Protracted and self indulgent...

Rating: Null/10 (3 August 2003)

My overall feeling at the end of my viewing experience was that this was a good movie. It is not without its flaws, however.
*Minor spoilers throughout this review*
Why is this movie 229 minutes long? The establishing shots, the action/reaction shots, the 'oh so meaningful' facial close ups. We have a scene where a kid buys a cake to give to someone else, but then decides to eat it himself. That's great in itself, but do we really need to spend two minutes of screen time watching him eat it?
The actors pull off some splendid work, but I can't see why the direction is so lauded. There is just SO much screen time used ineffectively. It almost seems that Leone felt a gangster film couldn't be taken seriously if it was less than three hours long, and he didn't want to leave anything to chance.
The score is nice in parts, but gets repetitive. And don't even start on those ******g pan pipes!
Throw in some gratuitous violent sex and things could start to get offensive.
Watch it if you have time - you might like it.