Once upon a time in the west

ANALYSING INTRODUCTION: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968)

Once upon a time in the west directed by Sergio Leone comes under the sub-genre of ‘spaghetti western’ which were typically low budget films produced and directed by Italians.

The film opens with, as you would expect, the production company ‘paramount films’. The first shot shows a man writing on a chalk board, causing a horrible screeching sound, it appears as though Leone tried to make it a reoccurring theme to try and fit as many annoying sounds in one scene as possible. Already in the background we can hear the squeaking of the wheel which appears to be turning rhythmically. The sound of the doors slowly creaking when the cowboys enter, adding to the ‘western feel’ of the whole shot and the use of close up shots of the actors faces Highlight the dark heavy creases and unemotional expressions giving impression they’re the ‘bad guys’.

Other sounds include;

- Dripping of the water, shown by an extreme close up to emphasize

-Whining of the dog

 -Clicking of the incoming telegraph

The build up is stopped when the telegraph cable is pulled out, this relief of quiet allows enough time for “A Sergio Leone Film” to appear and spread across the screen, done to make the audience aware of who he is. Once Leones name leaves the screen, all sounds return and are amplified again.

The orchestra of irritating sounds begins to increase with the creak of the rocking chair and the clicking of the man’s knuckles and then the buzzing of the fly. At the same time various crew members slide in and out without, almost in time with actions from the scene, for example, the slamming of the gun as a title enters, however never distracting attention away from what’s occurring in the scene.

Leone has created a sense of anticipation, for the viewer is unaware of who or what the men are waiting for. Once the train arrives, all is silent except the turning of the wheel (which was the 1^st sound we heard) giving the scene a cyclical feel.

The audience is cleverly fooled by the sound of the harmonica as they are lead to believe it I non-diagetic and coming from outside the scene, we know this because of the wide angle shot of all 3 men turning around, followed by the close up of the man playing. Leone has managed to create both tension and enigma without the use of almost any dialogue throughout, creating a very irritating yet genius opening sequence.