Cast: Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, Gabriele Ferzetti, Frank Wolff
Director: Sergio Leone
Rating:
Enetertainment Quotient: 60%
Genre: Western
Running time: 165 min
MPAA rating: PG-13 for western violence and brief sensuality

Synopsis:
Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) is a rail/road baron. Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) owns a big chunk of land, which is needed for the railway line. Morton hires Frank (Henry Fonda) to kill the entire family of McBain. Jill (Claudia Cardinale) comes on the scene just when the assassination takes place. McBain marries her barely a month before his assassination and nobody knows it. The rest of the story is all about how Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and Harmonica (Charles Bronson) help Jill take revenge. In this story, there is an interesting subplot related to Harmonica.

What is special in the film?
The rugged look of the film is fabulous and stylish. Each frame of this film is worthy enough to be your desktop wallpaper. All the actors have done an amazing job. Cinematography is magnificent. Music is outstanding. Dialogues are sharp.

What I did not like the film?
The pace of the film is very slow.

The scenes I liked?

1. The opening scene: Three men are waiting for the train to arrive. The director introduces each of these characters in a very detailed manner for eight minutes. After the train arrives, all the three people are killed. The director has taken eight minutes to establish characters, which we are not going to see in the film again. By doing so, he establishes the powerful persona of the main lead who killed these three men.

2. The climax: Climax of the film is another highlight. The director shows Frank walk in a blurred vision for a couple of times in the film and reveal him clearly only in the flashback of the climax. Frank asks Harmonica who he is and then Harmonica takes out his mouth organ.

Tailpiece: Sergio Leone is an Italian director who made great western films like A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It is amazing to note that he made this film with such finesse that even present day films are unable to achieve the same kind of visual perfection with advanced techniques like computer graphics, special effects, colour grading etc.

Copycats/Inspirations:

1. Shooting the hoarding: A shooter falling through the hoarding. This scene has been adapted in this year release Asadhyudu where a gangster kills the shooter who is gunning from behind the Shiva poster.

2. Hanging the father by making him stand on the shoulders of his kid: A similar technique is used in Mahesh Babu’s Takkari Donga.

3. Camera technique: Showing two people in a standing position by rotating it 90 degrees and then zooming it back to show the couple in a sleeping position. Mani Ratnam in Amruta uses this amazing technique extensively for the song ‘Sundari’.