Once Upon a Time in the West

Claudia Cardinale is the widow of a businessman whose land is being sought out by a ruthless railroad magnate (Gabrielle Ferzetti). The land is well sought because it is the only known place in the desert within a 50-mile radius where there is any water. Defending Cardinale are a cold, calculating gunslinger (Charles Bronson) and an amiable outlaw (Jason Robards). But standing in their way is a ruthless hired gunman named Frank, played by (are you ready for this?) Henry Fonda!

At 165 minutes in the director's original cut, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST marks a change for Leone. Although part of this film was shot in Spain, where he had shot his previous films, a good deal of it was filmed in John Ford's beloved Monument Valley. Leone gets solid performances by Bronson, Cardinale, and Robards, as well as a stunning fifteen minute opening credit sequence featuring Bronson and two of Fonda's hired hands (Jack Elam, Woody Strode). But Leone scored a real coup by casting Fonda, the man known for playing good guys most of the time, as one of the coldest and meanest villains in screen history; it is he who kills Cardinale's family, and it is he who is being sought out by Bronson for reasons we do not know until the famous confrontation at the end.

Another superb Ennio Morricone score caps this fabulous western epic, one that thankfully can be seen the way Leone had intended, not the horribly butchered version that Paramount had foisted on the public for so many years. Although very long, requiring a good deal of patience, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST is well worth seeing. A classic of the 1960s.


Stunning and dramatic   October 28, 2002
magellan (Santa Clara, CA)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful

I just had a brief comment to make about this film.

This movie had a strangely powerful effect on me, which most movies don't, especially considering it was a western, and I had a couple of ideas on that, so I thought I'd mention them here.

I think one thing Leone did was to transform the players in the movie into almost mythical giants. The characters in the movie, good or bad, are bigger than life, and the emphatic way he shot the close-ups of the actors emphasizes the fact that these characters are terrible bringers of destiny, the way the mythical Greek gods were. In that sense, I think Leone doesn't just over-romanticize the Old West as many before him had done--instead, he sees it as a stage of almost mythical proportions on which the forces of Good and Evil fought life and death battles for supremacy.

I'll just mention one other thing. One brilliant move by Leone was casting Henry Fonda, who normally plays good guys, as the treacherous, cold-blooded, and murderous gunslinger, Frank. All the actors turned in outstanding performances in the move, including Bronson, Cardinale, and Robards, but his choice of Fonda for the lead bad guy was truly inspired, since Fonda did a great job in the role.

Overall a great movie, a great western, and a great testament to Leone's inspired vision of this movie, which is perhaps all the more remarkable in that it was not an American but a foreigner who created it and brought it to us.


THE best Western EVER--TRUST ME!   April 28, 2000
Wayne Browne (New Hampshire)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful

The western is a genre that is often full of cliches and steroetypes. What Once Upon a Time in the West does is nothing short of amazing. It takes all those cliches and stereotypes and puts them all a bit askew. I don't think I have seen a film that has been better at creating so strong a mood throughout a film as this one, and without much dialogue. That gives credit to the excellent direction of this film. Casting Henry Fonda against type as the dark, forboding villian is nothing short of brilliant. He delivers one of his best performances here, being totally believable as a cold, heartless killer. You actually feel intimidated by this character. Charles Bronsan, as the mysterious, nameless stranger, who pursues the bandits with his own agenda, is riveting. Again, this is, without question, his best performance as well. The opening sequence alone is worth a viewing of this movie. It is the greatest opening sequence I've ever seen, rivaled only by the one from Raiders of the Lost Ark..maybe. It's hard to describe with any one word. Watch this film and I think you will be hard put to find another western that comes even close to being this suspenseful, moody, or entertaining.


A Truly Great Film and Western   September 19, 2001
James Remus (Kennesaw, GA USA)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful

The opening hour title sequence is one of the best ever filmed. It sets the eerie mood for the entire film. The skill in which suspense is built using the the camera and ambient sound is astounding. It's almost too much at some points. The photography, including crane shots, combined with Ennio Morricone's excellent score also add greatly to this film, as with the earlier Clint Eastwood "Dollars" Trilogy. Leone's style just kept developing. There are significant differences between this film and the Dollars Trilogy. The Eastwood films are action based and have more humorous elements. Once Upon a Time In The West is deadly serious--there is no humor. But this film also has elements in common, such as the importance of the score and the way the story is conveyed with very little dialogue. The grand scope is reminiscent of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." Much has been made of Eastwood being Leone's first choice for the Harmonica character. In retrospect, however, Bronson was the perfect choice. Its hard to imagine anybody playing this role better. For example, when he responds to being one horse short with "You brought two too many" he makes this character his own. Bronson's character is more brooding than Eastwood's more enigmatic character and has a deep grudge that motivates him throughout. This film needs a re-mastered DVD release.


Magnificent operatic western, possibly the best of all.   July 15, 2001
Mr Ghostface (United Kingdom)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

"C'era Una Volta Il West"

Once Upon a Time in the West is arguably Sergio Leone's best work, and possibly the best western made. A revisionist western, the film examines the stereotypes of its genre through Claudia Cardinale's Jill McBain - no regular woman - and the three gunslingers (Fonda's Frank, Robard's Cheyenne and Bronson's Harmonica).

Each of these characters has embedded within their portrayal a motivation for their actions. Where most western gunslingers simply are, these men are drawn with so much more detail. It is the mysterious motivation driving Bronson's character, for example, which drives a large part of the story, resulting in perhaps the most satisfying pay-off ever seen in cinema. It is hard to conceive how the showdown - and the rich history motivating it - at the end of this film could ever be eclipsed. In addition to this climax is one of cinema's most brilliantly executed entrances, equalled only by Orson Welles in The Third Man and possibly Max von Sydow's in The Exorcist. When the camera tracks forward and turns onto Fonda's face, we are witnessing cinematic perfection.

Also of considerable note is Ennio Morricone's score. Truly dramatic, each of the four leads has his/her own musical motif which underscores their scenes. Jill slightly nostalgic, slightly mournful tune as she enters to be left alone on the station forces us to care for her, despite the fact that she has been on screen for only a few seconds. Bronson's famous Harmonica motif is (if a little over-used) unforgettable. Outstanding.

There is barely a criticism to be made of Once Upon A Time in the West. Perhaps a little over-long depending on what mood you're in watching it, but this truly is unforgettable and unsurpassable cinema.