Overall Rating
  Awesome: 84.56%
Worth A Look: 8.09%
Just Average: 2.94%
Pretty Crappy: 0.74%
Sucks: 3.68%
3 reviews, 118 user ratings
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| Once Upon a Time in the West |
by John Rice
"An all time classic of theme and style."
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Ask any movie enthusiast who is their all time favorite director and you will generally hear names like Kurosawa, Kubrick. Hitchcock, Lean and other similar choices. Over the last several years, I have realized my answer was becoming the Italian director and father of the "Spaghetti Western," Sergio Leone. The list of my Top 20 favorite movies of all time, constantly changing as it tends to be, has only 2 directors with more than one movie. Ingmar Bergman with Persona & Wild Strawberries, and Sergio Leone with the first and last installment in his final trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America.Like most of Leone's later films, Once Upon a Time in the West is something of an understated epic. Logging in at 165 minutes, it is the shortest of his three greatest films, which also include Once Upon a Time in America and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. What is possibly most notable though, is that during that 165 minutes, there is only roughly 25 minutes of dialog. The remainder of the film is spent on less obvious aspects of plot and theme development, as scenes linger across the faces of characters, jumping from wide angle to close-up, from action to reaction.
The story in Once Upon a Time in the West is quite simple in one aspect, and more complex in another. Several characters are introduced in succession. Initially, their lives are mostly unrelated, but as the film progresses, they are slowly drawn together by circumstance and fate.
The first character introduced is the Leone trademark, "Man with No Name" (Charles Bronson) who becomes known as "Harmonica" due to the harmonica he always carries with him, constantly playing the same, eerie tune. "Harmonica's" appearance comes at the end of a long, nearly dialog free opening scene, with three duster clad gunmen waiting in a train station. For those unfamiliar with Leone's talent for ever so slowly building tension, this scene may seem almost absurdly long as the three men wait in silence for the train to arrive, a scene which climaxes in a sudden and brief burst of action.
The second main character is Jill (Claudia Cardinale) who has arrived in order to get married to Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) and live with him on his ranch. Jill's background is revealed slowly as the story progresses. During her trip to the McBain ranch, Jill crosses paths with Cheyenne (Jason Robards) the leader of a local gang of outlaws who will be framed for a series of murders.
Rounding out the ensemble are Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) the railroad baron traveling in his private train as the track is completed to the Pacific Ocean, and Frank (Henry Fonda) the man hired to "remove small obstacles" during the journey. Fonda's character is notable as the only villain he ever played during his long career, which only increases the impact he has on the role.
I suppose there is a certain irony in the fact it took an Italian to make the definitive American Western. All the classic elements are here. The battle of good and evil. Characters with mysterious pasts which seem somehow connected. A woman who is the object of desire by all the men, good and bad alike. Horses, guns, shootouts, railroads and, of course, the final showdown. What makes Leone's version unique is how he handles these elements. His unusual twist on the classic themes is how he creates a film which is not so much about cowboys and the American West, but the industrial revolution, mass transportation and the effect they would have on the individual.
Leone takes many of the conventional Western themes and turns them around to be seen in a way no other director had or has since. The ultimate survivor is certainly not one found in other westerns. The occasional shootouts are separated by long periods of quiet exposition, as the viewer gradually learns more about each character. Still, there is never a dull moment. Leone had a remarkable knack to have so little happen in his movies and still make it surprisingly interesting and meaningful.
When the final showdown does happen, in a scene which stretches for over 15 minutes, it is not in the center of town, with everyone watching, but in an isolated spot while the other characters actually make a conscious effort to be somewhere else. Leone handles this scene in the same way as the rest of the movie. It is slow developing as he allows the viewer to soak in every nuance, gradually building the tension until the crack of guns rings out and the camera cuts to a close shot of the loser spinning around and trying to place his gun back in the holster. A wonderful touch is to have the loser fall to his knees and try to look back at the victor, except he turns the wrong direction, which causes him to fall to the ground.
In 2003 Paramount finally released a remarkably well restored, full length version of Once Upon a Time in the West in a 2 disc Special Edition. I had seen this film several times, but never dreamed it would look so good. Watching it was like seeing it for the first time. To make matters even better, it carries a very low price, normally retailing for $10 or less. Absolutely any movie fan should include it in their collection.
This review originally appeared on Slacker-Reviews.com.Once Upon a Time in the West is definitely one of the best films ever made and as good a choice as any for my favorite of all time. It manages to walk the fine line between art film and mainstream attraction, simultaneously succeeding at both. Set aside 3 hours, turn down the lights and soak it in.
link directly to this review at https://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=2362&reviewer=373
originally posted: 08/05/04 02:44:56
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OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2008 Chicago International Film Festival For more in the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival series, click here.
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USA
28-May-1969 (PG)
DVD: 18-Nov-2003
UK
N/A
Australia
N/A
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