Well, fair enough I suppose. I still feel that if people are able to learn just what constitutes a 'good' film then maybe, just maybe, more good films will be made. If the way to introduce them to a 'good' film is a final scene, taken out of context, then so be it!

In reply to this comment by budzos:
I see your point, but I still don't think the finale is a good way to introduce someone to this film.

In reply to this comment by therealblankman:
In my opinion, you're missing the point and, no offense, are being a bit elitist. Agreed- this film and other masterpieces of cinema should be seen on the silver screen, but like a lot of great art in an era of the mass consumption of populist media, it helps to have a gentle introduction by others who know better. Not everyone can attend film school, just like not everyone can afford to travel to Paris to visit the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa in person. I've been introduced to more than a few great and sometimes obscure films this way.

In reply to this comment by budzos:
I downvoted because this is a cinematic masterpiece and should never be presented as a Youtube clip. It offends me as a true lover of film. It's like looking at the Mona Lisa through a keyhole. I downvoted the last time someone else submitted it as well. I hadn't noticed your downvote, but thanks for caring so much.

I see your point, but I still don't think the finale is a good way to introduce someone to this film.

In reply to this comment by therealblankman:
In my opinion, you're missing the point and, no offense, are being a bit elitist. Agreed- this film and other masterpieces of cinema should be seen on the silver screen, but like a lot of great art in an era of the mass consumption of populist media, it helps to have a gentle introduction by others who know better. Not everyone can attend film school, just like not everyone can afford to travel to Paris to visit the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa in person. I've been introduced to more than a few great and sometimes obscure films this way.

In reply to this comment by budzos:
I downvoted because this is a cinematic masterpiece and should never be presented as a Youtube clip. It offends me as a true lover of film. It's like looking at the Mona Lisa through a keyhole. I downvoted the last time someone else submitted it as well. I hadn't noticed your downvote, but thanks for caring so much.

Jack Elam was your Uncle? Man, that guy had a beautiful face- sincerely. Leone had an amazing eye for interesting faces, which is shown to amazing effect in this scene. Too bad he wasn't quicker on the draw, he might still be alive today!

In reply to this comment by Jordass:
Big upvote, not only because its an awesome opening scene but out of respect for my great Uncle the fuckin man Jack Elam

In my opinion, you're missing the point and, no offense, are being a bit elitist. Agreed- this film and other masterpieces of cinema should be seen on the silver screen, but like a lot of great art in an era of the mass consumption of populist media, it helps to have a gentle introduction by others who know better. Not everyone can attend film school, just like not everyone can afford to travel to Paris to visit the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa in person. I've been introduced to more than a few great and sometimes obscure films this way.

In reply to this comment by budzos:
I downvoted because this is a cinematic masterpiece and should never be presented as a Youtube clip. It offends me as a true lover of film. It's like looking at the Mona Lisa through a keyhole. I downvoted the last time someone else submitted it as well. I hadn't noticed your downvote, but thanks for caring so much.

therealblankman posted the final showdown already
http://www.videosift.com/video/Once-Upon-a-Time-in-the-West-Final-Showdown

Great flick...."Venite a me, Claudia Cardinale!!"

Great movie, great scene, but still doesnt compare to the power of this scene:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Once-Upon-a-Time-in-the-West-Final-Showdown
http://www.videosift.com/video/BBC-Documentary-Once-Upon-a-Time-in-the-West

Great song indeed, was just about to submit it, so heres the post I was preping:

The Orb

From the tracks Wiki:

"Little Fluffy Clouds" is centered around clips from an interview with Rickie Lee Jones in which she recalls to LeVar Burton picturesque images of her childhood. Critics and fans sometimes attribute the odd nasal tonality of Rickie Lee Jones' voice to drug use, though Jones later claimed that it was the result of a heavy cold. The sample comes from "A Conversation with Rickie Lee Jones", an interview featured on a promotional 2-CD edition of the Flying Cowboys album.

Burton: "What were the skies like when you were young?"

Jones: "They went on forever – They - When I w- We lived in Arizona, and the skies always had little fluffy clouds in 'em, and, uh... they were long... and clear and... there were lots of stars at night. And, uh, when it would rain, it would all turn - it- They were beautiful, the most beautiful skies as a matter of fact. Um, the sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire, and the clouds would catch the colors everywhere. That's uh, neat cause I used to look at them all the time, when I was little. You don't see that. You might still see them in the desert."

