I enjoyed this one for the most part. It was as convoluted as any spy
novel I've read, and there are still some questions in my mind about
why certain things were done by certain characters. Parts of it were
like reading a travel guide. Then there was a 10-page car chase that
lost me about half-way through it.
There are things about the Joe Gunther character that I really don't
care for. It would be difficult to pinpoint or explain, however. The
personas that are created for drama and fiction are curious in
themselves. Why do certain actors have a screen persona that has a
wide appeal while others do not? And, of course, the appeal of any is
hardly universal. A male character who is rather serious, a bit
melancholy, soft-spoken with few words, and very individual is an
interesting type - many such male characters have carried leading
roles on screen. Some of those same characteristics can be appealing
in a strong female role also. Supporting roles can have quite a wide
variety, and may be every bit as important to a story as leading
characters. (I know I'm just rambling - stating the obvious.)
It has occurred to me that Sergio Leone's characters are very
artistically contrived caricatures. According to IMDB, Once Upon A
Time In The West was a flop at the boxoffice, but I think it is a
masterwork of characterization. Charles Bronson was used in the most
productive way I have ever seen, supported, certainly, by Jason
Robards and others. Bronson was soft-spoken with very few spoken
lines - the "strong silent type" as they say. Other pictures where
Bronson has more spoken dialog strike me as rather poorly done. Clint
Eastwood has never been as interesting to me as in Leone's pictures
(especially in his self-directed films - blah!). Eastwood was at his
best in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, I thought, but Eli Wallach
made the dramatization what it was. As important to Leone's films as
any other part was Ennio Morricone's very original music, which made
them almost as superior quality of art as opera.
Well, I guess I've shown myself to be an opinionated blowhard. Enough
is enough.
--
Howard Duck
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