Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda and the Arcade Fire

May 20, 2007 12:25 AM

Chicago based designer & music fan J Tyler took it upon himself to craft a music video for The Arcade Fire song "My Body Is A Cage" using clips from the classic Sergio Leone film Once Upon A Time in the West. The clips evoke the elegaic, reflectively somber beauty in the song remarkably well - so well that the video reached the attention of someone in the Arcade Fire's camp, who emailed Tyler and requested his permission to post his work on their official site. If you have the bandwidth, I highly recommend this direct download link to a high-res quicktime version, it's much, much better than streaming flash.
posted by jonson (72 comments total)

Great song and cool video. Sure beats Saturday Night Live.
posted by ageispolis at 12:32 AM on May 20, 2007

Seems to me the real star here is Leone's filmmaking, not some guy who gave it a new soundtrack. It's awfully nice that they asked his permission, though.
posted by jjg at 12:39 AM on May 20, 2007

I think one of the side effects of such tightwad, money-grubbing copyright protectionists is to create an atmosphere where people casually dismiss rehashed works based on the amount of "effort" it took to make it, compared to the original. As a side note, this is pretty much the tantamount argument against hip-hop for some people.

I've never heard a single Arcade Fire song before this, and frankly this was pretty beautiful stuff, and I'm now waiting for "Once Upon a Time in the West" to arrive in the mail. Thanks.
posted by phaedon at 12:52 AM on May 20, 2007 [2 favorites]

Scenes from a western? Seems incredibly lazy to me.
posted by damn dirty ape at 1:01 AM on May 20, 2007

WOW.

And actually, the film works very well in youtube-res flash video, it's very slow paced and has a lot of closeups.
posted by delmoi at 1:08 AM on May 20, 2007

It appears that virtually all of the edits are Leone's own, so the video is just playing, as stated, scenes from Once Upon a Time in the West. I was expecting shots re-cut in time to the music, or something. Something other than 'Hey guys here are three or four scenes from a movie! With different music!'
posted by shakespeherian at 1:09 AM on May 20, 2007 [1 favorite]

Oh. Dear.
-yourfavebandsucks-
Sorry, johnson, but Arcade Fire is (at best) a mediocre band catering to a short-lived alternapop fad thingy. They're bland and tedious. Pfeh.
-/yourfavebandsucks-

Yeah, I just begged one of the Major MeFi AssWhoopers to give me a spanking RE: one of his fave subjects (music GENERALLY, not one cheesy band in particular). BUT I COULD NOT TELL A LIE. Arcade Fire kinda blow, but mostly they lack the OOMPH to -REALLY- blow. They're pretty much "Air Pudding with a side of Totally Phony WhinyWhiteBoy TMI Intended To Attract Angsty Tweens".

They're just another cookie-cutter version of the EMOnkees. I'm pretty sure there's a factory in Taiwan or Hyderabad that just makes these bands and ships them here as soon as the previous one starts experiencing flagging CD sales in selected suburban shopping malls.
posted by mountain_william at 1:12 AM on May 20, 2007

Dangit.
jonson jonson jonson NO DANG HAITCH! Whoopsie. PRDN ME PLZ.
posted by mountain_william at 1:16 AM on May 20, 2007

the emonkees LAWLS LOLLLLLL
posted by tremspeed at 1:19 AM on May 20, 2007

mountain_william: Care to post your play list so it can be appropriately mocked?
posted by delmoi at 1:22 AM on May 20, 2007

I hate the arcade fire.

That said, I really enjoyed that.

That said, I don't enjoy you contradicting my preconceived prejudice.

Sleep with open eyes, jonson.
posted by OrangeDrink at 1:25 AM on May 20, 2007

I'm not much of a yourfavoritebandsucks-er. I merely never understood what all the Arcade Fire fuss was about.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:30 AM on May 20, 2007

The M in MetaFilter apparently stands for Morricone.
posted by phaedon at 1:32 AM on May 20, 2007

Frankly, mountain_william, I'm more upset about the "h" than the Arcade Fire critique. I sorta like 'em, but it's not like religion with me or anything. I kinda feel like OrangeDrink, in that the fan made video really enhanced my appreciation for something I wouldn't have spent much thought on otherwise. Shame now that OrangeDrink is apparently going to try and end my life.

