[Frank the Rabbit]

The western genre never really appealed to me. It was all a little too corny for my taste. THat is until i experienced the Italian Western. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly got me hooked. Sergio Leone is a genius. His wide shots of the landscape are breath taking and the characters he creates have become part of a cultural legend. I was convinced TGtBatU was the best western of all time. That was until i saw Once Upon a Time in the West. THis isnt just a western, it is a western opera. THis masterpiece stands as a testimony to the art of filmmaking. The scene where the family is murdered in cold blood is just haunting, as is the musical score. The music was made before the movie, so that the movie matches perfectly with each song. This is also the first western to include a female in a leading role, and Claudia Cardinale is terrific. And Frank is the coolest western villain i have ever seen. He's a psychopath.

This is a beautiful movie for western fans.

[looktothesky]

I love Western films - I'll have to check that one out.

For some reason I love the movie Tombstone. Dunno what it is, but it's a great one.

[optimus_prime]

Italian Westerns?...are those anything like "spaghetti westerns"?

[Frank the Rabbit]

Well, that's the slang term for it.\


edit: what is tombstone about?

This post has been edited by Frank the Rabbit: 03 April 2007 - 04:52 PM

[looktothesky]

Here's a nice little synopsis I found, since I'm really not good at summaries. lol.

Former lawman Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and friend Doc Holliday settle in the town of Tombstone in order to lead a profitable and peaceful life but soon come into conflict with the Cowboys, a band of outlaws led by the Clanton brothers. This retelling of the Earp/Clanton feud also follows up the gunfight at the O.K. Corral with a look at the bloody consequences of the showdown.

[Frank the Rabbit]

Is the gunfight at O.K. in this movie? because i've seen another movie called Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Also, this is a bit of randomness, but a friend of mine wrote a play called "Pirates the Musical" and it is about Wyatt Earp going back in time to be a pirate. but instead he ends up in the fifties or something. But he still thinks he's in Pirate times. So its Wyatt Earp pretending to be a pirate in the fifties. It is a very funny play.

[J m HofMarN]

There are a lot of movies about the OK Corral, Gunfight I havnt seen but I assume its good. Tombstone is probably one of the best Westerns I've ever seen, along with High Plains Drifter, part of the Man With No Name trilogy which I believe includes TGtBatU. I also like Dances With Wolves and Open Range.

One Western to avoid though, and this is misleading, is Wyatt Earp. I got this shitfest confused with Tombstone once and I paid for it. Dearly. Do you want to see a movie where Wyatt Earp burns down his house, loses his wife, and mugs a man for offering to buy him dinner? The first hour of this movie would have been set ablaze by any sane editor because it has nothing to do with shooting at Clantons or Mclaueries. And the drama between the Earp brothers and the women is dragged the fuck out. Remember when the main fight was Earps Versus Clantons? Well in this film its more like Earp VS self and Earp VS chicks. It really is just gawdawful.

[Frank the Rabbit]

I'm looking forward to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It looks pretty good. And yes, the Man with no name trilogy includes:

A fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Leone actually has another trilogy, but most people don't know its meant to be seen that way. It represents three pivotal time periods in American History

Once Upon a Time in the West---wild west obviously
Fistful of Dynamite---havent seen it, but mexican war i believe
Once Upon a Time in America---and early 1900's bronx type of setting

Its interesting how much appeal the wild american west has to people from all around the world.