Once upon a time in the west (1968) is a classic in the history of cinema, and director Seljo Leon went one step further and completed the farewell to western genre films on the basis of his "Dart Trilogy".
"Once Upon a Time in the West" tells a story of revenge in the era of the development of the American West, in which the love and hate of many forces are entangled. With a sense of compassion, the director pays attention to the various characters in the film who are wrapped in the torrent of the times.
Just like "a thousand people have a thousand Hamlets", after watching "Once Upon a Time in the West", everyone has their own western feelings. This article will briefly analyze "Once Upon a Time in the West" from the three aspects of the film's composition, dialogue and soundtrack, in order to throw bricks and stones.
The basic unit of film is the lens, and the lens is composed of a frame of rapid motion. How to show the surrounding environment through composition, set off the character of the character and promote the development of the plot has become the key problem that the film needs to solve.
"Once Upon a Time in the West" can be said to be a textbook film, leaving us a valuable wealth in terms of film composition.
1. Show your surroundings
Unlike art forms such as novels, films do not need to be too much narration, and only a few shots can present many of the content that the director needs to express to the audience.
This design uses an "s-shaped composition" to create an infinitely extended sense of rhythm, giving people a beautiful and harmonious feeling.
In the endless wilderness of the west, hostess Gill sits in a wooden-wheeled carriage and sails into the distant unknown. A simple set of shots that shows the magnificent characteristics of the west is undoubtedly different from the east that represents the civilization of civilization.
The West has always been a paradise for adventurers, and every adventurer wants to change their lives here. Mike Bain is a speculator and pioneer who came to this land, and Jill also has a dream and hopes to start a new life in this vast world.
Symmetry is the most acceptable form of composition in human cognitive psychology, giving people a stable and harmonious sense of beauty.
This picture uses the most basic "symmetrical composition" to fully show the construction scene of Sweetwater Town, which was originally deserted and about to become a popular town.
2. Foil the character
There are four main characters in the film, three men and one woman. In order to show the personality of the characters, the film uses a large number of close-up shots to show the personality characteristics of different characters through close-ups of facial expressions.
The mysterious harmonica guest who came for revenge had a frosty face, his eyes were melancholy and deep, his heart was bottomless, and he exuded the breath of death.
Frank is ferocious, killing even in the face of children without blinking, and he shows a condescending contempt for all weak beings.
Shane is fierce and cunning, with wisdom in his eyes, and firmly carries out what he has decided, even at the cost of his life.
After Becoming a "newlywed widow", Jill maneuvered among several forces such as Frank, Shane and Harmonica, with trepidation and surprise in her eyes, but the whole person was extremely determined, and it was her life resilience that made her the final winner.
3. Promote the development of the plot
As a Western, it is naturally inseparable from gun battles and duels. When the harmonica player meets Frank at the train station, the film adopts the classic "horizontal composition" and "triangular composition".
The horizontal composition creates a sense of calm, stability, and comfort, with the rails in the picture as the horizontal line, which is about one-third of the entire picture.
The three killers and the mysterious harmonica player form a distinct triangle, first, the three killers are an obvious inverted triangle; second, any two killers can form a triangle with the Avenger; third, the connection between the killer's small leader and the Avenger can divide the picture equally.
The super-stable composition is the final calm before the fierce gunfight, and after the rapid cut-out gunfight, the stable composition is broken and the three killers are killed.
Similarly, in the classic duel scene at the end, the film still uses a mixture of parallel composition and triangular composition, making the calm before the duel appear choppy.
Since the popularity of sound movies, movies have been inseparable from dialogue. Just as classic novels cannot be separated from the beauty of words, the dialogue of classic movies must also be refined. The film dialogue of "Once Upon a Time in the West" is very flavorful and worth savoring.
1. Concise and meaningful
Director Seljo Leon is very stingy with the use of language, he can not let people talk without letting people talk, and he can say less and say less.
At the beginning of the movie, the three killers come to the train station, and in the longest opening in the history of the film (as long as ten minutes), only the conductor does not know the current affairs and nags for two sentences, and the others do not have a single dialogue. In the bored waiting of the killer, there is only the creaking windmill sound, the regular and mechanical click of the telegraph machine, the buzzing of flies, the click of dripping water... These became a kind of silent dialogue in the director's mind, fully setting off the tension before the gun battle.
It is this high standard of strict requirements, and the dialogue of the film is very worth reading carefully. Let's take a few examples:
Scene 1: Harmonica players meet three killers at a train station
Harmonica: Frank? Killer: Frank sent us. Harmonica: Did you bring me horses? Killer: Sorry, we each brought only one horse. Harmonica: You brought two more horses.
After two simple back and forths, the harmonica player's intentions are fully revealed, and his target is only one person- Frank. He was so confident in himself that no one could stop him until he met Frank.
In addition, it also left a huge suspense for the audience: Who is Frank? What exactly is the grudge between the harmonica and Frank?
Scenario 2: Morton chats with Frank
MORTON: You'll never be as successful as I am. FRANK: Why? MORTON: Because there are many things you will never understand. Frank, there are many kinds of weapons in the world, and the only thing that can calm the storm is it (the dollar).
This dialogue between Morton and Frank is very representative: Morton and Frank are not essentially the same kind of people, Morton is a typical businessman, and Frank is a typical Western cowboy.
Morton pursues new business values and ways of thinking, while Frank pursues the old cowboy spirit and code of conduct, which are the two most fundamental forces in the changing times.
