director of Sergio Leone’s "Once Upon a Time in the West", can be said to have a lofty status today, and the admiration of him from fans around the world is beyond words. As everyone knows, Leone’s original fortune was just the willingness to subvert and break through the conventions of Western films with his own works. By analogy, he can be described as Quentin Tarantino in the 1960s. In the United States in the 1960s, major events such as the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the sexual liberation movement continued one after another. In theaters, traditional Western films with increasingly rigid models no longer appeal to audiences. The rookie actor Clint Eastwood teamed up to create a series of unconventional Italian westerns. In these works, Leone blurs the boundary between good and evil, and focuses on creating cool anti-hero symbols, and magnifies the elements of violence on the screen, directly stimulating the audience's senses. These elements are mixed with the structure of traditional Western films, which gave the audience a great visual impact. They were followed by many latecomers and changed the development direction of Western films in the United States. Leone also became the godfather of anti-thief and became many fans. Idol. However, Leone was tired of his reputation. He was tired of the over-American way of thinking in the previous work, and realized that he had to make a breakthrough. His next plan is to shoot a gangster film "Once Upon a Time in America", but the filmmaker still values the low-cost and high-grossing potential of his Italian western film, so after negotiations, Leonne agreed to make the final film for the filmmaker. A western movie-"Once Upon a Time in the West". The cost of "Once Upon a Time in the West" was US$3 million, which is more than the combined cost of the first five works by Leon, and Leonne’s ambition is to create an unprecedented Western movie.
Next, I will talk about this movie from several angles.
A Three men and a woman
The film has the longest title sequence in film history. This is precisely to highlight the tense atmosphere of the Lone Ranger played by Charles Bronson. The Lone Ranger is playing the harmonica and he hears the sound before seeing him. The way of appearance highlights the mystery of this role. At first glance, this character is somewhat similar to the Golden Retriever in the Golden Trilogy. It is also less talkative, and the same marksmanship is accurate, but as the plot develops, you will find that the character of this character is much darker because of him. The purpose of coming to this town is not to pan for gold, but to get revenge, and the object is Frank.
The next character to appear is Frank, played by Henry Fonda. In order to show his viciousness, Lionel asked Frank to create a massacre as soon as he appeared. This method of character shaping is somewhat similar to the shaping of angel eyes in "Good, Evil and Ugly", except that Frank is more vicious than angel eyes. In order to destroy the evidence, he will kill an innocent boy. This segment can not help but make the audience shudder.
The appearance of the other cowboy, Cheyenne, was somewhat dark and humorous. He was still unseen and heard the sound first, except that the sound of the harmonica became messy horseshoes and unbridled gunfire. , And Xia Yan's dark complexion, thick beard, and the licentiousness revealed between his gestures and gestures were very much like the green forest hero in "Water Margin", and the fetters on his wrists confirmed this. In terms of skill, Xia Yan is by no means inferior to the first two cowboys. The shootout on the train highlights his resourcefulness; but in terms of character, Xia Yan seems a little straightforward, which can be used on the bridge where he was betrayed by the lone ranger. Found in paragraph.
Compared with the appearance of the three men, the appearance of Gil, played by Cotillard Katina, is much more solemn. The reason is that before she appeared, the audience had already witnessed the tragic experience of her husband's family. When the scene switched to her When the time came, we not only sympathized with this woman who had become a widow, but were afraid that she could not bear such a heavy burden. The subsequent plots proved that the audience was just worrying about it. Jill was not knocked down by this accident, and she bravely carried the legacy left by her deceased husband with a weak body. Her tenacity was also respected by the three men, so the role of Jill became an emotional center in the movie. point.
The role setting of the three men makes people faintly smell the taste of "Good, Evil and Ugly", but "Once Upon a Time in the West" is not another "Good, Evil and Ugly", and the difference between these is not just an extra woman. but because in addition to scores between the Lone Ranger and Frank compete and killing among them are for -
B a railroad
railway has been an indispensable factor among Westerns, gangster film just can not do without, like sirens , Hollywood’s classic westerns will not lack the sound of train whistle. However, in most westerns, the railroad is just a tool for carrying gunmen, which is obviously not Leone’s intention. In "Once Upon a Time in the West", the railway era is a grand historical background, and all behaviors that emphasize roles cannot be separated from the historical stage.
The United States in "Once Upon a Time in the West" is in a period of vigorous development of railways. The construction of railways stretches from the east coast of the mainland to the west. When this railway is about to arrive but has not yet arrived, it is the moment when speculators bet on the future. McBain saw the development potential of Sweetwater Town, bought this barren land that no one dared to buy, and worked hard to develop it, dreaming of building it into a commercial town one day, and it was his dream. Brought a murderous disaster.
The railroad tycoon is another man full of dreams. His dream is to build a railroad across the continental United States so that in his lifetime he can see the long-awaited Pacific Ocean. He also saw the future value of Tianshui Town, and wanted to use political skills to approve it as his own. He was physically disabled, and he could only realize the plan with his assistant Frank. But Fran is a cowboy who speaks with a gun. He killed the McBain family three times, which intensified the contradiction between the two. Frank despised the weakness of the railroad tycoon, and the train tycoon knew that a helper like Frank was too ambitious and reckless, and sooner or later would ruin his career, so the final conflict between the two was inevitable.
