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I am a big fan of Sergio Leone's masterpieces. I can watch them non-stop, in any order and I am perfectly happy. However, my girlfriend is unfamiliar with the movies but she is willing to learn. I would like to plan a movie marathon for the next weekend with the greatest movies. Let's say five or six of them. Could you please advise on the titles and the order in which we should watch? What would be a good movie to start with, to introduce my lady to the genre and to this incredible world of Leone's. I was thinking Once Upon a Time in America for starters but I am not sure if it is not too much to grasp at first.
Re: The order in which to watch
I would definitely start with GBU and then, when she likes it, following it with OuTW. All the others could then follow in whatever order. And don't forget My Name Is Nobody!
I would go in the order they were released, because with the exception of duck you sucker, each movie is better than the next. Fistful is fun and short and a good introduction.
Remember, I always see the job through !
I'd also start with GBU, as I was fortunate to have done in 1968.  Before the start, I'd just prime her to enjoy Eli Wallach's performance, and how well the music integrates with the film (better than in ANY other film, in my opinion).
easy come easy go
Re: The order in which to watch
« #4 : October 27, 2020, 06:15:12 AM »
I agree stanton and Cusser. If she is not into Westerns start with GBU which is also an adventure flick, then go order in which they were made
"When you feel that rope tighten on your neck you can feel the devil bite your ass"!
"One banana, two banana, three banana, four...."
Re: The order in which to watch
« #5 : October 27, 2020, 10:49:46 AM »
I'm not so sure. GBU is 3 hours long and it takes its time telling the story (it's an hour in before The Carriage of the Spirits arrives). I think I'd go in the order they were released, telling the girlfriend that each one is going to be better than the last. If she finds FOD completely uninteresting, there's no need to go on, and she's lost the least amount of time necessary to find she's not Leone simpatico. Then there will also be time to go out and catch the theatrical re-release of Ghost.
"McFilms are commodities and, as such, must be QA'd according to industry standards."
Remember, I always see the job through !
Re: The order in which to watch
« #6 : October 28, 2020, 05:58:43 AM »
GBU is tons better, tons funnier, and tons better music and production than Fistful.  Even FDM is a giant leap forward from Fistful.
"One banana, two banana, three banana, four...."
Re: The order in which to watch
« #7 : October 28, 2020, 06:44:35 AM »
Of course that's true, and once she's been through the program she may well decide GBU is her favorite. But it may be tough to process it all watching it the first time through. It depends on what she's used to. I'm just saying the earlier films are better starting points because they are easier.
"McFilms are commodities and, as such, must be QA'd according to industry standards."
trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders?
Re: The order in which to watch
« #8 : October 29, 2020, 12:00:52 AM »
Quote from: Jordan Krug on October 26, 2020, 08:32:26 AM
I would go in the order they were released, because with the exception of duck you sucker, each movie is better than the next. Fistful is fun and short and a good introduction.
I believe you mean to say "each movie is better than the previous."
There are three types of people in the world, my friend: those who can add, and those who can't.
trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders?
Re: The order in which to watch
« #9 : October 29, 2020, 12:12:02 AM »
GBU does take some time to get going. Someone who is not used to the Leone pace may get antsy in the first half. (It definitely happened to me).
FOD is a great movie, but the least great of the Dollars films ? and the massacre of the Baxters may be tough to handle at first for someone not used to that sort of brutality. (That definitely happened to me).
So my suggestion would be to go with FAFDM first. It's a great movie (my all-time fave) and not too long (2 hours & 10 minutes).
Assuming she likes FAFDM (and if she doesn't, dump her!) you can then watch FOD, GBU, and OUATIA in any order. I'm not a huge fan of DYS. But I guess that once she has seen the other movies and won't be judging Leone on it, you can show her that one
As for OUATITW, I don't think anyone should see that until they are very familiar with American Westerns. For someone unfamiliar with Westerns, OUATITW may be unbearably long, and they wouldn't get the genius of it. Once she is at least somewhat familiar with American Westerns, she can watch OUATITW ? and then, read Christopher Frayling's chapter on that movie in his book Sergio Leone: Something to Do With Death; and then watch the movie again, this time with Frayling's commentary (the commentary actually has a bunch of people, but Frayling is most of it. Skip the others; only his parts are worthwhile.
Once you understand what OUATITW is about, it is a joy.
There are three types of people in the world, my friend: those who can add, and those who can't.
Remember, I always see the job through !
Re: The order in which to watch
« #10 : October 30, 2020, 05:14:11 AM »
Another reason I say GBU first is that it's funny.  There are a few funny lines in FOD and FDM, and more in Once/West.
I also saw a group of older women walk out of the theater after Frank appeared and killed little Timmy.  They talked before the film that they'd never hear of Once/West but were huge "Hank Fonda" fans.
Re: The order in which to watch
« #11 : May 28, 2021, 05:05:30 AM »
I saw FAFDM first, when it was released, and liked it so much I looked forward to the next. I then saw GBU and OUTW in order of release. I would think this is the best viewing order because these three are classics and there is a definite sense of sequential order to them. None of Leone's other works compare and I would just watch those as and when chosen. Until I saw the Leone films, I had been a huge fan of The Magnificent Seven, but Leone took the genre to a plateau that was beyond anything Sturges or Ford or Hawks or Peckinpah could achieve. I think the only directors who compare with Leone are Daves and Mann, but they lacked his inimitable style and their characters are too "talkie".
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