Movie screening
An intricated story of loyalty and betrayal, love and hate, mercy and revenge, unfolds in a forlorn small village in the wildest West. Many critics consider Once Upon a Time in the West Leone’s greatest cinematic achievement. It sealed his worldwide success in the American Western genre, making him a link to the legacy of John Ford’s Westerns. The movie was unfortunately mutilated by Paramount Pictures and was a major flop at the US box office. We will be screening Sergio Leone’s original uncut version of this monumental epic. The picture itself is as breathtaking as John Ford’s Monument Valley locations of his Westerns and also quite ambitious having a stellar cast. The whole story revolves around the brutal murder of the McBain family. Henry Fonda plays the most evil and darkest character of his long career and does a fine job as Frank, the coldblooded psychopath who shows no pity when he kills all of the McBains. Jason Robards is the good guy who is falsely accused of the murder. Charles Bronson is perfect in the role of the brooding harmonica player, whose actions are determined by the obsessive dream of revenge against the guy who back in time savagely tortured and then murdered his brother. Claudia Cardinale is a sultry widow, also seething revenge.
The movie can boast sweeping views of the most archetypical Western landscapes, which may recall the style of War and Peace by the Russian director Sergei Bondarchuk, whom Leone greatly admired.
The haunting music score is by Ennio Morricone.
Italy- 1969, color, 165 min.
Directed by Sergio Leone
Film in English
TRAILER (via Youtube)
Cineforum movie series is presented in collaboration with Italians in DC
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30PM AND CLOSE PROMPTLY AT 7:00PM
RSVP
Please click on “Make a Reservation” by August 7, 2013 at 2 PM
The Reservation System will allow you to register until we reach
capacity or by the event’s date and time above (whichever comes
first.)
PLEASE NOTE: RESERVATION IS REQUIRED FOR OUR EVENTS FOR SECURITY REASONS. A RESERVATION IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF A SEAT. OUR VENUE HAS LIMITED SEATING AND WE WILL ACCOMODATE GUESTS ON A FIRST-COME FIRST-SERVED BASIS. GUESTS WITHOUT SEATS ARE WELCOME TO STAND IF THEY LIKE.
PHOTO ID REQUIRED
LOCATION
Embassy of Italy
3000 Whitehaven Street NW
Washington, DC 20008
THE DIRECTOR
Sergio Leone (1929-1989) was born in a family that had close ties to cinema, both through his father, prolific director Roberto Roberti (aka Vincenzo Leone), and his mother, the actress Bice Valerian. Leone started working in movies at a young age, and by the time he was in his late teens he was already an assistant director. By the late 1950s he started writing screenplays, and his early movies followed the trend of the time, the sword and sandal action film, like The Last Days of Pompeii (1959) and The Colossus of Rhodes (1961). It is possible to see here at work some of the trademarks of Leone’s cinema, such as the smart use of the widescreen, the relish in hyperbolic, unrealistic violence and the pleasure of unravelling twisted and twirling plots. His break from the “peplum” genre took place in 1964. A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari) was a blatant remake of Akira Kurosawa’a Yojimbo (1961). The then young and unknown Clint Eastwood was catapulted into Hollywood firmament and the Spaghetti Western were born. Soon after, Leone directed at a higher budget For a Few Dollars More (Per qualche dollaro in più), 1965 and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il brutto, il buono e il cattivo), 1966, both raking an even greater success. In 1971 he directed Duck, You Sucker (Giù la testa) and in 1972 he turned down reluctantly offers to direct The Godfather. His greatest and most ambitious movie, and in a certain way his will, was Once upon a time in America (C’era una volta in America), in 1984, a huge box office success both in Italy and the USA. Leone died suddenly in 1989, while working at full speed at the project of a film on the siege of Leningrad during World War II.
Sergio Leone’s career is closely linked to one of the greatest soundtrack composers of all times, Ennio Morricone.
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