Once Upon a Time in The West - Analysing the opening (Plus brief definition of Digetic and Non Digetic sound)

Outline/Summary: In the opening scene of Once Upon A Time in the West there is not much action happening, apart from 3 cowboys come in to the train stop but they all come in different entrances so they all surround the conductor but still blocking all the entrances there for there is no escape for the old conductor to run. If you look closely you can see that one of the cowboys is black, this wasn’t seen a lot back in then. One of the cowboys who I would expect to the leader comes up to the conductor, he doesn’t say anything, you can see the conductor is quite nervous and there is a bit on edge to what is going to happen, he also stutters. Also one of the other cowboys torments the budgie in the cage, this shows there isn’t much respect for the conductors things. Then it goes back focusing on the main cowboy and the conductor, after the conductor gave the cowboy lets the tickets the conductor gave him they lets them blow away, the conductor then sees the cowboys hand coming towards him. This gesture was very quick but was firm. The conductors face then drops as the cowboys hand is on his kind of around his neck. The face of the conductor fills with fear because he doesn’t know what these 3 cowboys will do to him. It doesn’t help that the cowboy then gives smirk. The conductor has a disadvantage that he is old and also there are 3 cowboys so he doesn’t really have a choice but to follow. As the cowboy then walks the conductor to a cupboard which the then firm pushes him in, he kind of trips and but is quickly to turn around. The cowboy then tells him to hush up. The other cowboys then shut the conductor in and leave him there. While all this is happening and Indian lady is watching but saying nothing. After the Conductor is shut up she Indian lady then run off .This is probably because she is scare of what the cowboys may do to her.

Sound: There is a lot of sound in the beginning which helps bring the tension of the scene up, as you don’t know what is going to happen.
  At the beginning the door creaks really loudly open which wouldn’t expect in the west. The screech of the chalk on the black board is something that a lot of people don’t like and it makes people cringe at when they hear it. So your already wondering what is going to happen. You can hear the wind in the background which helps set the scene and what is like it shows it desolate, empty, open space. The footsteps of the cowboy as he walks towards the conductor as anticipation, because you don’t know what the cowboy is going to do. He also sounds like is powerful and controlled and calm.
  There is also a repeating noise in the background which also helps add tension of what about to happen. One of the cowboys torments the bird in the cage by making a weird sound and then the bird replies like it giving a warning. This makes you think what the cowboys are going to do.
  A few second after this, the conductor talks about tickets etc, the cowboy then lets them blow out of his hand etc. But then the main cowboys puts his hand on the conductors shoulder, you hear it ‘lump’ on to the old man shoulder he did put it there also as soon as this happens you can hear a rooster in the background.

Camera Shots: There are a few different shots but they are used again and again. For example when the cowboy first walks in there is a wide shot so that you can see the door opening. Then it switches to what is happening on the chalk board which is close up then it zooms out to reveal a medium close up which with the conductor with the black board in the back ground.
   These camera shots are used though out the first scene. Also there is the use of panning around the room they are in. So you can take in more of what’s happening. The first scene also has a medium close up, a mid shot, a kind of over the should shot ( where the conductor is talking the cowboy, from the cowboys view) there is wide shots, also possible cutaways.

 

Click here to View the Opening scene of Once Upon a Time in the West

Definitions of Digetic & Non-Digetic

Digetic = Natural to the film. E.g Voices, wind, doors

Non-Digetic = Not natural – has been added. E.g Music, sound effects