Still as good as it ever was...

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2019)

This was showing on ITV4 this week, I taped it off the TV years ago, lost track of the tape, and sort of forgot the movie existed. I'm glad to say it was as good as I remember it being, and Morricone's soundtrack is an absolute cracker, one of his best and featuring a lot of choir work, electronic effects, etc. Watching it now, it's clearly a Tarantino favourite and there's bits of it in most of his work. It's probably ignored today because it doesn't quite fit in with Leone's other work of the period- the dollars movies, etc, and doesn't have the usual cast ensemble, but despite his dodgy Irish accent which seems to come and go throughout the movie James Coburn (John) carries it off well, and Rod Steiger (Juan) gets away with it too, despite unfeasibly good teeth in the many close-ups. Highlights? The awesome floating banner appearing above John's head when Juan has the revaluation that he is the key to robbing the bank. The firing squad scene, with the imagery lifted from the Goya painting and combined with the soundtrack and the close ups of Coburn is one of Leone's crowning moments, and the whole movie is probably the best cinematography Leone ever did. Watch it, you won't be disappointed.