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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
1966 | Western

"Let’s support Sergio Leone, too. If you look at the composition and the editorial style of Seven Samurai and Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, obviously, Leone and Kurosawa are very close. Both in style and thematics."

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Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Duck, You Sucker (Giù la testa) (1972) in Movies

Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)  
Duck, You Sucker (Giù la testa) (1972)
Duck, You Sucker (Giù la testa) (1972)
1972 | Classics, War, Western
If you are a fan of the Sergio Leone films then this is certainly a release to have in your collection, it is one of those films that never really got the limelight of its predecessors such as A Fistful of Dollars, but it is a movie that has all the style that Leone brought us with his movies and I still enjoy watching it today.
  
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
1968 | Action, Drama, Western

"Sergio Leone cashed in his Dollars chips to make the Euro western to end them all. Thematically rich and generally regarded as the greatest spaghetti western of them all, brilliantly choreographed to Ennio Morricone’s unforgettable music. Impressive set-pieces abound and, combined with iconic casting and eye-filling US locations, mark this as a dreamscape of an Old West about to be invaded by “progress”."

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Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
1968 | Action, Drama, Western

"The apotheosis of the Italian Western. Sergio Leone had been examining themes from the West of a number of pictures and here they coalesced into one poetic fable that is strikingly beautiful to watch and very moving. Again, it was not a success when it came out, and was brutally cut after a number of engagements, but now has belatedly been appreciated and restored."

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The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
1976 | Action, Drama, Western
Outstanding western starring and directed by Clint Eastwood. The American civil war transforms ordinary farmer Josey Wales into a ruthless, deadly gunfighter - but when his side is defeated, is there any chance he can leave violence behind and find a new life?

Made just as the western was going out of fashion as a genre, there's a strikingly elegiac quality to this film - it includes all the requisite action and violence, but also considers wider issues about what it means for people to try and live together. Brings real heart and soul to the slightly cartoony character Eastwood played for Sergio Leone. In some ways this is a very serious film, but it also works superbly as a piece of entertainment.
  
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
1968 | Action, Drama, Western

"The Western is obviously one of the staples of American cinema, but ironically, the Italian spaghetti-westerns have become more famous in pop culture than the classic American western. And amongst the spaghetti-western directors, Sergio Leone will always be the titan for me. Although I love his films with Clint Eastwood, this epic is one to spend an evening with; from the classic shoot-out at the train depot, to the haunting final three-way gun fight, this may be my favorite portrayal of Charles Bronson on screen. It’s a story of the expansion of the railroad and the opening of the west; of revenge and infamy; of love triangles and justice. And with a sweeping, heartrending soundtrack from Ennio Morricone, what more can you ask of a film?"

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Seven Samurai (1954)
Seven Samurai (1954)
1954 | Action, Adventure, Drama
7.7 (19 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"For a myriad of different reasons. It’s the ultimate group of lawless action buddy movies. They have all spawned from this. Every sort of two handed buddy movie as The A-Team and — it all comes from this one film: Seven Samurai. It gave Hollywood a genre. Not only did it influence the western genre very obviously, with Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, but every genre of outsider, loner, anti-hero. The character played by Toshiro Mifune, that’s the quintessential character in Hollywood. You’ve seen it played by Montgomery Clift. You’ve seen it played by James Dean, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro. They’ve all been influenced in some way by that one character that appears in the Seven Samurai. The wildness. The gregariousness. The mad genius. The outsider. The survivor. Of course, you know the film is an incredibly, beautifully shot film. Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest writers of all time. It speaks for itself. I’ve seen it well over a hundred times. But years ago. 20 years ago — possibly the first. Maybe even 25 years ago was the first time I saw it. An extraordinary movie."

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Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Fistful of Dollars (1964)
1964 | Adventure, Western
A Solid Spaghetti Western
A Fistful of Dollars doesn't succeed because the film as a whole is perfect. Rather there are a number of memorable scenes that perfectly captivate an audience and make the film irresistible. There are moments of extended silence periods where only a guitar is playing while the camera pans back and forth from one face to the next. These moments are extremely powerful and quickly trains the audience into knowing that as soon as you see this happen, it's about to go down. No matter how many times director Sergio Leone relies on this effect, it never loses its excitement.

In mentioning scenes, a lot of favorites comes to mind. One scene in particular involves Joe (Clint Eastwood) walking past the undertaker who warns Joe that the men he's about to face will probably kill him. "Get three coffins ready," is Joe's badass reply. After killing the entire crew in what felt like a blink, Joe goes, "My mistake. Four coffins." Definitely put a huge smile on my face.

It's scenes like these that instantly make you fall in love's with Eastwood's character. The guy just bleeds badass. Nothing rattles him. Not only does he get out of tight pinches, but he does it with style. Towards the back half of the film, he takes his performance to even higher heights with some very cool action sequences. Action sorely needed after the film stumbled a bit in the middle with too much dialogue.

When Joe arrives in town as a complete stranger, his goal is simple: Pit two rival families against each other while making a lot of money in the process. The body count is high which keeps the excitement level even higher. Very enjoyable. I give the film an 89.