Once Upon a Time in the West

Rating:
Summary: Films don't get any better
Review: Everybody knows Sergio Leone's "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly." Even if they only know how to humm parts of the theme music. Those who have seen it invariably rate it as something better that superb. "Once Upon A Time in the West" postdates "Good/Bad/Ugly" and takes everything that makes that film great and magnifies it until everything in frame ceases to be even slightly realistic and becomes an sometimes almost overloaded poem.

For my money this film easily surpasses "Good/Bad/Ugly" on several levels. When Leone made this he was at the height of his fame and power. This meant that he could do pretty much as he liked.

Firstly, he filmed this western in the USA, his first. The locations are nothing short of astonishing. Secondly he hired every big name he could. Third, he indulged himself when it came to budget, sets and production values.

Lastly, he found the biggest story he could, and told it as big as he could, and thats *big.*

The shots are long. Some of them seem to take hours. Sergio Leone takes joy in letting us watch water drip onto a waiting badman's hat for what seems like several minutes. They are brilliant, exciting minutes. This is a film to watch again and again.

Stay away from any Pan and Scan version of this film. "Once Upon a Time in the West" was filmed by a master craftsman in magnificent 235:1 widescreen. This film is an epic and uses every square inch of its frame to blow your mind. Panning and Scanning it is an insult and a straight out ripoff.

Other people on this site have called this the best western ever made. It is.

Wait for the DVD.

Rating:
Summary: a great western
Review: one of the truly great westerns of all time. the acting, beautiful music, all make for a must see movie. it just doesn't get any realer or better than this

Rating:
Summary: Western Movies
Review: It is the Best Western Movie ever made.

Rating:
Summary: part of a very short list of best films
Review: I have not yet seen this film in letterbox format, which is a tragedy. Even without that version, I put this film up there with my all time favorite movies. While Leone got his start lifting the plot from Kurosawa's Yojimbo, he clearly has genious of his own which develops over time with this work of art as result. Very slow paced (in a good way, you don't want it to end), sprawling epic (my favorite kind of movie) with beautiful cinematography and brilliant soundtrack. This film is flawless.

Rating:
Summary: Should be 10 stars!
Review: This is my all time favorite western, right up there with the Clint Eastwood "spaghetti westerns"! Outstanding performances from Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, and Charles Bronson with that haunting harmonica music! I can watch it again and again and still get moved by it! Wish it would come out in DVD!

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful cinematic opera
Review: Sergio Leone directed only six films in his career. You can nearly call all of them classics, but "Once Upon A Time In The West" is my favourite.

Francois Truffaut once wrote that if film would become a silent artform again, many directors (the lesser ones) would suddenly be out of a job. One of the filmmakers who would have survived was Leone. His films were actually silent films which depended on as little dialogue as possible. This is especially true for "Once Upon A Time In The West". The picture largely consists of beautifully choreographed sequences in which no character speaks and like in silent films, the music score plays a major role. For this movie, Ennio Morricone wrote one of the most memorable scores in motion picture history. Leone owed much of the films success to him. Leone knew how important the music was for this film and acted on it. He asked Morricone to write the music before they started filming so that the actors (who all do a magnificent job) can move to the music. The result is perfect.

Each time I watch this film I realize that the term masterpiece is used too often to describe decent films, but the term is perfectly appropriate for "Once Upon A Time In The West". When magazines ask their readers to create an alltime favourite list, the film regularly appears on these lists and it has really earned its reputation.

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Cardinale takes a bubble bath!
Review: Those three minutes or so of Claudia Cardinale taking that bubble bath are reason enough to get this.

Rating:
Summary: THE best Western EVER--TRUST ME!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Should definitely be put out on DVD.
Review: A great western with a beautiful music score. Henry Fonda plays a really mean villian which matches well against Bronson's cool calculating character; and how about that scene right after the opening credits.

Rating:
Summary: A clinic in film making
Review: If you have a poor attention span, I reccommend you stay away. This movie is perhaps the best I have ever seen in terms of creating a mood. The script is great though the dialogue could be a little better at points, (I know that seems wrong but you'll see). Very deep but doesn't sacrifice plot. The direction is first class and the acting is good. The only flaw of the movie is the sound editing which, at times, appears as if some of the actors are being dubbed. Superb ending. Charles Bronson controls the screen, Jason Robards has a good time, Henry Fonda is haunting, and Claudia Cardinale is radiantly beautiful. A must for any serious film fan or aspiring director.