All that aside, not to play keyboard psychologist, but I suspect your criticism of the Arcade Fire stems from your time in the mountain, and the subsequent fear of anything urban. "Leave that stuff to 'city_william,' that's my motto" is probably something you would say.
posted by jonson at 1:33 AM on May 20, 2007

Even arcade fire can not ruin Sergio Leone. It's amazing how monumental and compelling these old movies still are.
Here's the duel from The Good The Bad And The Ugly
Ennio Morricones score does it for me.
posted by jouke at 1:41 AM on May 20, 2007

I enjoyed the video. Enjoyed it more than this idiotic thread.
posted by jefbla at 1:42 AM on May 20, 2007 [2 favorites]

delmoi:

Currently, I've got a random thing going that includes stuff off of various Aretha Franklin "BEST OF" compilations, a bunch of my favorite Throwing Muses songs, this incredible/totally Difficult Listening Hour CD of Alessandro Moreschi (the last official Vatican castrato, recorded on crackly wax cylinders when he was WAY past his prime), a bunch of Aphex Twin whatnot, some random bits of the Clash and Peter and the Test Tube Babies and a bunch of odd bits of hardcore/oi crap, some Nina Simone, Barenboim/Orchestre de Paris version of Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, Yaz' (I'm not sure if that's correct apostrophiality, but it LOOKS right) Upstairs at Eric's, and Astor Piazzola's Zero Hour.

I -know- I'm a cheesy, emo-oid dorkwad. I just prefer the emotional content of the music I listen to to be genuine, instead of market driven.

So sue me.
posted by mountain_william at 1:58 AM on May 20, 2007

jonson: self-callout on the 'h' thing. No RLLY, PRDN ME PLZ. Sincerely. My bad, and I caught it just after I posted.

Oh, and I live in Chicago. I'm almost 40, and I've been off the mountain and living in here for the last 21 years. I work someplace just North and East of Randolph and State, and the boyband under discussion just this past week played across the street from where I work.

SOME SMALL PART of my criticism of The Arcade Fire -might- be driven by my observations of the people who lined up to see them. THEIR ENTIRE AUDIENCE LOOKED ALIKE. It was a huge bunch of white kids with faux-70's moptop hairdont's and $200 jeans, dropped off by Minivan MomLadies in front of the Chicago Theater and having NO CONCEPTION WHATSOEVER OF SIDEWALK ETIQUETTE.

OTOH, no really, I've listened to more than one Arcade Fire song off of more than one Arcade Fire album, and it's still pretty much pfeh.
posted by mountain_william at 2:28 AM on May 20, 2007

THEIR ENTIRE AUDIENCE LOOKED ALIKE. It was a huge bunch of white kids with faux-70's moptop hairdont's and $200 jeans, dropped off by Minivan MomLadies in front of the Chicago Theater and having NO CONCEPTION WHATSOEVER OF SIDEWALK ETIQUETTE.

Dude, I was at a sushi restaurant the other day and everyone there looked alike! Damned Asiatic hordes.
posted by mek at 2:34 AM on May 20, 2007 [2 favorites]

faux-70's moptop hairdont's and $200 jeans,

I wish that read cowboy hats, parkas and cigars.
posted by phaedon at 2:43 AM on May 20, 2007

Good old YouTube™. Looks like an advertising student's Video Editing II: Motion and Sound assignment.
(That didn't quite make the grade.)

I mean, really, ripping out a raw, jaw-clenching, sometimes-annoying harmonica/electric guitar piece and putting shrink-wrapped pop rock in its place? Did I miss where this bastardization became anything other than painful to watch?

