Purely Joyful Movie!

How sad is this?

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

One can definitely tell Sergio was involved. Naming the bad guys The Wild Bunch and having a grave marker for Sam Peckenpah was outstanding. Good use of humor.Made during the near end of Fonda's cowboy days. Pure old-time spaghetti Western, only with a mix of lots of humor. Sadly they don't make films like this anymore. Best line by Fonda, "When you find yourself covered in s---, sometimes it pays to keep quiet."

Time is one sneaky thief.Less than a decade before he played an Oscar-winning geriatric in "On Golden Pond" (and was too weak in real life to collect his award), Henry Fonda could still convincingly play a deadly gunfighter who is just 51. In the memorable opening scene of "My Name Is Nobody," we watch him effectively deal with three would-be assassins without ruffling the shaving cream on his chin.Nobody does it better than Jack Beauregard. That's his biggest problem; Nobody (Terence Hill) is the name of his dogged follower and apparent rival, not so much because Nobody's trying to kill Beauregard directly but because he wants to see him take on the deadliest gang in the West. Nobody has a bad case of hero worship, it seems, and wants Jack to be remembered as one of the greats."Someone like you ought to go out with style," Nobody tells Jack.Style is something "My Name Is Nobody" has going for it in spades. Directed by Tonino Valerii with assistance from producer and concept originator Sergio Leone, "My Name Is Nobody" looks gorgeous and sounds even better with a lively if sometimes overly cute Ennio Morricone score. Fans of Leone's "Dollars" trilogy and "Once Upon A Time In The West" will recognize the use of close-ups, depth of field, odd sounds, and long stretches of men staring at each other and making the audience uncomfortable. It's all good, to a point.What it lacks is any real story. Beyond the concept, there's not much to make the characters move, or engage us as an audience. This becomes painfully evident 40 minutes in, when Nobody shoots down a dwarf on stilts for no reason except easy laughs. After that, the film wobbles from set-piece to set-piece with little time for exposition or establishing structure. The tone veers from serious suspense to goofball comedy so quickly it doesn't feel like there are any directors behind this movie, let alone two of them.Which sequences did Leone direct? The opening bears either his fingerprints or that of a quality imitator. The film has a big ending, too, Beauregard facing the "Wild Bunch" with Nobody looking on, but after an impressive build that sequence comes off as slapdash and pretty lame, especially if you are a horse lover. One comment here links Leone to just three brief comic scenes, including one that takes place at a urinal involving an engineer with a bad prostate that is the film's longest, most painful waste of time."Nobody" does keep you watching, even as it gets more and more outlandish. It's like a fun house even before it actually winds up in one. Through it all, Fonda retains a tired majesty that wears well here, as believably threatening as he was in "...In The West" but genial in the right places. Nobody is both a clown as well as one of those omniscient killers like The Man With No Name or Harmonica were in past Leone films. He and Beauregard develop a nice rapport over the course of the movie."Just like the good old days!" Nobody enthuses, after Beauregard shoots four shots through the same hole in Nobody's hat."There never was any 'good old days,'" Beauregard answers.The film never builds enough on moments like these. Instead of having much time together, the main characters keep breaking off so they can come together again in another set-piece sequence to show off their skills and the director's way with a camera, whichever director that happens to be. Yes, Fonda's great to watch here, and Hill can be fun as well. Still "Nobody" winds up being a film of some inventiveness yet minimal engagement.

My Name is NOBODY: A "classic" western movie of another art! The Story: Original! Well selected actors to portray the two (2) main characters. Henry Fonda - as the cool, yet self-assured laid-back fastest drawing Cowboy (or should I write Cowman?) still alive! Enjoying his Life style of loneliness (but doesn't know he's lonely!). Giving the character the demure of a Classy Gentleman, just don't mess w/him!Whereas, you have Terence Hill, with his boyish humor, admiring FAN of Jack B. who wants to help him retire - leaving a Historical Legend behind that no one, NO ONE could ever be more successful than Jack B. Selecting Terence Hill in this role was the balance between the two main characters. (not to mention Terence's first scene of him in the lake....and all you see are his absolutely beautiful BLUE EYES on that SEXY FACE! OMG!!!!!)The Orchestration: EXCELLENT! Can't get any better - for this particular movie. It was the PERFECT orchestration for this movie! The music is OFTEN used on German TV (especially in Berlin, Germany) simply because it's very lovely, cute and one you'll never forget. It stays with you! In Berlin, you'll often hear it played as background music for a TV show, or someone whistling it as they're walking on the street. (I downloaded it on my computer and on my MP3 player).A really nice movie for a Saturday afternoon! One to keep as a classic for your home movie library!

My Name is Nobody (1973)The start of this movie is as archetypal and fabulous as any Sergio Leone movie, and it suggests another great stab at the old genre. Even knowing that it's a spoof doesn't take away from the high drama that is really possible with such great filming and pacing. And it reminds you that the earlier Spaghetti Westerns were spoofs, too, in their own way.But the idea is really thin here, and stretched too long, and with some annoying music, so that sometimes you can't believe it's the same film. Henry Fonda is pretty amazing in his stoicism. He never quite winks at us pulling it off. The main lead is little known Terence Hill, who never has a name (or his name really is Nobody), and he's meant to be more cute than cool, a new kind of good guy who's so fast with guns he never has to snarl, but just confidently goes his smiling way. The final showdown reveals the whole concept to things and it's great fun the first time.I totally loved this movie when I was a kid. I just watched The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and maybe I'd had my fill of this kind of excess, with the single idea (supplied by Leone, we are told in big letters) not enough for a full length film.