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WHERE LIFE HAD NO VALUE,
DEATH, SOMETIMES,
HAD IT'S PRICE.
THAT IS WHY THE
BOUNTY KILLERS APPEARED.
In other words For A Few Dollars More takes some beating. The above comes at the end of a deliciously cheeky title sequence that owes probably more to someone like Tex Avery, than John Ford. From the start, with Sergio Leone (apparently) himself whistling, to the finish with those words, we knew that here was a very different kind of western.
And of course with a very different kind of opening theme to go with it, and an incredibly exciting one at that especially when watched with the titles.
Good as the next in the trilogy is, and groundbreaking as the first one was, this is my favourite.
Of course actual next on the list is Once Upon A Time in the West. Another example of bare faced cheek, with it's length and off-beat sounds.
In both cases a real collaborative effort from director and composer. Sublime.
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I do miss the main titles & I'm sure film makers do too. You have that three minute title sequence where the film gets an overture with visuals that set up the mood of the film you're about to see. You're in no doubt of what kind of film it is after seeing the opening of A Clockwork Orange or The Pink Panther...& you get to have the film just end "The End" or better still "Fin". And then came the eight minute end roller...
I could name hundreds of sixties movies, almost all of them had good title sequences. Hammer's The Curse Of The Werewolf with the close-up of the werewolf's eyes crying, I read somewhere that it was a filmed make-up & contact lens test, & someone had the bright idea to use it as a title background. The sixties Casino Royale has great opening titles, the visuals & music...but it goes downhill from there. A classic one is The Outlaw Josey Wales, you get all the backstory there, it's all set up by the end of the titles.
Yes, Curse of the Werewolf is incredibly striking
I would also like to mention George Pal's War of the Worlds. The whole intro and prologue, along with Stevens' crashing theme is an attack on the senses. Truly thrilling.
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