one go but the way I’m managing time recently that’s gonna be impossible so I’m just gonna have to do with watching them in order over the next few days.

The thing that always stays with me from these movies is, as I’m sure is the case for most fans, Ennio Morricone’s scores. They truly are among the great movie scores. I’d almost have trouble telling a newcomer to these movies much about the story because I’d just crumble into, “but the music is gorgeous...” I’d say Morricone’s score accounts for more than 50% of these movies’ impact.

I was, however, on this viewing, really struck by the cool shots Leone comes up with. The camera is amazingly fluid here, always on the move, framing things perfectly, the actors choreographed to fill it if they aren’t already.

It’s a lot of style over substance, that’s for sure … but you don’t get more stylish than this.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 11th, 2005 at 6:13 pm in 4 hearts, Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.