Leone's last great (Zapata) Western

Rating: 10/10 (14 June 2007)

Well I must admit that seeing this for the first time on the new pristine R1, wide screen SE DVD, with the original "mono" audio was a revelation. In 1970 I left New York City for first the Adirondacks, and then Montana, so my easy access to the theaters on Times Square was eliminated and the ability to be aware of much less be able to see the Spaghetti Westerns that occasionally graced the big screens in double & triple bills was curtailed.
My previous viewing experiences with this film were once on a 70's or 80's VHS tape and then dribs and drabs that I caught from time to time while switching through channels on TV. In regards to the Pan & Scan and commercial breached versions my reaction to Rod Steigers performance was decidedly negative. It seems in retrospect that the combination of cuts, trimmed scenes, and commercial breaks, emphasized the clownish facial expressions and exaggerated his accent while negating the serious side of his performance. Now viewed as a whole his performance becomes more easy flowing and contiguous. You realize that Steiger was playing Juan as a cagey Mexican bandito playing the fool when the situation required it and reverting back at the drop of a hat back to bandit leader. With James Coburn's performance I never had an issue.
I'm also mature enough now to see that this was a transitional film for Leone not only as a complete film but it was transforming before our eyes. I can see now why it tanked in the US. In Europe I believe you had the luxury of getting served your Leone in well paced over time releases, you had the opportunity to savor and enjoy and digest each and were ready to see what the maestro would serve up next. We "kids" here in the US were blasted by both barrels in 1967 when both "A Fistful of Dollars" and "For A Few Dollars More" premiered within months of each other, and then theaters ran double bills for months at a time. Within a year "The Good The Bad & The Ugly" also hit the theaters and we were totally immersed in the Leone style and eager for more of the same, I think we may have been under the impression that these films were similar to the James Bond franchise where a successful formula would be repeated over & over.
"Once Upon A Time in The West" was a totally different animal it did not star Clint Eastwood (which was the way the dollars trilogy was promoted (strike one) it was misunderstood upon release and panned by the critics who did not understand its nature(strike two) it was then re-cut (Strike three) and released widely to a quick demise.
"Duck You Sucker" not really a traditional Western never had a chance, it was Leone's reaction to the Zapata Westerns that never did have a wide showcase or following here in the US, his quotes & references to these Zapatas would have flown over the heads of most. While Leones previous "Dollars" films were just fun adventures, and "OUTITW" was an homage Western about Westerns, this film had a Leone message, a statement, it was not only that "Revolution is Confusion" but also to "keep your head down" (Duck You Sucker) and stay out of politics, because only the people who read books survive the poor who do the fighting and make the changes end up dead.
There are the comedy elements from his previous films juxtaposed with serious new depths to his characters, the beginning of DYS is very reminiscent to GBU and the cat and mouse games played between Tuco and Blondie are reflected in the Juan/Sean relationship each using the other for opposite purposes. Juan is also the head of his extended family of banditi and all actions are shown to have consequences.
I'm pulled buy opposing emotions while watching this film, on one salient I want it to be another grand adventure a la GBU, and that is the way it started out. On another it's not up to the mythic qualities of OUTITW, though it does quote from Einstein's "Que Vivre Mexico" and the Hollywood tradition of Zapatas, Leone purposely shuns the "romance of the sombrero" we get no ballads, no soldadas (ie, no beautiful Adelitas or Columbas), no festivals all touchstones of the Italian Zapatas. On still a third salient the film has a very bleak ending. Not exactly a feel good fun to watch over and over.
OUTIA Leone's next and last film continues in the mode and is equally beautiful but bleak. a film about melancholy and regret.
Morricone's score great as usual I find a just a tad bit uneven, the leitmotif's for Juan and Sean/John are good but the grotto massacre theme just seems a bit to breezy & lighthearted for the images. Listening to the Frayling commentary I have an understanding of what he was attempting.