In the tradition of the genre, if you were to say this in a taberna full of bloodthirsty banditos, you would have about 20 guns pointed at you, amigo!
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I think it all comes down to personal taste. The international version works fine for me because it was the first I ever watched on TV. I do think that some of the Civil War stuff goes on a bit because it serves as a backdrop to the main story, which is about three rogues looking for gold, and Leone does appear to shift the focus away from the plot. But it is what it is, it’s part of the experience.
I wouldn’t want to see a version without Brother Ramirez (love that scene!) but if I’m being a bit nit-picky, I can probably do without some of stuff with the Union officer at the bridge. The problem is of course is that we’ll all have different views about what should stay and what should go.
When I was a kid, I thought this was the greatest spaghetti western I’d ever seen but as I’ve aged, I realise that For a Few Dollars More is the superior film in the trilogy and that is largely due to the fact that it doesn’t get sidetracked with multiple subplots. Funny since FAFDM bored me as a kid. I loved this one and Fistful and only tolerated FAFDM. Our minds really do change!
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FAFDM is the weakest of the Dollars films, a bit childish sometimes really. Some stuff is really good but other stuff makes me cringe. FOD makes a stronger impact as a whole even though the story is borrowed from Yojimbo.
I’m not going to cut the Ramirez scene of course. But GBU is nearly 3 hours long, that is a lot for a motion picture. You can get rid of a few minutes and it will make the film flow better I’m sure.