From: maus@fid.morgan.com (Malcolm Austin)
Subject: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (was: Re: Best Scenes in movies)
Organization: Morgan Stanley & Co., New York, NY
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 21:49:37 GMT

SPOILERS for "Once Upon a Time in the West" in the following:


In article <1992Apr3.204346.27038@daimi.aau.dk> rorschak@daimi.aau.dk (Jesper Lauridsen) writes:
>peter@cs.vu.nl (Grunwald PD) writes:
>
>>In article <1992Mar31.180628.6426@gn.ecn.purdue.edu> mbrockma@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (Matt Brockman) writes:
>
>>>How about the last 20 minutes of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"
>>>and the opening scene of "Once Upon a Time in the West"?
>
>My personal favourite for the "absolutely best scene ever" award is at
>the start of "Once Upon a Time in the West". It's the scene in which
>Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and Harmonica (Charles Bronson) meets for the
>first time. Well, actually it starts out as entertainment scene with
>Jill (Claudia Cardinale) talking with barkeeper, but as one hears noise
>of fighting and alarmed horses outside the tavern all interest is
>focused on the door and the action following Cheyenne entering the
>room through it. 

Actually, this scene is not really at the start of the movie.  It occurs
at least a half-hour, maybe more, into it.  I agree it is a great scene.

>   This scene encapsulates the philosophy of the Leone westerns, the
>partition of the world into 3 groups: Real Men (Harmonica, Man with 
>no name etc), followers (gunmen with short lifespans) and background.
>Cheyenne knows, at the moment he enters the tavern, who "knows how to
>play" and who doesn't. Consequently he ignores anyone, even if they
>are pointing a loaded gun at him, but Harmonica. 

You lost me here.  Cheyenne does draw this distinction between "players"
and "non-players", but I saw no clear tripartite division.  It is notable,
however, that just as Cheyenne ignores everyone in the room except Harmonica,
everyone in the room is also unaffected by his visit.  As soon as he leaves,
the bartender blithely continues his story about New Orleans, and everyone
starts talking again, without missing a beat.  I found that interesting.

Cheyenne's presence is almost like a visitation--he suspends "real life" for
actions occurring on a higher, sharper plane, and then he leaves, and 
normal life resumes with no change except the relief that everyone must
feel that no one has been killed.  Great scene.

These roles of "player" and "non-player" are not clean-cut, either.  Consider
Mr. Choo-Choo, who is a player only when in his railroad car, and loses all
power outside of it.  (Is it accidental that he dies outside of the car?)

The widow McBain and her late husband also "play" on a different level than
Cheyenne and Harmonica, more on the level of Mr. Choo-Choo, where dollars
and land can trump bullets and blood.  And in the end, with the railroad
coming through like a force of nature, the Real Men seem like an diminished,
insignificant sideshow.  

Frank (Henry Fonda) is a pathetic link between these two worlds, trying to 
transform himself from one to the other, and losing everything.

>   I have heard that this particular scene have been cut in the 
>original US version, is that correct? 

I have never seen this scene cut out, in the theatre, on tape, or on TV.
Whether it is trimmed for TV, I can't say.

-- 
=Malcolm Austin==w:(212)703-6134====h:(914)633-3966=========================
maus@fid.morgan.com    | "Is it . . . atomic?"  "Yes!  It's *very* atomic!"
#include <disclaimer.h>| 
>>> Copy this line into your .sig to protect it from signature viruses. <<<<