This classic Spaghetti Western film is the best western film out there directed by Sergio Leone, who also directed The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, For a Fistful of Dollars etc. When I first watched this film it blew me away, the acting, the direction, the silence, the action, the stare, the duel and the indomitable gunslingers.
I never liked these western movies before but after watching this particular film I became a die-hard fan of western genre. The faces of the actors is just awesome to watch for example at the opening scene where Jack Elam is seen sitting on the station’s bench and trying to get rid of the fly without using hands but blowing air from the mouth and failing miserably signifies that the person is so tired to move his hands when irritated by the buzzing of the fly he doesn’t even feel an urge to swat the fly using hands or to do something about it. The screenshot below portraying him Lying still unperturbed by the persistent attack of the fly over the face and if bothered then blows air from the mouth to keep the fly away is absolutely amazing to watch.
The consistent clicking of the telegraph, the annoying sound coming from the windmill, the buzzing sound of the fly, the dripping of water and the boredom of waiting for the train all of this intensifies the above scene and creates an atmosphere so real as if the audience itself is feeling what Jack Elam feels sitting there at the station, desperate enough to smash the fly in one hit.
Then comes our star, Charles Bronson, one of the greatest action icons with tough looks in many old western movies, he has that power to drop glare through his eyes and with his rugged looks as if he has been through a lot in life does little bit of dialogue delivery but much of it though his facial expressions.
In this film, Charles Bronson plays the role of an avenger who goes by the name of Harmonica. He carries a Harmonica, a musical instrument with him throughout the movie and plays a nice chord which when ends, usually something bad happens. As the movie advances, the frequent playing of the Harmonica by Charles Bronson will rush through your emotions and conveys a feeling so strong that will exert you to do something as the situation gradually becomes tense on account of scenes like above and the way the camera is moving looking far at the desert, hills, itsy-bitsy stuff littered around, covering the landscape as much as possible, then stays still at the actor’s eyes for a couple of seconds, then notices the flowing dust, then moves and stays at the other actor’s eyes staring at the the former one for a showdown to start, all this leaves us in high anticipation that who will start, making us wonder when and how maybe when the harmonica music stops then.
Then there is another amazing star of western classics, Henry Fonda. Henry Fonda portrays as the villain in this film a ruthless killer working for a railroad tycoon, Morton. The story revolves around these actors including the beautiful, Jill(Claudia Cardinale) who is a widow in the movie also avenging her husband and children’s death by the hands of Frank(Henry Fonda).
The widow takes help from Harmonica(Charles Bronson), who has some unfinished business with Frank and a bandit named Cheyenne(Jason Robards), who has been wrongly implicated by Frank in killing Jill’s whole family, to avenge her family’s brutal murder. The motive behind killing Jill’s family was strictly a business for Frank under the instructions of the railroad baron, Morton who ordered Frank to scare McBain(Jill’s husband) to not proceed with the contract for building a Station at Sweetwater but defying the order Frank killed him and his children without any remorse.
The direction of this movie is great, mostly the western styles shown and captured perfectly by the camera, the music composed by Ennio Morricone is something like when it hits you, you will be high and the acting done by the stars which imparts a profound feeling of uneasiness penetrating deep within our minds leaving us uneasy and wanting more.
A wonderful thing about western films like this is how the script is created keeping the past untold story a flashback but becoming clearer and clearer as the film reaches an important event, finally the picture is clear and everyone can correlate the story from past to present. Also how the bonds become stronger and more robust between strangers who have only one thing in common, their vengeance against the powerful, fearless and the baddest gunslinger in the movie.
I can share more stuff about the movie but that will seriously effect the main plot where the truth behind Harmonica is revealed, so I suggest all the viewers to go and see this masterpiece and I assure you that you will love this film unconditionally. It is that good and beats the other movies made during the 70’s and 80’s. I even compare this movie with The good, the Bad and the Ugly and I rate both 10 out of 10.
Sergio Leone, Charles Bronson , Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Woody Strode and others who gave their best to the film industry and are no more with us, we salute you and you all live in our hearts eternally.
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4 Photos above by Karl-Ludwig Poggemann are licensed under 
