Album artwork courtesy of the label
On the turntable
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CinemaNo. 10 of the Continental 100
Once Upon a Time in the West
Ennio Morricone · 1968
Written before the film was shot, and better than most films ever made.
Why it matters
Leone had Morricone compose first and then played the music on set, which is why the picture moves at the speed of the score rather than the other way round. Jill's theme — soprano, strings, and a sense of enormous distance — is one of the few pieces of film music that works entirely without the film.
The Continental setting
A long empty road, first light, the roof down and the coffee still too hot to drink.
Start here
- 01Jill's America
- 02Once Upon a Time in the West
- 03The Man with the Harmonica
The most cinematic music ever written, film or no film.
See the full list →
