AP Research: The Western Over The Years
Advisor: Bryan Meyerowitz
The Western film genre has evolved greatly over its century-long tenure, from its early status as popular
popcorn drama to a vehicle for filmmakers to contemplate the complexities of human society and spur
cinematic innovation. This study examines the impact of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns on the
genre’s stylistic and thematic evolution by analyzing three eras of Westerns: pre-Leone, Leone, and post-
Leone. Focusing on three films in particular—The Searchers (1956), Once Upon a Time in the West
(1969), and Unforgiven (1992)—I will utilize film theorists Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell’s
Neoformalism framework to isolate techniques and patterns that either persist or are unique to a certain
era. Neoformalism’s aesthetic focus allows me to analyze Leone’s characteristic use of cinematic
techniques: extreme close-ups, prolonged stretches of silence, and long takes. I aim to codify and analyse
these techniques and their use over the years. By integrating findings from literature regarding the movies
with my Neoformalist analysis, I aim to assess the extent to which Leone’s stylistic and thematic
innovations reshape the Western genre and whether later Westerns have continued or rejected these
innovations.
Project Blog
Post 1: Fourth Blog - method
What type of method have you selected? Why?
I have opted to use Kristin Thompson's Neoformalism methodology, as the neoformalist analysis I have read coincides greatly with my research. Utilizing a type of analysis created by an established and prestigious film theorist presents a justified and cohesive methodology, which would lend credibility to my own analysis.
Explain and justify 3-5 steps of your method.
1. I will watch each movie thoroughly, taking preliminary notes on the following categories:
1) Mise en scène
Light; decor; costumes; placement and movement of figures; or graphics: composition, color, and movement.
2) Sound
Music; effects; voice; fidelity; pitch; volume, mixage (multiple tracks), timbre; simultaneous/nonsimultaneous; onscreen/offscreen.
3) Camera/frame
Movement; distance; angle; height; lens; exposure; speed.
4) Editing
Temporal; spatial; graphic; continuity/discontinuity.
5) Optical effects
Transitions; color; distortion.
2. I will codify my findings, combining certain techniques if the scene requires it (for example, in the climax of Once Upon a Time in the West, Leone times the camera movement, editing, and blocking of actors with the musical score to create tension. In such cases, isolating a singular technique or element would be insufficient; instead, the interplay between mise en scène, sound, and cinematography must be analyzed simultaneously).
3. I will then rewatch the movies again, to solidify and alter any of my data collection, as well as gather final overarching conclusions.
Identify and explain at least TWO limitations/challenges of your method.
One limitation of my method is the low amount of films I am choosing to analyze closely, I will bolster this with evidence from other films (ones that are not included in the in depth analysis, but that are imperative to the argument), however the issue still stands of establishing a change over time with a relatively low sample size. Another limitation is my own skills as a film analyst, as I am not as adept as people like Thompson, my analysis may have shortcomings I cannot forsee or solve.
Post 2: Fifth Blog - Preliminary Data and Analysis (Kahaan Vyas)
Definitions:
ASL - average shot length
Diagetic - sound from within the movie’s world
The Searchers (credits end at 1:30)
ASL: 9.8
Begins with a bombastic orchestral score and a title sequence. The credits continue with a traditional American cowboy song in the background.
The film opens with a woman opening a door, revealing the beautiful expanse of Monument Valley, accompanied by an orchestrated American folk music-inspired score.
Dialogue is first spoken at 2:11, but there is no initial silence such as with Leone’s and Eastwood’s films.
Editing: Classical Hollywood editing, much longer average shot length, as well as extensive use of static framing
Actors move within the static framing, with subtle camera movements used sparingly for emphasis
Once Upon a Time in the West (OUATITW; movie starts at 0:30)
ASL: 7.0
Initial silence broken: 1:45
2 lines of dialogue before more silence
No more dialogue until: 12:32
This sequence is entirely devoid of music, with the only sound being creaking wood, flies buzzing, water dripping, and a windmill.
Editing: Leone frequently juxtaposes extreme close-ups with expansive scenery, in his words, making the face into a sort of landscape. Shots vary in length, from extremely quick energetic cuts to almost unorthodox in their extended length (depending on the scene). A frequent rhythm is Leone stretching tension out to the farthest possible point, and then some beyond that, before a quick and instant release.
Extended multi-minute silences are more or less solely featured in OUATITW, a unique feature of Sergio Leone’s style (the opening is around 12 minutes of silence).
Unforgiven (the movie starts at 1:11, with an opening crawl and quiet music set to the backdrop of Munny’s silhouetted homestead in the sunset)
ASL: 4.2
Initial silence broken: 1:41
Quiet music soon fades out and is replaced with diegetic sounds of wood creaking, rain, etc.
