In Contention

Tag: Once Upon a Time in the West

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 30 — Reporting from Telluride and Venice

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk.

    In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, a one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change on route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

    Today we’re chatting from the Telluride and Venice festivals respectively. The former is just gearing up while the latter has bowed a number of films already (I’m sure you’ve caught Guy’s coverage). So Anne has more to say about the movies today than I do, but this is what’s on the docket…

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  • TELLURIDE: Claudia under the stars

    It’s one of the joys of Telluride, the spirit of communal film-going evident in the outdoor screen set up each and every year in the middle of town.  Tonight, I’m heading back to the room, quite drunk and full after a meal with colleagues, and suddenly: the unmistakable wail of a harmonica.

    There is no way I’m going to hear the sounds of Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West,” to me one of the two best films ever made, and not stop to soak it in.  And under the stars?  In the crisp Colorado air?  Sold.

    Unfortunately, it was the end of the film.  I had no idea that was the choice for tonight’s introductory screening (which dovetails with the Claudia Cardinale tribute scheduled during the fest), but I stopped, grabbed a spot on the grass with the rest of the viewers and watched Harmonica exact his revenge with a big smile on my face.

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  • Play it again

    Once Upon a Time in the WestAs a younger film lover, there are few thrills greater than seeing a title you’ve always loved through the medium of television and DVD (and, at the risk of dating myself, home video) given new life on a cinema screen, the way nature, or the filmmaker at least, originally intended.

    A big-screen reappraisal can heighten already ardent cinephile devotion to a certain title – watching Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” (admittedly in redux form) on a 20-foot screen in an empty theatre remains the single greatest cinemagoing experience of my life, while a pristine new cut of “Once Upon a Time in the West” at last year’s London Film Festival was one of my highlights of 2008.

    Alternatively, the closer scrutiny of a cinema viewing can heighten one’s appreciation for a less-adored title. I had always admired “Barry Lyndon” more than I actively loved it, until a gorgeous restored print at London’s BFI Southbank earlier this year awakened me to the intricate painterliness of its compositions and near-hypnotic stateliness of its pacing. Some films need the immersive quality of the theatrical experience to drive their aesthetic point home.

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  • London Film Festival: six to watch

    So the 52nd annual London Film Festival begins tomorrow, bringing with it a feast of cinema cherry-picked from the rest of the fests, with a couple of new titles thrown into the mix too.

    As promised, I will be keeping you updated with proceedings, starting with tomorrow’s world premiere of “Frost/Nixon.” I’m seeing the film bright and early in the morning, and will have a review for you before the day is out.

    As I’ve said before, this year’s London lineup is a little more low-key than usual, but that’s the kind of year it’s been for movies. All the major festivals have struggled a bit this year, but London at least has the advantage of filtering their best bits, meaning plenty of hot films will appear, from “Slumdog Millionaire” to “Che.”

    But those tickets are hard to come by, and when one moves beyond the big, sexy drawcards, the waters get a bit murkier. With almost 200 films (not counting shorts) screening from every corner of the globe, there’s a lot to explore. I’ve been immersed in festival press screenings for the last fortnight, and have still seen only a fraction of what the festival has to offer.

    In the interest of providing alternatives then, let me offer up a handful of lesser-hyped titles that are really worth catching. More detailed reviews will be provided as the festival progresses, but for now:

    1234 (dir. Giles Borg)

    Lots of buzz circling around this under-the-radar crowdpleaser. A sweet-natured character comedy (with an ace soundtrack) about a lovelorn geek struggling to start up an indie band in boho East London, “1234” had the most packed press screening of the festival so far, and is bound to be a Brit hit. Ditch “Nick and Norah,” and catch this instead.

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  • Leone at the Goldwyn

    I hate that I missed this, but did anyone happen to make the 40th anniversary resotration screening of “Once Upon a time in the West” last week? It screened at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater Friday night. I’d love to know what the print looked like, though news of the exhibition may have flown under everyone’s radar (I know it flew under mine).

  • David Mamet on the greatest actor ever

    David Mamet’s “Redbelt” is releasing soon, though I just realized I haven’t made it to any of the film’s screenings this past month. I love Mamet, even when he fails. But I’m not hearing good things on that film.

    Anyway, I came across an interesting piece at Film Stew this evening that cornered the esteemed playwright and filmmaker with that most difficult of queries: Who is the greatest actor ever?

    This is the sort of thing that could change with the wind, of course, and any given person is sure to bounce a number of names around his or her head when it comes down to it. In most cases, you might expect some rote answer. Who can’t steer clear of the Pacinos, the De Niros, the Brandos and the Nicholsons?

    I was happy, and not the least it surprised, to see Mamet hang it out there for a unique choice. His pick: Henry Fonda.

    I have to say, I can run with that. I sometimes forget that two Henry Fonda films rest easy in my top five films of all time (“12 Angry Men” and “Once Upon a Time in the West”). I’d buy a “Vote for Juror #8” shirt if they made one. His career spanned decades and genres with ease as he tackled portrayals of villains and heroes with equal aplomb.

    I’m always reminded of the classic Sergio Leone story when it comes to Fonda. Leone, of course, cast Fonda in “Once Upon a Time in the West” as the lawless Frank, a character (and film, in fat) from which Martin Scorsese would borrow greatly when conceiving “Gangs of New York.” Here was America’s golden god of the screen, Henry Fonda, the quintessential good guy — and he was about to portray a guy who’d shoot a child without blinking…and in the first reel!

    Fonda shows up to set looking like, well, a haggard, ruthless villain. Hadn’t shaved, de-glammed to the max, ready to tackle the antagonist for once. Leone was beside himself. “I didn’t hire you to hide behind a beard,” the director said (and of course, I’m paraphrasing). “I hired Henry Fonda and that’s what I want.” Leone was well aware of the impact a sculpted, shaved, blue-eyed angel like Fonda would make as he tore through the narrative in such a despicable role.

    And boy was he right:

    httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=WgKsMolvDLw

    Quite an inspired choice by Mr. Mamet. It’s a shame Fonda only walked away with a solitary competitive Oscar for one of his lesser (if still wonderful) portrayals. But ain’t it always the case?

    By the way, if you’ve never flipped through Mamet’s guide for actors, “True and False,” I encourage you to do so.