Oh, and stop arguing over music. You'd think we can all agree that the best music is played/heard at a 2am jam session after a party, where everyone's toasted and a little bit baked, because it sounds like the most awesome, improvised shit ever (but actually doesn't have to be.)
posted by electronslave at 3:10 AM on May 20, 2007

On thing I love about the walkman, and now mp3 player, personal music revolution is that people can keep their musical tastes largely to themselves leaving me the freedom to judge them on less superficial things. Like whether or not they bought an iPod or an iPod Killer and what kind of head phones they have.
posted by srboisvert at 3:13 AM on May 20, 2007 [4 favorites]

Um, it's a bit of a spoiler, if you haven't seen Once Upon a Time in the West. That's a kick-ass tune. And a brilliant scene. Two great tastes, that taste great together.
posted by hydatius at 3:18 AM on May 20, 2007

I would like to just remind everyone, at this point, that my opinion of all music is correct and right because of my three penises, two of which function.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:29 AM on May 20, 2007

faux-70's I wish that read cowboy hats, parkas and cigars.
posted by phaedon at 4:43 AM on May 20 [+]
[!]

International Mister Leather is NEXT weekend.


MeFi Meet-n-Beat? Who's in?
posted by mountain_william at 3:45 AM on May 20, 2007

Mek, you're conflatng "I eat apples because I grew up eating apples and they're damn good!" with "I eat oranges because that's the IN FRUIT RIGHT NOW."

Pfeh.
posted by mountain_william at 3:54 AM on May 20, 2007

i thought that was great. the cuts were timed very well to the music. i hadn't really connected with that track and this video kinda did that for me. the acting in this film struck me as so well modulated and subtle. really nice.
posted by n9 at 4:31 AM on May 20, 2007

Stop trolling n9.
posted by jouke at 4:42 AM on May 20, 2007

While I have no strong feelings about either the posted video or the Arcade Fire, I've got to say: this is honestly the stupidest, most Digg-like thread I've ever read on Metafilter.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 5:13 AM on May 20, 2007

Okay, okay, not ever.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 5:30 AM on May 20, 2007

Wow. Mountain Whilliam thinks anyone really cares what he thinks of Arcade Fire and music in general. Heh.
posted by dobbs at 5:49 AM on May 20, 2007

"Chicago based designer & music fan J Tyler" WOW what a title and what he does? thing that 12 guys doing all day on youtube, putting images on music

wtf
posted by zouhair at 5:56 AM on May 20, 2007

I'm now waiting for "Once Upon a Time in the West" to arrive in the mai

You're in for a treat, phaedon. It's by far the best western I've ever seen - Leone's at a real peak and everything just clicks perfectly - the mood, the music, the plot(s), the acting...it's just a phenomenal fucking film, much better than any of the more widely known Clint Eastwoods (which are fine).

Um, it's a bit of a spoiler, if you haven't seen Once Upon a Time in the West.

It's more than a bit of a spoiler, actually; it's the climactic gun battle with the main villain, and - finally! - the explanation for why Charles Bronson's been such a relentless force with a harmonica hunting down Henry Fonda's stunningly evil, child-killing villain. In case you missed it, Fonda's line as he's lying on the ground looking up at Bronson is, "Who are you?"

Yeah, this probably should have had a spoiler warning.

the cuts were timed very well to the music.

I'd love to compare the original scene with this "edited clips" version to see how much cutting was involved. It'd be hilarious if the only cuts he needed to make were the addition of those two blank screens. I'll bet the editing involved lots of fortuitous "wow that synced up perfectly!" moments.

Oh, and I like Arcade Fire.
posted by mediareport at 6:12 AM on May 20, 2007

More about the greatness of Once Upon A Time In The West. [spoilers in those last two]
posted by mediareport at 6:27 AM on May 20, 2007

That film looks pretty damn good. I'll need to watch it, crying quietly to myself that I know how it ends. There are worse things in life.
posted by chunking express at 7:23 AM on May 20, 2007

Never been a big arcade Fire Fan. Once Upon a Time in the West is one of the greatest films I've ever seen. Still I found this a somewhat interesting reframing of the climax and it certainly gave me a better appreciation for a song I'd probably skip through otherwise. Also someone please put a spoilers warming on the FPP.

