Directed by Sergio Leone • 1968 • Italy, United States
Starring Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale
Sergio Leone breathed new life into the western with this masterful epic, which stands as one of the genre’s most timeless artistic achievements. Henry Fonda, cast against his good-guy image, stars as Frank, a ruthless murderer who feels no remorse, even after annihilating Mrs. McBain’s (Claudia Cardinale) entire family. Charles Bronson plays the Man, a harmonica-wielding loner who will never forget how his brother was savagely tortured. Joining forces with Cheyenne (Jason Robards), who was wrongfully accused of Frank’s crimes, The Man sets out to put an end once and for all to the outlaw’s reign of terror. Leone choreographs the action with breathtaking virtuosity, all set to the swelling strains of Ennio Morricone’s iconic score.
Up Next in Sight and Sound Directors’ Poll: Greatest Films of All Time
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City Lights
Directed by Charles Chaplin • 1931 • United States
Starring Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry MyersCITY LIGHTS, the most cherished film by Charlie Chaplin, is also his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle. The writer-director-star achieved new levels of grace, in both physical comedy and dra...
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L’Atalante
Directed by Jean Vigo • 1934 • France
In Jean Vigo's hands, an unassuming tale of conjugal love becomes an achingly romantic reverie of desire and hope. Jean (Jean Dasté), a barge captain, marries Juliette (Dita Parlo), an innocent country girl, and the two climb aboard Jean's boat, the L'Atalan...
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La notte
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni • 1961 • Italy
Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, Monica VittiThis psychologically acute, visually striking modernist work was director Michelangelo Antonioni’s follow-up to the epochal L’AVVENTURA. Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau star as a n...
