4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Henry Fonda Edition

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Henry Fonda! Fonda was born 120 years ago today and, over the course of his long career, he was often cast in role the epitomized everything great about America. It’s rare to find a Henry Fonda film in which he played an out-and-out villain, though he did just that in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In The West. (Leone, in fact, cast Fonda as the evil Frank because he knew audiences would be shocked to see Fonda coldly gunning down settlers and their families.)

In honor Henry Fonda’s legacy, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Films

My Darling Clementine (1946, dir by John Ford)

Fort Apache (1948, dir by John Ford)

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968, dir by Sergio Leone)

My Name Is Nobody (1973, dir by Tonino Valerii)

4 Shots From 4 Films: The James Woods Edition!

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Bradley Crain

Today is the 78th birthday of James Woods, one of the great actors of his generation. Capable of completely disappearing into his roles, Woods is known for his unmatched intensity and diversity. He can play anything from a badass action hero to the most evil scum of society, from a mentally handicapped adult to the most intelligent man in the room. He’s been one of my favorite actors since I first discovered him in the late 80’s in the movie BEST SELLER (1987). While he’s won multiple Emmy awards and Golden Globes, the fact he’s never won an Oscar for his acting skills is beyond my comprehension. As he was an Executive Producer of OPPENHEIMER (2023), I particularly enjoyed that film’s Oscar success! Happy Birthday Mr. Woods! Thanks for the countless hours of entertainment you’ve brought into my life!

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984)

SALVADOR (1986)

THE HARD WAY (1991)

GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI (1996)

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special 1968 Edition

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

6 Shots From 6 Films is just what it says it is, 6 shots from 6 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 6 Shots From 6 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we pay tribute to the year 1968! It’s time for….

6 Shots From 6 1968 Films

Night of the Living Dead (1968, dir by George Romero, DP: George Romero)

Petulia (1968, dir by Richard Lester, DP: Nicolas Roeg)

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, dir by Stanley Kubrick, DP: Geoffrey Unsworth)

Psych-Out (1968, dir by Richard Rush, DP; Laszlo Kovacs)

Dracula Has Risen The Grave (1968, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: Arthur Grant)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Bootleggers Edition

Posted on January 17, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today is National Bootleggers Day so remember to speak easy! In honor of everyone’s favorite entrepreneurs, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Films About Bootleggers

The Roaring Twenties (1939, dir by Raoul Walsh, DP: Ernest Haller)

Thunder Road (1958, dir by Arthur Ripley, DP: David Ettenson and Alan Stensvoid)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

The Great Gatsby (2013, dir by Baz Luhrmann, DP: Simon Duggan)

Scene That I Love: Lee Van Cleef, Clint Eastwood, and Klaus Kinski in For A Few Dollars More

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In 1925, on this very date, Lee Van Cleef was born in Somervillve, New Jersey. In honor of what would have been Lee Van Cleef’s 100th birthday, here he is with Klaus Kinski and Clint Eastwood in For A Few Dollars More.

There’s not a lot of dialogue in this scene but when you had actors like Eastwood, Kinski, and Lee Van Cleef, you didn’t need a lot of dialogue to make an impression.

Song of the Day: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly — Main Theme (composed by Ennio Morricone)

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In honor of Sergio Leone’s birthday, today’s song of the day is the main theme from Leone’s best-known film, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Ennio Morricone’s score is as much of a character in this film as the ones played by Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef. It perfectly sets the moods, telling us that we’re about to see something that is truly epic. The opening notes, which have so often been parodied but which have never lost their power, truly capture the feel of Sergio Leone’s mythical vision of the old west.

What did Director Sergio Leone think about working with Charles Bronson?

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Bradley Crain

On what would have been his 96th birthday, I want to take a moment and thank the great director Sergio Leone for sticking with my movie hero Charles Bronson throughout the 60’s. Leone had wanted to work with Bronson on FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, and THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY. Each time, Bronson turned him down for one reason or another. Finally, Bronson took him up on his offer to be one of the stars of ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, a cast that included Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, and Jason Robards. Sergio Leone proceeded to make one of the great westerns and turn Charles Bronson into an international superstar. Reportedly, the director would go on to say after filming the movie that Bronson was the “greatest actor I ever worked with.” That’s indeed very high praise from a master filmmaker, and a testament to Charles Bronson’s talent.

And it’s even cooler that Sergio Leone and my son share the same birthday. I was today years old when I realized that awesome piece of information!

Scenes That I Love: The Final Moments of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(SPOILERS BELOW)

The final moments of Sergio Leone’s epic 1984 gangster film, Once Upon A Time in America, are filed with questions and mysteries.

Who did Noodles (played by Robert De Niro) see standing outside of Max’s mansion? When the garbage truck pulled up, did the mysterious man get in the truck or was he thrown in by some unseen force?

Why, in 1968, did Noodles see a car from the 1920s, one that was full of people who appeared to be celebrating the end of prohibition? Was the car really there or was it an element of Noodles’s past as a gangster suddenly popping into his mind?

Once Upon A Time In America was Sergio Leone’s final film. It’s one that he spent decades trying to get made and, once it was finally produced, it was butchered and re-edited by a studio hacks who demanded that the film tell its story in a linear style. Leone was reportedly heart-broken by how his film was treated. Some have speculated that his disappointment may have even contributed to the heart attack that eventually killed him. It was only after Leone passed that his version of Once Upon A Time In America became widely available in the U.S. This enigmatic epic continues to spark debate. One thing that can’t be denied is that it’s a brilliant film.

As today is Leone’s birthday, it only seems appropriate to share a scene that I love, the final moments of Once Upon A Time In America.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sergio Leone Edition

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Sergio Leone (1929 — 1989)

96 years ago today, Sergio Leone was born in Rome, Italy. The son of actor/screenwriter Vincenzo Leone and silent actress Edvige Valcarenghi, Sergio was born into the Italian film industry. He began his career in the post-war rebuilding period, working as an assistant to Vittorio De Sica and, as an assistant director, for American films that were shot in Italy. (Albeit uncredited, he worked on two Oscar-nominated Biblical epics, Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur.)

After making his directorial debut with The Colossus of Rhodes, Leone went on to direct the films that would change the face of international cinema. Though he was hardly the first director of Spaghetti westerns, he was was the first to achieve far-reaching acclaim. With the Dollars Trilogy, he made Clint Eastwood a star and Eastwood has often said that the majority of what he knows about directing, he learned from working with Leone and later Don Siegel. Leone went on to direct the brilliant Once Upon A Time In The West and Once Upon A Time in America, two epic visions of American history that, sadly, were not initially treated well by their distributors.

Though Leone is only credited with directing eight films, his influence cannot be underestimated. As both a visual artist and a cultural and political commentator, his films continue to influence directors to this day.

For that reason, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Sergio Leone Films