Rank Sergio Leone's Westerns

[Kirkman1987]

Those being of course...

Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Once Upon a Time In the West
Duck You Sucker (AKA Fistful of Dynamite)

I always struggle with this ranking because I feel all of them are A level films.

I think I'd have to go with

1. TGTBATU- This movie is a good mix of the earlier fun Dollars romps and the more somber later films. It's almost a perfect movie. The civil war scenes are pretty touching stuff to put into the action framework, but it meshes perfectly.

2. For a Few Dollars More- Just a perfect fun western. I prefer Lee Van Cleef in this film over his later performance as "The Bad". These movies got more epic in scope and dramatic with each outing, This may have been the high point of the simple adventure style.

3. Duck You Sucker - Yep, I rank this one more highly than most. It's become the forgotten Leone film, But I think it's among his best. The music is beautiful. Sean and Juan's relationship is very touching. I think the political nature of the film turns off some people (especially because it's so cynical) but it feels very true to life for me. It should be noted the explosions are amazing.The bridge explosion here even tops the one seen in TGTBATU. The soundtrack laid over that scene show the brillance of Leone and Morricone, playing it for high emotion rather than straight action.

4. OUATITW - This is Leone's most technically accomplished film. It can be a bit lumbering, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It's just beautiful to watch.The film is almost an opera. I almost always tear up a bit at the ending, with the railroad finished and Jill bringing water to the workers. It's great that he got to shoot in Monument Valley.

5. Fistful of Dollars - Again it shows how great Leone's Western were that This is in last place, a film that is among the finest westerns ever made. It makes great use of it's small budget and feels so much bigger than it actually is. It only suffers in comparison for me due to what Leone was able to accomplish in later films.

As a bonus, I think my favorite western of all time is Shane.

[Forbin]

Well, I LIKE Good bad & Ugly the best, so I'll stick that at #1, but I have no order preference for the rest.

[Starkers]

I never knew A Fistful of Dynamite was also known as Duck You sucker! Truly you do learn something new every day

[Kirkman1987]

Starkers wrote:

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I never knew A Fistful of Dynamite was also known as Duck You sucker! Truly you do learn something new every day

Amusingly, Leone was convinced that "Duck You Sucker!" was a common American expression, and refused to listen to anyone who told him otherwise. Duck You Sucker! is Leone's chosen title, and the one that was used in the original U.S. release (changed to a Fistful of Dynamite on re-release once the movie did poorly). .I think the Fistful title was used in Europe though, along with Once Upon a Time in the Revolution.

The restored dvd release uses the Duck title, at least here in the U.S.

[lurok]

1. Once Upon A Time In The West.

One of the few Westerns I can bear to rewatch. Only one I own apart from Dances...(which I'm sure many don't consider a proper Western)

[Harvey]

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More

...

I still haven't seen Duck, You Sucker.

[BruntFCA]

Once upon a time in the west-In my top ten favorite westerns
For a few dollers for more-Fun



The Good The Bad & The Ugly-I find this movie extremely boring
A fistfull of dollers-Bland

I haven't seen Duck you Sucker. Westerns are my favorite genre but I've just never been into speghetti westerns.

[J.T.B.]

Great topic, but I'm never too good at ranking.

OUATITW is probably my favorite. It's also the one I've watched most recently. The scale, ambition and masterful confidence in every part of it always impresses me. Before I saw it many years ago, I resented the idea of a Leone Western without Eastwood, but I never missed him once the movie started. Good old Henry Fonda as Frank, unforgettable.

I like TGTBATU and FAFDM pretty close to equal, too. I like the sprawl of TGTB and it has some of the greatest character moments of all, but sometimes the historical stuff seems too "off" for me personally and work against it. "A Few Dollars More" is great fun and I agree Van Cleef is at the top of his form.

"Fistful" is the one that got the ball rolling and was such an influence in so many ways. It was also the first one I remember seeing on TV as a little kid. Some wonderful tension-building. A great movie I'd watch almost any time.

I also grew up knowing the name "A Fistful of Dynamte." I knew the line "Duck you sucker!" mostly from being sampled in a song by Big Audio Dynamite. I haven't seen that movie in a long time and only once. It was good but I don't remember enough to make a worthwhile comment.

Kirkman1987 wrote:

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As a bonus, I think my favorite western of all time is Shane.

Wonderful. It would certainly be one of mine, along with Fort Apache, The Searchers, The Ox-Bow Incident, Red River and... more. Again, I'm no good at ranking. I have to say, though, as great as Leone is, his Westerns never hit me on the same level as those of Ford, Mann, Peckinpah or Boetticher. I feel like as a European he has a distance from the material, which works in its own way, but not as much for me personally.

Justin

[Kai "the spy"]

1. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
2. Once upon a Time... in the West
3. For a few Dollars more
4. A Fistful of Dollars
5. A Fistful of Dynamite

[Nerys Myk]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Mostly because I remember seeing it at the drive in as a kid.

[Lonemagpie]

1- For A Few Dollars More. Just perfect, not too short, not too long, filled with lovely touches and great characters, without becoming a soapbox.
2- OUATITW - a little overlong, but I love it.
3- TGTBATU - Also a little overlong
4- AFOD - Good, but Yojimbo is far better.

As for Duck You Sucker - I only saw it once many years ago on BBC2 and don't remember anything about it. I do have the two-disc DVD, but haven't got round to watching it yet. I think I'll watch it over the weekend and then come back to the thread to see where it goes...

[Vasquez Rocks]

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More

I haven't seen the other two yet.