Once Upon a Time in the West Once Upon a Time in the West
1969 ‘C'era una volta il West’ Directed by Sergio Leone
Synopsis
There were three men in her life. One to take her... one to love her... and one to kill her.
Once Upon a Time in the West is the first and most ambitious film from a trilogy by Sergio Leones. This classic western masterpiece is an epic film about a widow who’s land and life are in danger as the railroad is getting closer and closer to taking them over. A mysterious harmonica player joins forces with Desperado to protect the woman and her land. Brilliant performances and a daring cinematic
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Popular reviews
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While watching Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, one notices that the film is slow, almost unbearably so. The famous opening scene sets the tone: 13 minutes of build up for a mere 5 seconds of violence. Leone and his screen writers have stretched a rather thin revenge plot into a 166 minute epic of the last days of the wild west, filled with death and beauty. Why the deliberate pacing? Because the film is what Leone called a "dance of death". It is a tribute and farewell to the American Western, frequently subverting the generic conventions of the genre. The characters are what Harmonica calls an "ancient race", and by the end, when the railroad arrives,…
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I'm convinced that I don't like westerns.
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How do you give a movie six-stars on Letterboxd?
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I know an argument is often presented for Once Upon A Time In The West being the greatest Western ever made. I would personally, and I'm probably not alone, put a case forward that it is the greatest film ever made full stop.
However, last month when I rewatched The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, I did find myself wondering if I actually preferred the last part of the Dollars trilogy to this film. As it turns out, I actually do and I'm now going to have to shuffle my top 4. Again!
Not that Once Upon A Time In The West proved to be a lesser spectacle on this viewing. I admired and enjoyed it every bit as…
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I'd somehow gone 31 years without watching this so it was a real pleasure to see it at the cinema this evening, a masterpiece in every respect.
I haven't seen a Leone film for years (I saw the Dollars Trilogy in my teens) and what really struck me was the phenomenal sound design; so many of the best scenes are punctuated by ambient and background noises rather than Morricone's (admittedly fantastic) score.
A joy to watch, there were so many times I had a wide grin on my face - one of those rare films where everything just feels right.
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It hurts that it took me over 5 years to return to this classic. It is hard to find a single frame that is lacking some level of depth. There is so much detail packed into every scene, it's as close to reliving the west as you can get. Just the faces. These actors are living in a different era simply in their worn out faces. There aren't enough words in the English language to attribute to how hauntingly beautiful Morricone's score is. Boy, did it suck me in this time.
Recent reviews
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While this film might be a little hard to describe; it's one of the greatest films I've ever seen in my life. But it's directed by Sergio Leone, who's what I'd say is the greatest director of all time; and it stars Charles Bronson, who's my favourite actor. So just based on that I love the film. It's essentially four different stories that come together to form one mighty showdown.
This film is a slow-burner, nothing happens for the first ten minutes. For most directors, that would be painful to endure; but Leone somehow keeps you interested, watching three men waiting for a train to pull into a station. It's definitely nowhere near as entertaining to wait ten minutes for…
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I'm convinced that I don't like westerns.
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To this day, whenever I want to feel cool, I imagine myself walking along a train station platform wearing a duster.
http://infinitecrescendo.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/my-favorite-movies-once-upon-a-time-in-the-west/
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Neck & neck with Good, the Bad & the Ugly as my fave Western, Once Upon a Time in the West has Henry Fonda as a slimy badass who blows away a little boy & then smiles, a stoic but great Charles Bronson & one of the all-time great soundtracks by Ennio Morricone. The moment when the boy runs up to find his family killed & the loud, dramatic music punches in, as Fonda & his scumbag posse walk toward camera (shot from a low angle) wearing those long coats--a great example of when direction, scoring, editing & camerawork all come together in filmic perfection!
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This is certainly a masterpiece. Extraordinary direction from Leone, jawdropping cinematography by Delli Colli, classic soundtrack by Morricone and ruthless acting by Bronson, Ford and Robards. The single reason for it not getting the full 5 stars is by comparing it to The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.
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2 hours and 39 minutes is a long time, but Sergio Leone uses every single frame to build the mood and to build tension
With a genius score by Ennio Morricone this movie is a complete and utter masterpiece, but there's just something holding me back from giving it five stars.
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"You Brought two too many."
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Written in December
It's the darndest thing. I don't know if I've ever had such a strange experience viewing a movie before. I got OUaTitW almost two weeks ago; just about the time when my house guests arrived and holiday crunch time began. I was able to watch it in a few sittings over the course of the first week, but with a lot of distractions, so I decided to take any small moment when I was alone and watch the scenes one by one. Those moments were few and far between, but kept the film always in the back of my mind throughout the holiday. Little pieces would linger, like the lantern's swing revealing Harmonica's eyes, then hiding them…
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Incredible showdown.