Really not my kind of film. I thought my tastes were quite broad, but apparently not broad enough to encompass this one. The best writers and directors can make a point quickly and effectively without seeming to hurry. Sergio Leone, it seems, can't do that - at least, not in this movie. He takes his time over every scene, whether it has a point to make or not.
It takes ages to get started (whatever happened to grabbing the attention of the audience to make them want to find out more?!) and ages for anything to actually happen once it has started. The word "lean" cannot be applied here; I suppose the best phrase I can offer is "elegantly lumbering".
I saw the director's edition rather than the theatrical release, and as far as I could tell, the long scenes didn't achieve anything that ones half or even a tenth of the duration could have achieved (boredom aside).
Yes, there were some "pretty" camera angles. Yes, there were one or two clever lines of dialogue. But the impression I came away with was, I'm sorry to say, that the director put his self-indulgence firmly above the audience's entertainment. The music was noticeably repetitive; the sound-effects intrusive beyond the point of distraction; and the dialogue invariably too quiet.
I suppose I must be missing something given the absurdly high (IMHO) position of this film in the top 250. I really can't imagine what that might be!
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