I'm not so sure about that. One of the reasons Peter Bogdanovich didn't work out as director of DYS (according to Frayling) is that Leone wanted Bogdanovich to shoot the movie Leone-style (eg. tight close-ups) but Bogdanovich wasn't interested in shooting a Leone film, he wanted to do it his own way.So it would seem that rather than refusing to share his ideas, Leone was actually quite eager to have movies he was involved with being filmed Leone-style.("Something to do with Death" indeed describes how Leone would often not give full credit to some of those who worked on the films, but I do not think that he refrained from sharing his directing ideas with those who directed films he produced)
Yes, that is a great scene, but say, what about the scenes when Nobody's in town? Those are Barboni scenes, not Leone scenes, as much as I like both directors for what they offered. The movies he directed don't have amplitudes that are that drastic.
Here are the gross earnings of the Dollars films in the USA, as listed on p. 287 of Frayling's "Spaghetti Westerns."FOD -- $3.5 millionFAFDM -- $5 millionGBU -- $6 millionWikipedia (citing Howard Hughes) says that in 1967, FOD grossed $4.5 million in the USA.I am no expert in what these figures mean relative to other films, but my understanding, according to what I have read and heard in Frayling's works, is that each film of the Dollars trilogy was a tremendous success in the USA
That's what I thought too. But the data of Hardy tell a different story:FoD: 4,25 mioFaFDM: 4,35GBU: 6,11Some US Westerns of these days:Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: 45,95 (29,2 in the adjusted list)Little Big Man: 15,0Paint Your Wagon : 14,5 (erghh ...)True Grit: 14,25The Professionals: 8,8Hang em High : 6,78El Dorado: 6,0The War Wagon: 5,93Hombre: 5,6Bandolero: 5,5The Wild Bunch: 5,35 Card Stud: 4,25
btw once you mention Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, I just had to say: isn't that an overrated movie? I mean, it is good, but not nearly as good as people make it out to be.That movie could never figure out whether it is serious or a comedy. I don't like that sort of schizophrenia. Anyone agree with me on that?
If Leone could have only patented the "Italian Western" and had been able to limit the right to making them perhaps he would not have gotten to the point where he became disillusioned by the sheer amount of quick buck rip offs, knock offs, and parody's etc., etc. The 600 or so Italian/Euro Westerns that flooded the market diluted the product. There are a lot of Spaghetti's out there that have some brilliant sequences, great scores, nice styling, interesting stories, but not, sad to say, all in one film. Aside from Leone's Westerns I count about 15-18 as very good, but as most on the board here know my tolerance level is low and especially low for slap stick comedies.
btw CJ there's an idiot on IMDB claiming Italians can't make Westerns. If you're in the mood for a rumble.
I agree, it only (for me anyway) has a few great sequences the rest is so-so, and I don't like the "raindrops" music video insert, nor the A cappella score.