The music brought me to this film.
The fantastic theme song by Ennio Morricone is just perfect. I heard it played on Mark Kermode's film music show on Scala Radio and I thought I need to see this film, and I am so glad I did.
The "fishing scene" has one of the best opening scenes of any film I have seen. Henry Fonda playing it cool (as ever) watching Terence Hill clowning about with a fish, and with that music, sublime.
The story is decent as well. I liked the idea of a sharpshooter ghosting his idol in the hope he will go out in a blaze of glory because he deserves no less, and it was simple and fun to watch. The "antagonist" being over 100 men, the "Wild Bunch" who are galloping from scene to scene with a spoof of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, is bonkers and hilarious. That about sums up this film; it knows its being silly, but the fascinating thing is many elements follow staple Sergio Leone filmmaking. Close up of faces, ticking clocks, and dialogue that is (badly) dubbed are all here. When you think this film will be one thing, it about turns and becomes something else. It is an excellent mix of pathos and comedy.
Watching Terence Hill and Henry Fonda bounce off each other also helps, as both are easy on the eye, and you feel there is some chemistry between the two actors.
Not everything works. The fast-motion camera works as an excuse for fast movement, which looks daft. The hall of mirror scene was too long, and the storyline of Sullivan (Jean Martin) was underdeveloped. With that said, some of the comedy still works (there are a lot of Western in-jokes), and it is also great to see actors such as Mario Brega and R. G. Armstrong who make a welcome appearance in spaghetti westerns.
This film could not be remade today (if you watch it, you will know why). It is very much a film of its decade, but it has not lost any of its shine, especially if you like to see Westerns brought down a peg or two.
By the way, did I tell you the music is simply brilliant.
The fantastic theme song by Ennio Morricone is just perfect. I heard it played on Mark Kermode's film music show on Scala Radio and I thought I need to see this film, and I am so glad I did.
The "fishing scene" has one of the best opening scenes of any film I have seen. Henry Fonda playing it cool (as ever) watching Terence Hill clowning about with a fish, and with that music, sublime.
The story is decent as well. I liked the idea of a sharpshooter ghosting his idol in the hope he will go out in a blaze of glory because he deserves no less, and it was simple and fun to watch. The "antagonist" being over 100 men, the "Wild Bunch" who are galloping from scene to scene with a spoof of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, is bonkers and hilarious. That about sums up this film; it knows its being silly, but the fascinating thing is many elements follow staple Sergio Leone filmmaking. Close up of faces, ticking clocks, and dialogue that is (badly) dubbed are all here. When you think this film will be one thing, it about turns and becomes something else. It is an excellent mix of pathos and comedy.
Watching Terence Hill and Henry Fonda bounce off each other also helps, as both are easy on the eye, and you feel there is some chemistry between the two actors.
Not everything works. The fast-motion camera works as an excuse for fast movement, which looks daft. The hall of mirror scene was too long, and the storyline of Sullivan (Jean Martin) was underdeveloped. With that said, some of the comedy still works (there are a lot of Western in-jokes), and it is also great to see actors such as Mario Brega and R. G. Armstrong who make a welcome appearance in spaghetti westerns.
This film could not be remade today (if you watch it, you will know why). It is very much a film of its decade, but it has not lost any of its shine, especially if you like to see Westerns brought down a peg or two.
By the way, did I tell you the music is simply brilliant.