Throwback Review: Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)

AKA C'era una volta il West

Italy/USA

165 mins.

Directed by Sergio Leone

Starring: Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Claudia Cardinale, Gabrielle Ferzetti

This is Sergio Leone's second best film after The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Second. For anyone to have a number two film as great as Once Upon A Time In The West says one thing: the man was more than merely a master filmmaker.

Now, with the ass-kissing out of the way...

OUATITW takes place in a weird part of American history. With that said, it's not even a bit ironic that a visionary Italian filmmaker orchestrated it all.

Director Sergio Leone had done it before, of course, with the classic "Man With No Name trilogy" (which really isn't a trilogy at all and Eastwood has a name in all three, but Three Films With Three Different Dudes doesn't sound as catchy). OUATITW is a completely different animal compared to the Eastwood series. While that pulpy, hard-boiled collection feels raw and uncontrollable at every turn, OUATITW is much more epic and somber in feeling. The best parts here are Ennio Morricone's terrific score and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli's rich and haunting capture of the combination of Utah, Arizona, Italy and Spain to create a West that's strangely familiar and oddly alien at the same time.

The story revolves around five characters who cross paths with each other throughout the film: Harmonica (Charles Bronson) is a wandering gunslinger, playing his harmonica more than he talks and on the hunt for Frank (Henry Fonda). Frank's a cruel, heartless monster of a man that kills without any feeling or remorse and just so happens to be in league with railroad tycoon Morton (Gabrielle Ferzetti) in a land-snatching plot involving the inheritance of Jill (Claudia Cardinale), a big-city girl thrust into the wild west, now alone and struggling to simply stay alive. Last but not least, there's the dangerous but lovable bandit Cheyenne (Jason Robards) fresh out of captivity and ready to swing things his way, whatever the cost.

The expansion of the railroad is the key element of this story. The ghosts of westerns past haunt the proceedings as the money of the railroad barons and thirst of the land developers evaporate the mystery and beauty of the frontier. Morricone cleverly composed a distinct score for each of the five main characters, with Harmonica's being the most intimidating, Frank's the most conflicted, Jill's is all tenderness and longing, Morton has the saddest heme and Cheyenne's is deviously playful. It adds a whole new level to the film and it's impossible not to hum Cheyenne's theme even long after the movie is over.

To pick a scene-stealer out of one of the best casts assembled is like trying to eat only one kind of burrito at Chipotle. You're just not supposed to. Try the carnitas, Jason Robards. Even the extras are memorable for crying out loud. Claudia Cardinale is gorgeous, Henry Fonda's steely blue eyes are mesmerising, Charles Bronson exudes outraged yet reserved sadness with just a look and Robards is freaking Robards.

Real Movie Moment - Harmonica's revelation of his connection to Frank is still one of the most chilling, haunting sequences in film history. Goosebumps every single time I see it. In a way, Morricone's score here is almost better than in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Almost...

lMC