8mm Forum: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 400' MARKETING DIGEST

»	8mm Forum » 8mm Print Reviews » ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 400' MARKETING DIGEST (Page 1)

UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2

Author

Topic: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 400' MARKETING DIGEST

Gerald Santana
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1060
From: Cottage Grove OR
Registered: Dec 2010

posted June 16, 2011 05:07 PM

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST - MARKETING FILM/SUPER 8/COLOR/SOUND/330 FT.

As a collector, I am always looking for the "next" film to add to our regular screenings. The thrills and disappointment of winning and losing an auction from ebay, don't stop there. Once the arrival of the film comes in, at sunset...it's a showdown. Needless to say we were very excited to win this film, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite digests. Marketing released 'Once Upon a Time in the West' in 3 x 400' reels, this 400' selected scene edition and, a 200' selected scene edition was available as well.

Many have declared this film among their favorites; George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino. Sergio Leone's masterpiece was widely panned by critics on it's release in the United States, largely due to it's re-editing and shorting by Paramount. The original film features many subplots while, the star of the film Claudia Cardinale opens the digest, most of the scenes, are based around the characters played by Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Jason Robards.

Bernardo Bertolucci, a film critic and intellectual, wrote the story and insisted the central character in the film appear as a woman. This Marketing Films release does a good job of putting together scenes that tell the story rather quickly, I wonder how critics would view this release, it is as long as the minutes that were cut from Paramounts version shown in theaters. The digest stays with you and haunts you, the pacing of the film was deliberate with long moments of silence followed by sudden eruptions of action or gunfire. The screenwriters watched and studied films like 'The Westerner' and 'The Searchers' meanwhile, this film was largely shot in Spain.

The pacing and close-ups are a trademark for Leone, in my digest for this film, there are nice colors allowing you to study the actors faces. While the rest of the film is fading, typical of a Marketing release, overall I'm surprised that there is color in the skin and sky. The opening Marketing Films logo suggest deep and rich colors, however the print itself is a little soft in some areas, sharper in others.

Fonda refused the role, later accepting he showed up to the set with brown contacts, Leone directed him to take them off at once. Prior to this film, Fonda was typecast for his roles as a 'good-guy', audiences were shocked and disturbed to see him as an unforgiving villain. There are many beautiful moments in this digest, accentuated in the cinematography using extreme close-ups of the characters faces.

Clint Eastwood was made an international star by Leone. He was Leone's first choice to play the mysterious character "Harmonica", but the part was given to Charles Bronson. It would be good to point out that this 400' print may not satisfy the fan who wishes to hear a film full of dialogue, there is very little and what is there, is hard to decipher sometimes. You need to see the film two or three times to get all of the lines, but when you do hear them, the digest tells the story in a condensed way...most of it is there.

There is a deep secret at the heart of this film, most of the mythology for this particular western was culled from previous movies. Leone only made 12 films, most of them westerns. 'Once Upon a Time in the West' has a superb musical score by Ennio Morricone, you will never forget it. This digest has a great artistic feel - if it misses on some values that collectors enjoy about Super 8, what ever they are. It's no secret we all want to see great color and hear booming sound, a well preserved copy of this film will deliver the goods, I was not disappointed.

The characters in this film are damaged, their pasts come back to haunt them in more ways than one. Life hangs by a hair trigger and the right moment for vengeance...all for the sake of progress. The film was a box office smash in Europe before word got out that it was hacked to pieces by Paramount in the U.S.. In it's original form, Once Upon a Time in the West is largely hailed as the greatest Western, ever. And in my opinion, one of the best selected scene digests available from Marketing, who redeemed the theatrical release, giving it a wider audience using an even shorter time frame to tell such a complicated story.

This review is dedicated in the memory of John Black. I wish I could have sent the cover of the box sooner - Alas, here it is for future collectors who may need it.

MORE SCREEN-SHOTS HERE.

--------------------
http://lostandoutofprintfilms.blogspot.com/