The Genius of the Blondie & Confederate Soldier Scene

[noodles_leone]

As Noodles said, the depiction. of the war doesn't match up with Leones statements.
It's one of the most powerful anti- war statements ever put on film.
I'm going to pretend I never read his seriously skewed comments😉

Seriously though, I'm not sure where you're from, but the comments are way less outrageous from this side of the atlantic in the 80's. He's overreacting to an over-simplistic narrative. Pretty sure he would have tampered that down in a serious discussion. That being said, Leone always sounds like an ass in interviews, overtating points, taking credits for everything good and taking no responsibility for any failure (in that book he almost takes credits for Brigitte Bardot, who he only saw on a doorstep once). I don't know how he was in person, but the Leone I love is definitely the filmmaker, not the guy that journalists met.

[dave jenkins]

"Trust the tale, not the teller." Words to live, Lloyd. Words to live by.

[uncknown]

Leone., at times, showed a vast knowledge of Civil War battles, I.e. the obscure Sibley campaign.
So, it's difficult to believe he didn't understand the underlying causes of the war.
But, yeah,. his interviews must be taken with a grain of salt. He said a lot of silly things!
Frank Capra did the same!

[Cusser]

interviews must be taken with a grain of salt.

Agree.

For example, there is an Eastwood quote about sharing screen time with Van Cleef in FDM, and then with Van Cleef and
Wallach in GBU, seeming to see his presence being diminished.  I think Eastwood was teasing, but quote taken wrong; of course he realized that no big name actor carries a film alone.

[dave jenkins]

For example, there is an Eastwood quote about sharing screen time with Van Cleef in FDM, and then with Van Cleef and
Wallach in GBU, seeming to see his presence being diminished.  I think Eastwood was teasing, but quote taken wrong;

Thank you for saying that. I get very tired of people using that quote to prove something.

Nonetheless, what uncknown is talking about is a little different. Film directors are bullshitters; they make their living by lying with a budget. They get so used to stretching the truth in their work that they can't turn it off in real life. And the best directors make the best liars. Leone is one example, but others are Welles and Hitchcock. Scholars who rely on interviews to get at the truth are idiots (Frayling gets by with putting everybody's quotes together, even when they contradict each other).

[uncknown]

I usually avoid autobiographical accounts because the authors usually bullshit.
Chaplin and Frank Capra wrote memoirs that were latter proved to be mostly fictitious!
Leone let success go to his head- aided by sycophantic French a
critics enamored of the auteur theory.
Of course Sergio is a great artist. No one doubts that. But, without the contributions of Morricone and Eastwood( not to mention Vincenzoni) he never would have reached the heights he did .
One only has to look at the box-office receipts of his Eastwood less films.
I think Sergio burned some bridges by not sharing the glory.

[stanton]

One only has to look at the box-office receipts of his Eastwood less films.

But in Germany and France (and maybe other European countries) OuTW was much, much more successful than the Dollar Trilogy. In Germany OuTW sold over 13 mio tickets, the 3 with Eastwood together about 6,1 mio.
And OuTA sold with 2,3 mio much more than GBU (with only 1,15 mio).

So it's not that easy.

Ohh, and My Name Is Nobody sold ca 6,3 mio.

[uncknown]

 His last four films flopped in America.
That's where the real money was and where Sergio most wanted success - thus cast with American stars.
Germany, France.... nice but not America

[noodles_leone]

I wouldn't use "success" as the short phrase for "financial success". A quick look at the box office tells you that financial success is very much unrelated to the artistic qualities. Does anybody really think that the box office results of, say, Star Wars episode 9 or Avengers End Games has anything to do (in good or bad) with the films' actual merits? There are great films that do great at the box office, great films that do bad, turds that do great and turds that do bad. So i'm not entering the box office debate about Leone this time around, the only thing it tells us is that European audiences are smarter than murican ones, but at this point I've only said things we all knew.

So yeah, Leone claimed merit for everything and he was wrong about that. I don't think it hurt his cinema in any way (I'm one of those who think that each Leone film is a huge step up from his previous one, with the exception of DYS which is as we know a special case and shouldn't be rated on the same scale), but it could have at some point had he lived a helathier, hence longer, life.

[dave jenkins]

(I'm one of those who think that each Leone film is a huge step up from his previous one, with the exception of DYS which is as we know a special case and shouldn't be rated on the same scale)

But DYS is his best film. Or would be if he'd never made OUATIA.

[stanton]

His last four films flopped in America.
That's where the real money was and where Sergio most wanted success - thus cast with American stars.
Germany, France.... nice but not America

You overestimate the USA.

And none of Leone's films had an exceptional success there compared to Europe.
The Dollar Trilogy made a lot of money for UA, but mostly because they bought the rights for only a few Dollars. Checking the figures I have for the USA the Dollar Trilogy had success in the USA, but were far, far away from the real big successes. Even for westerns alone they did not belong to the biggest sellers of those years, and film like True Grit, The Professionals, Little Big Man and especially Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made much more money in the US.

[noodles_leone]

But DYS is his best film. Or would be if he'd never made OUATIA.

I thought your favorite one was GBU?

[dave jenkins]

There can be a difference between "favorite" and "best" (QT will tell you that).

[noodles_leone]

There can be a difference between "favorite" and "best" (QT will tell you that).

Exactly, so let me rephrase: I thought you thought GBU was objectively Leone's best.

[dave jenkins]

No, like you, I believe SL's career was marked by steady progress: each film is better than the one made before.