Candy manufacturer Willy Wonka once said, "The suspense is terrible. I hope it'll last." Sergio Leone's style could be described this way. Gun fights are naturally un-cinematic - they're over in a second or two. So what Leone does is extend the silence before the fight, drawing out the tension like a blade and then drawing it out some more.
Ennio Morricone's score is perfect - it's opera meets comic book. He doesn't just write a great score, he creates music with a sound unlike everything else that had come before. It's an orchestra, it's hyena yells, anvil clanks, gutteral yelps and electric guitar. It's fantastic and it's totally unique.
I liked this movie the first time I saw it but at 3 hours, I didn't like it enough to want to watch it again. But it's infectious - the whole style gets in the bloodstream. It's extreme closeups of fat, sweaty faces, wide panoramas, hands inching towards guns... and of course the music.
8/10.
