My Name Is Nobody
This spaghetti western have lingered in my collection since my student days, but I never did come around to actually watch it - until now. As a non-Sergio Leone spaghetti western I was curios to see wether this odd (yet legendary) genre had something more to offer than him. The added empashis on comedy with a spoofy attitude towards both "the man with no name"- character (Terence Hill's Nobody) and a Morricone-soundtrack lifting inspiration from earlier glories does not sit well with me. I felt all the way through this movie that the idea and execution of the movie was well intended and had a lot of potential, but it ultimately falls flat due to a confusing and sketchy plot which fails to hold interest and some ill advised scenes, one involving a urinal and lots of time and another involving a bunch of men being massacred at horseback with no way of defending themselves by our noble hero. On the upside - the movie does star Terence Hill and Henry Fonda who both have a lot of fun with their roles. There are also some nice scenes with trick photography to showcase excellent gunmanship. Overall I admit to have enjoyed parts of it and am happy to have seen it. I give it six points out of ten. A movie that should have been better, but is OK.
Johnny Guitar
The 1950s have been called the golden age of the western genre. 30 % of all the movies on this list is from that decade. After the slight disappointment that was Shane I did not expect much from this 1954 flick with the odd sounding name. What I found was another novel adaptation - and this one, though simply plotted, had a lot of depth and complexity to it. The psychologial depth of the characters and their relations is stunning, the actors all do good jobs getting that through even though I found Sterling Hayden's performance a bit stiff. Joan Crawford's unusual performance needed some time to warm up to, but she finally turned me around towards the end as being quite brilliant and a perfect match to the obsessive (and best) performance by Mercedes McCambridge. The directing by Nicholas Ray is also superb. He builds up his scenes with subtle touches like symbolism, music and careful pacing. After the end of Peggy Lee's somber curtain call I found myself liking this movie a lot. I give it eight points out of ten. An intelligent western that plays out like a character ensemble study. Recommended.
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Zeltaebar
My Name Is NobodyThis spaghetti western have lingered in my collection since my student days, but I never did come around to actually watch it - until now. As a non-Sergio Leone spaghetti western I was curios to see wether this odd (yet legendary) genre had something more to offer than him. The added empashis on comedy with a spoofy attitude towards both "the man with no name"- character (Terence Hill's Nobody) and a Morricone-soundtrack lifting inspiration from earlier glories does not sit well with me. I felt all the way through this movie that the idea and execution of the movie was well intended and had a lot of potential, but it ultimately falls flat due to a confusing and sketchy plot which fails to hold interest and some ill advised scenes, one involving a urinal and lots of time and another involving a bunch of men being massacred at horseback with no way of defending themselves by our noble hero. On the upside - the movie does star Terence Hill and Henry Fonda who both have a lot of fun with their roles. There are also some nice scenes with trick photography to showcase excellent gunmanship. Overall I admit to have enjoyed parts of it and am happy to have seen it. I give it six points out of ten. A movie that should have been better, but is OK.
Zeltaebar
Johnny GuitarThe 1950s have been called the golden age of the western genre. 30 % of all the movies on this list is from that decade. After the slight disappointment that was Shane I did not expect much from this 1954 flick with the odd sounding name. What I found was another novel adaptation - and this one, though simply plotted, had a lot of depth and complexity to it. The psychologial depth of the characters and their relations is stunning, the actors all do good jobs getting that through even though I found Sterling Hayden's performance a bit stiff. Joan Crawford's unusual performance needed some time to warm up to, but she finally turned me around towards the end as being quite brilliant and a perfect match to the obsessive (and best) performance by Mercedes McCambridge. The directing by Nicholas Ray is also superb. He builds up his scenes with subtle touches like symbolism, music and careful pacing. After the end of Peggy Lee's somber curtain call I found myself liking this movie a lot. I give it eight points out of ten. An intelligent western that plays out like a character ensemble study. Recommended.