Phaedon and anyone else who feels inspired to check this one out I'm sure you'll enjoy it. My favorite thing about it is noticing all the techniques Leone uses to build up and extend anticipation so that reveals and bits of action though short feel very intense and satisfying. The first scene of the rough characters waiting for the train is actually my favorite part of the film. See also sitting in the bar with the commotion outside.

The first time I saw this film was in a film history class where we were lucky enough to get the reals that was going to be restored for the DVD release. It was in remarkably good condition and the transfer is excellent.
posted by subtle_squid at 7:30 AM on May 20, 2007

Also Henry Fonda is a most excellent villain
posted by subtle_squid at 7:32 AM on May 20, 2007

I got a chill watching that, which extended the length of my spinal column, as well as most of my right arm and leg. Honestly, haven't felt a sensation like that from watching something in along time. For that alone I just want to say: jonson, thank you.
posted by piratebowling at 7:44 AM on May 20, 2007

piratebowling - that's totally how I felt too. I downloaded the higher res version & watched & re-watched. Sorry about the lack of spoiler warnings folks. I guess I figured telling people it linked to clips from the film was enough warning, when taken in combination witht the fact that the film is nearly five decades old & available in every format known to man, so if one was desperate to see it, this thread wouldn't have ruined it before you got a chance to.
posted by jonson at 8:10 AM on May 20, 2007

After this:

SOME SMALL PART of my criticism of The Arcade Fire -might- be driven by my observations of the people who lined up to see them. THEIR ENTIRE AUDIENCE LOOKED ALIKE. It was a huge bunch of white kids with faux-70's moptop hairdont's and $200 jeans, dropped off by Minivan MomLadies in front of the Chicago Theater and having NO CONCEPTION WHATSOEVER OF SIDEWALK ETIQUETTE.

I don't put much credence in this:

OTOH, no really, I've listened to more than one Arcade Fire song off of more than one Arcade Fire album, and it's still pretty much pfeh.

Oh well. I don't look anything like any of those people you described, and I still really enjoyed the Arcade Fire show my girlfriend and I went to a couple of weeks ago.
posted by Mikey-San at 8:40 AM on May 20, 2007

when taken in combination witht the fact that the film is nearly five decades old & available in every format known to man, so if one was desperate to see it, this thread wouldn't have ruined it before you got a chance to.

I'm not sure if you've ever seen the film, jonson, so it's not clear if you knew just how much of a spoiler you were posting. But anyway, some of us are just noting that it wouldn't have hurt the post to include a spoiler warning; no need to get sarcastic.
posted by mediareport at 8:54 AM on May 20, 2007

THEIR ENTIRE AUDIENCE LOOKED ALIKE.

The lesson here has nothing to do with the Morricone, Arcade Fire, music, taste, concerts, etc, etc.

The lesson here is that mountain_william cannot tell human beings apart based on simple things like dress and physical features.

One of my relatives has the same problem. He has seen a handful of Buffy episodes (by virtue of being in the room when I was using them for background noise). He cannot tell Xander and Angel apart. No matter what. Ever. "They look exactly the same!" he says.

Must be frustrating.
posted by sparkletone at 9:08 AM on May 20, 2007

I loved Once Upon A Time in the West when I was a kid. At age 12 or 13, flipping channels on a late night weekend - this was when we had to sit directly in front of the TV and press the buttons on the set itself - I was stopped suddenly on this movie by a long closeup of Claudia Cardinale, when she is first being driven out to the homestead. Such beautiful eyes, such a gorgeous face. And her beauty was made even more striking, for a boy of 12 or 13 flipping channels after everyone else in the house had gone to bed, by the music that accompanied her closeups, those soaring female voices. The music is essential to this movie - all the main characters have accompanying refrains that play off against each other. It's been years now since I've last seen the movie, but I can still hear in my head some of the music that should accompany that scene, how the strong visuals are punched up even further by the drama of the music. When the face hits the ground I want to hear the original music (doesn't the Charles Bronson harmonica punctuate the moment here?) It's a nice song, but it's playing over one of the strongest uses of music in any movie I can remember. Music is character here.