Scene 3: Frank goes to see the harmonica player
Harmonica: So you find yourself not a businessman at all? FRANK: Just one person. Harmonica: An ancient race.
In fact, the "ancient race" in harmonica dialect is the declining western cowboys, who are squeezed by the mechanical civilization represented by trains, and their living space is becoming increasingly narrow, and they are becoming more and more unable to adapt to the ever-changing new era. Because of this, Frank believes that everything has nothing to do with them, and that it is a fair duel not for money, not for land, not for women. They have to use their own way to perfect the curtain before the end of the old era.
2. Highlight the character and foil the character
In addition to facial close-ups and behavioral actions, the dialogue of the characters is also an important means of expressing the characters' personalities.
Scene 1: Frank meets the harmonica for the first time
FRANK: You're the guy who asked me out. Harmonica: You're the guy who didn't go to the appointment. FRANK: What do you want? Who are you? Harmonica guest: Dave Jenkins. FRANK: Dave Jenkins is long dead. Harmonica player: Card Benson. FRANK: Who are you? Benson was also dead. Harmonica: Frank, you should know better than anyone that you killed them. FRANK: Who are you? Who are you?
The conversation at the first meeting reveals Frank's thief-heartedness. Perhaps he had done too much evil before, he was afraid of his former enemies to seek revenge, and when he could not distinguish who the person in front of him really was, his heart was full of fear and uneasiness. Although the harmonica player was detained, he had a good look of leisure and death, which also showed the firmness of revenge and the righteousness of the heart.
Scenario 2: Shane and Jill chat
Shane: You should be better off. Jill: The last man who said that to me was buried outside. Shane: Jill, you know what? You remind me of my mother. She was the most famous prostitute in Alameda and the best woman in the world.
This dialogue shows the gentle side of Shane, a gangster, who sympathizes with the weak people such as women and children. And that magical intuition pointed out Gill's origins (once a prostitute) and predicted that Gill would become the hostess of this new land, and the best woman to bring hope.
Scene 3: The harmonica player parts
Harmonica: It's going to be a beautiful town – Sweetwater. Gil: I hope you'll come back in the future. Harmonica: One day.
For revenge, it's time to go when things are over. The harmonica player refused Jill's invitation and retention, and he continued to travel like a prodigal son. Jill's thanks and expectations for the harmonica guest are also vividly reflected in this profound sentence.
Morricone is Italy's most prolific and accomplished composer, along with Nino Rota, the "Leader of European Cinema Music" and the recipient of the Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award.
Undoubtedly, Morricone's soundtrack is one of the important reasons why "Once Upon a Time in the West" has become a classic. "The Theme of the Past" is Morricone's masterpiece and the pinnacle of world cinematic music.
Previously, the traditional Hollywood Western genre films have been very stylized, and the theme of "punishing evil and promoting good" and the values of "black and white" are also clear in musical performance. As a subversive and breakthrough work, "Once Upon a Time in the West" has jumped out of the previous generations in terms of soundtrack and opened up a new world.
1. Soundtrack of "Dominant Motivation"
The so-called "dominant motivation" is a kind of expression method born from Wagner's "musical drama", which corresponds each musical theme to specific performance objects such as characters, environment, and era, so that the audience can establish a correspondence from the auditory sense, so as to complete the narrative correlation and logical inference.
The film mainly focuses on composing a soundtrack for each "main character", thus portraying the inner spiritual characteristics and personality characteristics of the characters. Whenever the music of different themes sounds, it prompts the audience to enter different narrative subjects, and when the music reverberation of multiple themes is a key moment of character conflict, it has a distinct prompting.
2. Theme music of the main characters
Shane's theme song ,"Farewell to Cheyenne", is light and humorous, with a slight banter. It is played by the banjo. Banjo (banjo), also known as the banjo or the pentagram, is made by plucking, the timbre is crisp and bright, this musical feature is very consistent with Shane's love-hate personality, and this somewhat witty tune is also inseparable from Shane's funny role in the movie.
Gill's theme song, "once upon a time in the west," is beautiful and moving, played by instruments such as the music box, the alto flute and the horn. At first, the music was soothing, giving people a feeling of helplessness, vulnerability, loneliness and sadness. This is followed by a melodious melody, supported by soprano humming, and the strings recount this beautiful melody in a more powerful posture and a more soothing and broad rhythm, which makes people feel warm and relaxed.
This theme song perfectly depicts the psychological dynamics of Jill's arrival in the West, and there is a hint of high morale hidden under the slightly sad tune, which is also the prophecy and most beautiful interpretation of Jill's later firm stay to open up the West.
In addition, harmonica and Frank share a theme of musical design "man with a harmonica". The theme of the music combines poignant harmonica music and cold and pathetic electric guitar music in the form of two-part polyphony, expressing a depressed and desperate emotion.
Whenever this theme song sounds, it is accompanied by killing, and when the harmonica player and Frank have a final duel, this theme song pushes the emotions to the extreme, which is unforgettable.
"Once Upon a Time in the West" brilliantly reproduces the big theme of the times in which modern commercial civilization and the traditional values of western cowboys clash, expresses regret for the death of traditional western heroes, and also places deep hopes on the western spirit of the new era.
Sergio Leon successfully achieved his goal, completely subverting and transcending the traditional Hollywood genre of Westerns, making "Once Upon a Time in the West" an insurmountable classic in Westerns.