Ghostshadow187

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The outfit. Robert Duvall is great in his role as the not so likable ex con Earl Maclin, on a revenge mission against the outfit(sort of a non Italian mafia) for killing his brother. The film does this in a very different way, in that Maclin, doesn't go about the clichéd "Kill everyone" approach. Instead he demands monetary compensation and warns the outfit that he'll bleed them dry until he gets it. I really enjoyed the first two thirds of the film that deal with Maclin and his accomplice Cody(Joe Don Baker(who was also great in his role)) and how they go about robbing the outfits operations. The finale goes a bit too exploitation and OTT for my liking, which is something of a disappointments. The other problem I had was Maclins relationship with his moll(who only seems to make about 2 major appearances in the film) which i felt was underdeveloped. Overall, The Outfit is a nice little film, that deserves a bit more attention than it got.

I must admit I loved this film, in my humble opinion it equals the good,the bad and the ugly for the title of "best western ever".Leone is a master of suspense, in spite of the fact that he follows the linear narrative rule that "the "hero" alway wins" he can still create palpable tension in the showdown scenes. As the villain Frank, Henry Fonda gives Lee Van Cleef a run for his money as the most ominous Leone villain.Charles Bronson's Harmonica could take the man with no name anyday, while Claudia Cardinale plays one of cinemas great female characters in Jill McBain. The real star in my opinion is Jason Robards "Cheyenne" a character with a real sense of longing for the love of Jill McBain. (It's a wonder Robards wasn't in more high profile roles) All in All "The west" rivals once upon a time in America as my favourite Leone film.