Jones was upset at the unauthorized use of her voice and pursued the issue in the legal system. Big Life chose to settle out of court for an undisclosed sum of money for use of her voice on The Orb's recording.

The song also uses a harmonica sample from Ennio Morricone's The Man With The Harmonica (from the film Once Upon a Time in the West) and parts of Electric Counterpoint ,a piece for multitracked guitars composed by Steve Reich and recorded by Pat Metheny. Reich, unlike Jones, was "genuinely flattered" by The Orb's use of his work and instructed his record company not to sue.Alex Paterson has also mentioned that fans would "die" if they discovered where the drums on "Little Fluffy Clouds" originated from.

100: Night of the Living Dead
99: Laura
98: Dead Poets Society
97: Bladerunner
96: The Lost Weekend
95: Oceans 11
94: Star Wars: Episode IV
93: Midnight Run
92: It Came from Outer Space
91: The Right Stuff
90: The Fugitive
89: The French Connection
88: Back To The Future
87: Cast Away
86: Quiz Show
85: The Silence of the Lambs
84: Titanic
83: The Magnificent Seven (?)
82: Rain Man
81: Galaxy Quest
80: Harold and Maude
79: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
78: The Day The Earth Stood Still
77: The Apartment
76: The Great Escape
75: The Hustler
74: Ed Wood
73: The Jerk
72: Raiders of the Lost Ark
71: When Harry Met Sally
70: Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
69: M*A*S*H
68: The Breakfast Club
67: The King and I
66: Gentleman's Agreement (?)
65: The Princess Bride
64: Yellow Submarine
63: Network
62: Mister Roberts
61: Singles
60: Gone With the Wind
59: The Awful Truth
58: Goldfinger
57: The Manchurian Candidate
56: It's a Wonderful Life
55: The Blues Brothers
54: The Remains of the Day
53: Midnight Express
52: Waking Ned Devine
51: Roman Holiday
50: Cool Hand Luke
49: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
48: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
47: The Big Sleep
48: On The Waterfront
45: The Hudsucker Proxy
44: Dirty Harry
43: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
42: Finding Nemo
41: Ben Hur
40: Superman
39: The 39 Steps
38: Aliens
37: Men In Black
36: Clerks
35: Harvey
34: Marty
33: The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (?)
32: All About Eve (?)
31: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
30: The Wild Bunch
29: Young Frankenstein
28: The Bridge Over the River Kwai
27: The Usual Suspects
26: North By Northwest
25: Sunset Blvd.
24: Escape From New York
23: The Wizard of Oz
22: Casablanca
21: The Lion in Winter
20: Boogie Nights
19: The Shawshank Redemption
18: Almost Famous
17: The Maltese Falcon
16: The Natural
15: Being John Malcovich
14: The Professionals
13: Laurence of Arabia
12: Ghostbusters
11: This is Spinal Tap
10: Citizen Kane
9: 12 Angry Men
8: Office Space
7: To Kill a Mockingbird
6: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
5: The Godfather
4: Fargo
3: L.A. Confidential
2: Once Upon a Time In the West
1: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

That's off the top of my head. My wife saw this and filled in a few more, and corrected a few.

You get so sick of this song by the end of the movie. Sort of like Charle's Bronson's harmonica tune in Once Upon a Time in the West, or "A Woman Like You" by the end of The Big Lebowski (used five different times in the movie).

Ennio Morricone (born November 10, 1928) is an Italian composer especially noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores of more than 500 films and TV series. Although only 30 of these are for Western films, it is for this work which he is best known.

Morricone's sparse style of composition for the genre is particularly exemplified by the soundtracks of the classic spaghetti westerns The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966) and Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968). In more recent years, his haunting scores for The Mission (Roland Joffé, 1986), The Untouchables (Brian DePalma, 1987), Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988), and Lolita (Adrian Lyne, 1997) have demonstrated his giftedness and the power of his work.

He is also credited as Dan Savio. He will receive the Honorary Academy Award in 2007, only the second film composer to be so honored.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennio_morricone

Seen this docu-, its a classy-act! The movies' in the personal top 5 of all time greatest 10 westerns:

Once Upon A Time In the West
Tombstone..(Wyatt Earp was too....Cotsnery)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Hombre
The Wild Bunch(director's cut)

Absolutely great. I still need to see this film, and I think seeing this has given me the final push I needed to move it to the top of my netflix queue (along with once upon a time in a west, thanks to someone posting the brilliant 5 minute intro for that earlier).