While not the greatest story ever written, this is a prime example of what good storytelling competent writers are capable of, as opposed to gimmick directors being prodded by executives to hand hold the biggest rube in the test audience. It's about as perfect an opposite example to to the clumsy exposition-dump heavy, unrealistic, and goofy dialog filling current American movies. And most of the time, that dialog, the special effects, and the frenetic editing are a cover for a story and character actions that don't make any sense.

Instead, we have a film that takes its time letting you soak in the atmosphere, the personality of the characters, and the world to which they belong, and only feeds you enough of the story at a time as is necessary. There's simply no need to front load it. If you have to do that, then your writing isn't any good. We understand these characters because they're people. They're from a different place and time, and they're a little kitschy at times, but we can relate to them, _and_ their story holds together. There's actually plenty of dialog, it's just that the story takes its time, and the shots are long and pore over the texture of the setting, the characters' weathered skin, and their body language and the minutiae of the physical actions and gestures that make these characters who they are. Silence punctuates the dialog and the violence, and makes it more impactful.

That said, the audio in these old films is terrible, and now my ears hurt because of the harsh, high pitched train whistles and gunshots. Turn on loudness equalization and turn down your higher frequencies on your EQ.