Editing: Unforgiven presents a more modern, American editing style, with much shorter shots on average
In dialogue exchanges: shot -> reaction shot
Similar to Leone, different from Ford
Frequent silent reaction shots, a trademark of Leone’s, show his influence on Eastwood’s style
Dramatic Character introductions
The ‘Schofield Kid’ appears out of nowhere, surprising us as much as Munny
A very similar entrance to Harmonica in OUATITW, at least in audience perception (surprise at a character appearing out of the blue)
The West appears gritty and grimy, VERY much akin to the sweaty faces of Leone’s films, a feature absent from the romanticized Monument Valley of John Ford
Eastwood also partially dedicated the film to Leone, citing the Italian’s influence on his filmmaking style.
Three Scenes: ‘Searchers mezcal’, ‘OUATITW coffee’, and ‘Unforgiven coffee’
-- I am working on a way to acquire screengrabs of the movies to visually show what I’m discussing (as I think that would greatly bolster my data analysis), but for now, the rough draft of the words will have to suffice.
The Searchers (1:17:56 -> 1:21:00)
Ethan and Martin enter the cantina with a distant static shot showing the full room. Mose enters the frame, jumping from the right. The camera imperceptibly follows this action and moves a centimeter to the left, but it is still the same shot, framing, and distance. Ford cuts to the bar, framing the bartender and the three patrons in tandem. As Mose is talking, Ford pushes the camera in to frame the three characters and cut the bartender out of the frame, who had already begun to move out of the camera’s view. This shot remains still for the rest of the dialogue exchange until Mose mentions another man, who happens to be sitting behind them. Ethan shifts, revealing the Mexican man is sitting behind him, before Ford cuts to the same angle that Ethan and Martin entered the Cantina with. As the new character approaches the bar, Ford cuts to the previous bar angle, this time without the extra push in, so we see the bartender as well. Ford repeats the same push in as Martin leaves the frame, dejected that Ethan won’t offer him a drink. The only other angle Ford uses in the entire scene shows Marty eating alone at a table while the three patrons smoke cigars and talk business at the bar in the background. Having finished, Ethan approaches Martin and tells him they’re leaving, and the scene ends by cutting to the same angle that started the scene. With three camera angles and six cuts, Ford constructs an extremely efficient and unfrivolous three-minute scene. Leone’s stylized and choreographed camera movements stand in stark contrast to Ford's restraint.
OUATITW
The scene starts with a Medium shot of Jill and follows her as she walks around the home. She turns her back to the camera, walks over to Cheyenne, and sits at the coffee table where he faces the camera. We cut to a close of Cheyenne, seeing his reaction to Jill’s growing comfort in his presence. We go back and forth between the two with over-the-shoulder shots as they converse; both characters stay in the shot regardless of the angle. Leone switches this shot/reverse rhythm to a series of intimate close-ups, signifying the characters’ growing relationship, before releasing the tension by cutting to the previous over the shoulder where Jill gets up to put the coffee pot in the sink and clean the dinner table.
Unforgiven
In Unforgiven, the scene starts with a medium shot of Munny and follows him as he walks to the table where the initially apprehensive ‘Schofield Kid’ is sitting, back turned to the camera. Munny offers the Kid a mug of coffee, and as his hand stretches to receive it, Eastwood cuts to a reverse shot of the Kid and Munny’s back, signifying his growing comfort in Munny’s presence. We go back and forth between the two to gauge their reactions, with the odd close-up on Munny depending on the dialogue; both characters stay in the shot regardless of the angle (except for the close-ups, which are very similar to Leone’s). Eventually, Eastwood favors exchanging mediums of the two characters, and the camera follows Munny as he walks through the scene, the same as Jill in OUATITW. The tension is released when Munny’s son enters the scene, and just as in OUATITW, Eastwood cuts to the previously used over-the-shoulder, framing Munny and his son in the doorway of their home as the Kid watches with his back turned to the camera (in the same way as Jill and Cheyenne when she gets up to put the coffee pot in the sink).
The data I have gathered so far signifies a throughline in Leone’s innovations and that he stylized the Western on top of what John Ford had done. Eastwood is influenced by Leone’s thematic and cinematic style; however, my data is currently incomplete. I have more scenes in mind to analyze, as well as another rewatch of the films after my preliminary data gathering is fully complete, to see if there’s anything I missed. One large point I did not touch on in the above notes is something I intend to bolster with literature: Leone more or less created the anti-hero archetype for future Westerns: Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” and Charles Bronson’s “Harmonica” are prime examples, and this type of hero is the predominant protagonist model for Westerns after Leone’s introduction.