6. Once Upon a Time in the West The Three Gunslingers
In a film that has a running time of just shy of 3 hours, the opening 20 minutes are nothing but a drop in huge ocean. Especially considering the three characters who hardly utter a single word are killed from the skill of gunslinger and hero Harmonica (Charles Bronson). But here is the kicker for that scene - a kicker so huge that it is easily up there with the worst last minute changes, most disappointing could have been or missed opportunity moments - The three that played the gunslingers at the beginning of the film; Woody Strode, Jack Elam, Al Mulock, were originally supposed to be Clint Eastwood (The Good), Lee Van Clef (The Bad) and Eli Wallach (The Ugly). Imagine how cool that would have been; three of the hardest, most resourceful characters in film taken down by the skill of Charlie Bronson in the opening 20 minutes. Not only is this something that would have been high on a list of top opening moments in cinematic history (more so than the film already boasts), it would also have elevated Harmonica to complete greatness in the movie world; anyone who takes down those three is a total badass beyond recognition. The three Gunslingers deserve a spin off movie where did they come from? How did they come to work together? It would have been great to see this as some sort of spiritual sequel to the Dollars trilogy. But technically we have already had it with the opening of this movie. Lets just pretend it was Eastwood, Van Clef and Wallach shall we?
Shaun Lappin
Contributor
Shaun does not enjoy writing about himself in the third person. The rest? I will tell you in another life, when we are both cats...
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