Sometimes just 15 minutes are enough for a film to shine as a masterpiece. One of those works for eternity is the western play me the song of death by Sergio Leone. The Italian director became known for his brilliant film language, which reaches its peak in this film.
Thanks to the unique image compositions and the masterful score by composer Ennio Morricone, A Song of Death is not only one of the best westerns, but generally one of the best films of all time. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it on TV on Saturday evening.
Western milestone: This is what Play with me the song of death is about
In the plot of Sergio Leone’s western, the unscrupulous railway entrepreneur Morton has the farmer McBain and his three children murdered by Frank (Henry Fonda) because he owns a piece of land that is in the way of the construction of a new railway line. Jill (Claudia Cardinale), the widow of the murdered man, joins forces with the outlaw Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and a mysterious, nameless harmonica player (Charles Bronson) together to complete her husband’s work and avenge the murder.
Watch the German trailer for Play the Song of Death here:
Play me the song of death – Trailer (German)
Play me a song of death shows the medium of film as an overwhelming art form
The opening scene of A Song of Death alone is one of the most impressive moments in film history. How Sergio Leone stages the meeting of three mysterious gunslingers at a train station is a masterful example of perfect tension buildingwhich works completely without dialogue and only with the power of cinema via images and sounds.
The long, calm camera shots with epic wide-angle shots then run through the rest of the film, which combines the vast desert landscapes of the Western genre with a revenge story that is as brutal as it is tragic. The highlight is the finale, in which a big reveal combined with even bigger images gives the revenge motif even more incredible tragedy.
In addition to the striking faces of stars like Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda, which Leone captures in close-ups like his own landscapes, Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod becomes a milestone thanks to the unforgettable Ennio Morricone score. Never has again the wail of a harmonica created so many goosebumps.
When will I play the song of death on TV?
SWR broadcasts the western masterpiece on January 11, 2025 at 8:15 p.m out of. Alternatively, you can rent or buy The Song of Death from providers such as Amazon Prime. The film is currently not available anywhere in a streaming flat rate.
This article first appeared in a similar form on Moviepilot in November 2021.