Post by klep on Oct 14, 2019 7:09:00 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/14: Once Upon a Time in the West
WESTERN WEEK!
Modern life moves very fast. Between television, radio, the internet, and the phones we carry around with us information spreads like wildfire and the demand for a response comes just as quickly. There's little time to just watch life go by, or take it at a slower pace.
But in the fabled Wild West that wasn't the case. The old American West in the initial days of its taming was little but miles and miles of miles and miles. The telegraph might carry important news, but you'd have to go into town to hear it. You might go days without hearing any more than the word from your closest neighbor about how his farm is going. You might pass an entire afternoon just sitting on your porch watching the scenery, and consider it a fairly action-packed day if a coyote scooted across the yard. More than anything else the passage of time could be marked by the inexorable progress of the rail tracks making their way to the Pacific.
Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West tries to capture that languid approach to life. A story of three people coming together to seek revenge against a man who has wronged all three, Leone takes a tale that could have easily been told in two hours and stretches it out to nearly three.
By doing so he makes it possible for us to really feel a part of this world. We get to experience what it's like to wait for the train at an isolated rail station. We're shown what a great distance it can be from town to your homestead, and how isolated that can make you feel. Leone lets scenes drag on, because this is a time and place where things move slowly, and people make use of the time to do things right.
It gives the film a languid pace that's appropriate for the time and the mood that Leone is trying to create, but it also gives the audience a chance to really soak in the world he's recreated for the film. Finally given the budget he hadn't really had before, Leone presents us with elaborate sets that authentically recreate the Old West. Rail platforms made of tinder, low-ceilinged saloons and homes with awkward structural supports, and towns that seem to rise out of the dust.
The title Once Upon a Time in the West implies something of a fairy tale, and you wouldn't be far wrong to make that assumption. There's base villains, charming rogues, a damsel in distress, and the deed turns into a pumpkin when the railroad arrives if the station isn't built. But what really makes the film is its atmosphere. This isn't just any fairy tale, it's a fairy tale in the West.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/21: The Godfather Part II
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID WEEK!
For Always the Bridesmaid Week we're finally getting to one of the greatest movies of all time in Francis Ford Coppola's sequel to another of the greatest movies of all time. Join us next week as we get into the continuation of his mafia epic in The Godfather Part II, available for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/15: The Dark Knight
The podcast crew tackles this century's two primary portrayals of The Joker in its next pairing, starting with Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance in The Dark Knight. Come join us for our discussion on Wednesday! The Dark Knight is available for rent in the usual places.
WESTERN WEEK!
Modern life moves very fast. Between television, radio, the internet, and the phones we carry around with us information spreads like wildfire and the demand for a response comes just as quickly. There's little time to just watch life go by, or take it at a slower pace.
But in the fabled Wild West that wasn't the case. The old American West in the initial days of its taming was little but miles and miles of miles and miles. The telegraph might carry important news, but you'd have to go into town to hear it. You might go days without hearing any more than the word from your closest neighbor about how his farm is going. You might pass an entire afternoon just sitting on your porch watching the scenery, and consider it a fairly action-packed day if a coyote scooted across the yard. More than anything else the passage of time could be marked by the inexorable progress of the rail tracks making their way to the Pacific.
Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West tries to capture that languid approach to life. A story of three people coming together to seek revenge against a man who has wronged all three, Leone takes a tale that could have easily been told in two hours and stretches it out to nearly three.
By doing so he makes it possible for us to really feel a part of this world. We get to experience what it's like to wait for the train at an isolated rail station. We're shown what a great distance it can be from town to your homestead, and how isolated that can make you feel. Leone lets scenes drag on, because this is a time and place where things move slowly, and people make use of the time to do things right.
It gives the film a languid pace that's appropriate for the time and the mood that Leone is trying to create, but it also gives the audience a chance to really soak in the world he's recreated for the film. Finally given the budget he hadn't really had before, Leone presents us with elaborate sets that authentically recreate the Old West. Rail platforms made of tinder, low-ceilinged saloons and homes with awkward structural supports, and towns that seem to rise out of the dust.
The title Once Upon a Time in the West implies something of a fairy tale, and you wouldn't be far wrong to make that assumption. There's base villains, charming rogues, a damsel in distress, and the deed turns into a pumpkin when the railroad arrives if the station isn't built. But what really makes the film is its atmosphere. This isn't just any fairy tale, it's a fairy tale in the West.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/21: The Godfather Part II
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID WEEK!
For Always the Bridesmaid Week we're finally getting to one of the greatest movies of all time in Francis Ford Coppola's sequel to another of the greatest movies of all time. Join us next week as we get into the continuation of his mafia epic in The Godfather Part II, available for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/15: The Dark Knight
The podcast crew tackles this century's two primary portrayals of The Joker in its next pairing, starting with Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance in The Dark Knight. Come join us for our discussion on Wednesday! The Dark Knight is available for rent in the usual places.