Once Upon a Time in Hannover

"Half of my “doof-Deutsch” alone probably comes from repeat screenings of Once Upon a Time in the West (C’era una volt ail West, 1968), Sergio Leone’s classic epic based on a story written by Leone himself alongside Dario Argento and Bernardo Bertolucci, and with a script by Sergio Donati. But I didn’t know it under its Italian or English title. I knew this film as Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod, which translates into “Play me the Song of Death.” And, to this day, THAT title is the one that still gives me goosebumps. Looking at all the other options, I have to say that, in my book, it wins – hands down – over all other entries. Huuliharppukostaja… ? C’mon, Finland! You can do better than that! Spain snoozes on the job with Hasta que llego su hora (“Until his time came,” yawn). Most translations just shoot for the equivalent of “It was once a western,” and let me tell you that whether you’re in Hungary (Volt egyszer egy vadnyugat) or the Netherlands (Het Gebeurde in het westen), that’s just not putting a gun to your temple and urging you to take a seat..."