Although I'm otherwise not a fan of Westerns, I watched this movie again and again whenever I could. Into my 20's I'd name it as my favourite. On Detroit Channel 50 there was a man named Bill Kennedy, a former Hollywood bit player who showed movies in the afternoon, mostly black and whites. He scheduled this movie to play, over two afternoons. I skipped class to stay home and watch it. By second commercial break on the first day he was bitching about the movie, how it was nothing but a bunch of slow closeups, that nothing was happening. But they're such great closeups, Bill, such great closeups. You have to sit back and give it time.
posted by TimTypeZed at 9:11 AM on May 20, 2007 [3 favorites]

Your favorite homebrewed artist-sanctioned music video sucks.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:15 AM on May 20, 2007

Great clip. It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but I think, like others have said, that the clip is relatively unedited.

Which doesn't diminish it for me in anyway. I think it's really cool that a great Arcade Fire song and, well, Sergio Leone, synch up like that. Worked out quite well.

Except for the occasional homo erotic subtext that the song tended to add to the scene. But that might just be me. I see that everywhere.
posted by Alex404 at 9:28 AM on May 20, 2007

I saw the Arcade Fire in a half-empty venue a couple of months after Funeral came out. It was transcendent. You could feel the joy radiating off the crowd in waves. I'll always love them for that.

And the last thing I am is a kid with a "faux-70's moptop hairdont's and $200 jeans". And mountain_william, your current playlist doesn't sound all that different from mine; there's always room in my iPod for genuine feeling, and my experience of the AF served that up in spades. At any rate, as they say, YMMV. I'm currently listening to CBC 2, which is broadcasting the Canadian Opera Company's Ringn Cycle in its entireyy, all Wagner, all friggin' day. Awesome. (Stream is here.)
posted by jokeefe at 10:51 AM on May 20, 2007

Er, Ring Cycle, in its entirety. The leitmotifs must have distracted me.
posted by jokeefe at 10:52 AM on May 20, 2007

Well, I'll be at the Chicago Theatre in just a few hours watching Arcade Fire play their (apparently horrible) music. Not sure what I'm going to wear yet, probably some $20 jeans, a $10 t-shirt, and I haven't had my hair cut in almost a year so I'll probaby just throw it up in a ponytail. We'll be taking the El from our apartment in Edgewater to get there, and as someone that works on Michigan Avenue I think I know sidewalk ettiquette pretty well.

But hey, I guess it doesn't matter because I'll actually look and act like everyone else just by virtue of the fact that I am there. Perhaps the Red Line will even magically turn into a minivan! That'd be neat!
posted by misskaz at 11:06 AM on May 20, 2007

(Um, correction to post above: Ring day is actually tomorrow; I was listening to a preview.)
posted by jokeefe at 11:14 AM on May 20, 2007

I just wanted to thank you for posting an AF song off Neon Bible that doesn't suck. The single they released in the UK was dreadful.
posted by chuckdarwin at 11:52 AM on May 20, 2007

Futile Taste Argument Form
BandName: Arcade Fire  

Position: Pro Con

StatementofTaste:
is the best band in the Universe.

ObligatoryRetort:
Anybody that tells you different is a child molesting racist moron member of Al Queda who also hates animals and eats babies.
_________________________________


Once Upon a Time in The West is a remarkable to expereince on the big screen. And not just for kitsch. Great music.
posted by tkchrist at 12:06 PM on May 20, 2007

Chuckdarwin, I would respectfully disagree. I think that song is the worst one on the album. Its presence on the album is all the more puzzling when you consider that "No Cars Go" is a much more obvious choice to close it out.
posted by Rangeboy at 12:26 PM on May 20, 2007

Does the designer or the band have permission from the film studio for swiping a chunk of film? As a Leone fan, I think the Arcade Fire song completely ruins the experience of watching Leone's film, especially if you haven't seen it before. As a designer, I think the concept of combining the two is wholly unoriginal, little more than a mashup. I could do the same thing with the same track dubbed over High Plains Drifter, The Untouchables, Great Expectations or even Starship Troopers.
posted by asfuller at 12:26 PM on May 20, 2007

I thought the homoerotic overtones in the first scene were just delightful.
posted by clockwork at 1:14 PM on May 20, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm currently listening to CBC 2, which is broadcasting the Canadian Opera Company's Ring Cycle in its entireyy, all Wagner, all friggin' day.

