Category: Classics & Hitchcock

The MacGuffin here is the Soviet plans for the invasion of Yugoslavia, Tito was just a little too independent minded to suit Stalin, who was known to be very crabby at times. He already has East Germany, Poland and most of Eastern Europe so just wants to add to his collection

Any viewer loyal or otherwise of Upstairs, Downstairs or Downton Abbey is clued in as to the social setup (if not, or otherwise not aware of the British Class system, you’d best stop reading now. You’ll be confused for weeks, if not months.

One of the finest films ever made about war.

Like every true artist Gulley Jimson is on a quest for the perfect canvas for his vision of, in this case, The Raising of Lazarus, be-it on a wall, a ship’s hull or a condemned church.

The year is 1933. FDR has just replaced Hoover, the economy is still in the toilet, Hitler has consolidated power in Germany, and American women have declared that so long as money is tight and the job market even tighter, they’re going to fuck. A lot.

Yes, it is madness…Normally I strive to be elevated in my criticism, preferring the lofty and the urbane to rank obscenities and childish adjectives. Now, however, I must resort to the only words available to me — Once Upon a Time in the West kicks fucking ass!

A marriage without children is not only pointless, but arguably as dangerous as plutonium.