On the other side, it was Jill who was fighting with Frank Ming. Jill knew that Frank would not let her go. In order to protect herself, she did not hesitate to pay the price of her body, and Frank was gradually overwhelmed by Jill's charm. But Jill knew well that only by keeping this town could she comfort McBain's undead.
C The end of an era
Every scene in "Once Upon a Time" has a strong sense of history, which is rare in Leon's previous work (Although the cruel Civil War is also mentioned in "Good, Evil and Ugly", it is different from this film. The comparison can only be regarded as scratching each other). Leone’s arrangement of the story in the period when the railway age is about to come to the west is an obvious symbol-the end of one era and the beginning of another. The wheel of time always has to move forward, but there are always some people who cannot adapt to the new life, such as Cheyenne, Frank, and Lone Ranger. Those who have seen the movie will surely not forget the conversation between Frank and the Lone Ranger:
> Lone Ranger: You finally found out that you are not a businessman?
> Frank: Just a man.
> Lone Ranger: An ancient nation.
Time seems to stand still, grudges are no longer important at this moment, because they are a kind of people in the final analysis. They belong to the wild west, to the boundless desert, but at this moment, the west does not belong to them anymore. The west belongs to a new generation of businessmen, and belongs to the buildings that will rise from the ground. When cowboys like them stand on tall buildings, will they get used to more and more complex human nature? Will you tolerate people becoming so small in the west? The answer is obviously no. Kieslowski said that the cause of death is often the inability to continue to live. The same is true for the cowboys. They can't choose to go on, they can only choose to stay in the present, and the present is the moment when death comes.
Three men eventually died two. Frank was killed in a duel with the Lone Ranger; Cheyenne was shot by the train tycoon and died next to the Lone Ranger. The only lone ranger who was not dead was also told by Xia Yan, who rejected Jill's love, left the town, and continued to wander, waiting for the call of death. Their deaths represent the end of an era and the disappearance of the west in the traditional sense.
In contrast to the three men, Jill settled down in Tianshui Town. He is different from the cowboys. On the one hand, she hopes to take root here, because after a bloody storm, Tianshui Town finally returned to her hands. She wants to build this place into a big town to realize the unfinished life of her dead husband. Dream; on the other hand, the new generation of the West also needs the nurturing and care of a mother, and she is a woman who meets the conditions. The end of the film echoes Jill’s appearance: Tianshui Town ushered in the first train, and Jill delivered water to the railway workers as Xia Yan said. The workers surrounded her, and the camera gradually zoomed out and became a wide-angle lens again. . Compared with the previous sadness, Leonne wants to express more hope in the ending: With a tenacious mother like Jill, even if the West has passed away, the West Spirit will not succeed.
D Morricone soundtrack in the
reason why I did not mention the film's soundtrack in the above, because Morricone wrote the music was so remarkable, though not profound musical skills I still do not feel the music alone Comment , Is the blasphemy against the master.
Morricone arranged almost all the soundtracks for Leon's films. "Once Upon a Time in the West" is a western epic film with a heavy texture. The rhythm is much slower than that of Leonnet's previous westerns. Morricone's soundtrack is grand and sad, and complements the rhythm of the film. Although Morricone's soundtrack is not a masterpiece even if it is separated from the film, the role of music in the film is even more important. One of its functions is to promote the narrative of the film. Each appearance of the Lone Ranger is accompanied by the sound of the harmonica. Although what he plays is only a repetitive melody of two ends, these melody consists of only a few notes, but it is precisely these few notes that Morricone Inside, he portrayed the mystery, dark personality and sadness of his heart in a very three-dimensional way. Frank’s theme uses electric guitars and string bands to play. It has some western charm, but it is still dark and evil. The reason is Frank’s murder of women and children. The harmonica also appears in this theme, implying that Frank is the revenge of the lone ranger. Object.
Another function of the soundtrack is to shape the character of the characters. In addition to the evil of Frank and the mystery of the Lone Ranger mentioned above, there is also an outstanding character theme, which is Cheyenne's theme. The andante-like rhythm of this music symbolizes that Cheyenne is a gangster in the west who is always in a wandering state, and the melody is somewhat playful in the gloom, which is in line with Cheyenne's personality characteristics. It is only in this theme that the audience will vaguely recall the anti-hero theme in "Good, Evil and Ugly".
The third role of the soundtrack is to set off the atmosphere of the movie, which is brought to the extreme in the three scenes. One is the scene when Jill arrives at the station. The mandolin's solo highlights Jill's melancholy feeling that he can't wait for his family. After Jill confirmed that no one came to pick him up, it was worth taking a carriage to Tianshui Town alone. With the bleak soprano, the famous wide-angle lift lens allows us to look across the waiting station and swept across the 100,000-mile western scenery of wild sand. At this time, the introduction of orchestral music made this lens full of epic charm. The second part is the duel between the Lone Ranger and Frank. The recurring Frank theme and the harmonica talk are intertwined with each other. With the positioning of the two and the perfect composition, the duel is as beautiful as a dance of death. The third place is at the end of the first train coming to Tianshui Town, and the reappearance of orchestral music and soprano puts a grand end to this heavy movie.
Originally published in 2006 "Midnight Field"
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