Feck that shite; all CBC2 listeners look the same, and don't get me started on the kind of people who listen to Wagner...

On-topic, this was really well done, and actually made me reappraise my dislike for the movie (I'm beginning to suspect my 13" television has something to do with it).
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:24 PM on May 20, 2007

Well, I enjoyed it. Thank you J Tyler & jonson.
posted by Joeforking at 1:26 PM on May 20, 2007

there is an inchoate theme of man and space, odyssey, and death is the reconciliation. I like it--thanks for posting; gets me off the AF fence for a bit.
posted by wallstreet1929 at 4:03 PM on May 20, 2007

I'll concur that this doesn't seem especially re-edited, but it does seem pretty well-timed. It's not a major achievement but it's a very nice juxtaposition -- speaking as someone who likes Arcade Fire, Once Upon a Time... , and Ennio in fairly equal measure.

I will disagree that it's much of a spoiler. If it's a spoiler to you, you haven't watched much film. If you're wondering how they got Henry Fonda to look so sinister, he wore black contacts for this film. Leone felt there was no way he could look like a bad guy with his deep blue eyes. The cinematography is incredible. In many ways this is his finest Western, but it's also true that the Eastwood spaghettis are miles more accessible.

I really hope this introduces this relatively more obscure movie to a new audience.
posted by dhartung at 4:22 PM on May 20, 2007

"If it's a spoiler to you, you haven't watched much film."

um who is it that you think spoilers normally spoil a film for?
posted by subtle_squid at 5:30 PM on May 20, 2007

wait NM, somehow I read the word "much" as the word "the" in that quote.
posted by subtle_squid at 5:31 PM on May 20, 2007

This is a spectacular film. This video is actually an argument for strong copyright, because you'd want someone the produce of such a great film to have the right to refuse to have it associated with such a mediocre song.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:40 PM on May 20, 2007 [1 favorite]

Pastabagel, I agree. I think the film outstrips the song, essentially uplifting the song from mediocrity.
posted by kuatto at 7:48 PM on May 20, 2007

If you're going to mess with the work of someone as intense as Sergio Leone, you need a really strong vision. I like the Arcade Fire okay, but I think this video fails to be cool because it doesn't really give us anything new by putting the two ingredients together. The editing (if there is any) doesn't put the image into any kind of new context, and while I like the organ sounds over these pics, the soundtrack and the video never really mesh. Except for one shot where the kid falls down right on an organ crescendo... a few more "wow" moments like that might have helped.
posted by BoringPostcards at 8:20 PM on May 20, 2007

Wow, that was good. That video right there is one of the exhibits in the trial against perpetual copyright extensions.
posted by Nahum Tate at 8:57 PM on May 20, 2007

The editing (if there is any)

Tyler replied to my question about the amount of editing at YouTube:

yeah it runs pretty smooth, and I see what you mean since most of the scene is here, but actually there are a lot of edits. Only the end of the video is uncut.
posted by mediareport at 9:25 PM on May 20, 2007

Yes, but what about the plate of beans?
posted by starman at 7:15 AM on May 21, 2007

Jesus, that meme's old already.
posted by mediareport at 7:51 AM on May 21, 2007

Dhartung, your comment about Fonda's eyes is strange. He wears no contacts, as can be seen in the close-up during his 'introduction' moment at the McBain ranch. I have also heard an anecdote, told I think by Jane Fonda someplace, to the effect that Henry Fonda was uncertain whether to accept the role, and indeed, wasn't convinced of his own ability to play so far against type. He turned up for day one of filming wearing black contacts, in the hope they would make him look more mean. Leone was aghast and told him to take them out, as part of the reason for approaching Fonda for the part in the first place was the desire to create a juxtaposition between Frank's deeds, and the already-established image of Fonda (and his baby blues).
posted by hydatius at 12:36 PM on May 21, 2007

As someone said: wow. I enjoyed that more than most everything I've seen on a screen these past few days.

Apart from the way that languid beat made me think of Phil Collins and In The Air Tonight, at least initially. Bet someone could do a neat-o edit of the same scenes to that, which would be a whole different kettle of drums.

That or Yakkety Sax.
posted by Devonian at 1:33 PM on May 21, 2007

From Darwin to Deadwood,

oh, je m'excuse,

I didn't know about this, jonson. Tell me it isn't 'a video for' though. Whadda mash up.
At least it wasn't Tyler fucking Brulé who made this mashup. And a mashup it is. It's like shitting down the throat of a great Western film and score. HEY./ As an appropriation, does it work¿ Sure, if you haven't seen the movie along with the score....so let's plop
Elvis and Celine together too then¿ Hell, set it in Utah. Is there no sacredness¿
Sacredness of the original intent. You gonna mess with 'The Grapes of Wrath' next, damnit¿./ Don't tell me the 'new' is ripping the old ]ies[¿ Isn't that always the case¿ Punks.
yippeeYo K-eyeAy.

I love The Arcade Fire, Westerns and Morricone, however, appropriating an Arcade Fire song over an existing.... well,
Nah.
And I do love Arcade Fire. Just saw them a few days ago. Wonderful, wonderful show. They gave, all 10 of them.

The question, mountainBill, is what new stuff are you listening to, we all have our 'oldies' list too. ok, so you don't like The Arcade Fire, fine, you gave it a go. Have you listened to any The Besnard Lakes¿
Heh. I'm lovin' Montreal bands, pardon. BTW, I've got more than a decade on you, Mr.Bill, as if it makes any difference.

chuckdarwin,
If it's No Cars Go, that isn't the bestest of their new release, which I love. Their retake of 'Intervention' is brill. Lovin' that organ. Not the set dec pipes with lights though on tour. oich.

ok, shame on some of their stage props. Fuck, the lighted rods ]bent out of shape from travel[ is a barrier between the audience, non merci.
The video 'circles', yeah, less Régeanne, s'il vous plait. Show More Tuba./ Stay off the drum kit, Régeanne, the real stay at home drummer was brill, I loved your tom therapy, though. Mucho respecto.

I'll see them in Montréal next time though, Toronto crowd was a tad staid and corporate. Ack.

Alvy Ampersand, blaming your 13"¿
kids are watching the same on a cell phone size screen.
Whachagonnado¿
Blame the screen¿
Blame your optometrist.
Check the size of van screen DVD in the seat screens — 6—7"screens, not more.
A tad different experience from your movie theatre. Period.

devonian, please, no Pil.
They ]The Arcade Fire[ 'aint Pil. Jeebus.

Anyways, it makes me miss Deadwood, damnit./
posted by alicesshoe at 8:40 PM on May 21, 2007

Well, I don't think anyone expected that.

And I still blame my television.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:20 PM on May 21, 2007

dhartung, I don't know how this could *not* be a spoiler, since it's one of the final scenes of the film, and reveals the resolution of the Charles Bronson / Henry Fonda character relationship. (Though I thought the spoiler alert at youtube was sufficient.)

And as mentioned by another, Sergio Leone specifically wanted Fonda's eyes to remain their natural blue for the movie, and they did.

Now. To answer the question of how little editing was done, the scene in the movie that was used for this video runs from 2:22:22 to 2:31:14 (8:52). The video is 4:47. Therefore, 4:05 was edited away. Quite a lot. By "modern" standards, this film (and genre, at the time) had incredibly long, drawn out scenes. Today, this nearly 3-hour movie would be edited down to under 2 before it would be allowed to hit theaters.

Though I love it. This, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly are my favorite westerns from that time period. (I really love Unforgiven, but it is just totally, completely different than the older westerns.)

Regarding Claudia Cardinale, if I could look like any woman, living or dead, CC would be the one.

Jonson! Thank you for posting this video. :)
posted by iguanapolitico at 3:42 PM on May 22, 2007