Once Upon a Time in the West (1969)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Crappy film

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The real "characters" of this film are The Train and The Railway. Only then those wonderful actors called Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards. And between them, as a gorgeous and vital "buffer", Morricone's music, without which any Leone's movie would have the half-size of the value if not even reduced to a quarter. I've seen it several times, I studied for a long time, I could give my doctoral thesis with this film, as with all the other films directed by old Sergio. The story is very simple and the only secret, the true identity of Bronson-Harmonica, is revealed, just like in other Leone's films, only at the end. Jack Elam and Woody Strode would have deserved more screen time. It could have taken, for example from Gabriele Ferzetti's time. Lionel Stander, Keenan Wynn, Paolo Stoppa and Frank Wolff are very good and distinguished from other roles in other films, Leone's exclusive merit. Claudia Cardinale has just turned 80 in April 2018 and is the only one who is still alive.

There is so much to like here. I must admit there are also flaws. The spare dialogue is sometimes apt but also on occasion obvious or crude. Because there is so little, with ambient noise and music soundtrack so beautiful that the contrast is jarring. Several of the character actors, besides those in the opening sequence, are so little used that many of their scenes must have bee cut due to the length of the film. The sound was all recorded independently of the filming, standard procedure in many Italian films. Claudia Cardinale's voice was dubbed which is such a shame since for an actor, their voice is an important part of their craft. View "The Professionals" from about the same period to hear her real voice. Henry Fonda is indeed a real villain here but was nearly as bad in "Firecreek" made around the same time. The opening sequence was either inspired by or inspired that of "The Train Robbers". My main enjoyment of this film is purely visual. Near the end there is a telephoto shot of the train arriving at Sweetwater with all the railroad workers gathering, to the music of Morricone. This is truly an emotional moment as are many others. .

They will never make a film like this again. An epic western with a large cast and real sets. The cinemascope widescreen format on real film. The languid pacing, demanding patience from the viewer, revealing the story slowly. The artistic shooting and framing of everything. The stylization. Somehow getting A-list hollywood talent into a film by a foreign, b-movie filmmaker. It simply couldn't be done today, and it will forever amaze me that it was done at all. This was Leone's best film, the one where everything came together. The acting, the music, the cinematography, the sets, the landscapes, and the story. It's all there. "Once Upon a Time in the West" may very well represent "peak cinema" - the exact high water mark of the film format. And for that reason, it's my favourite film.

A Movie so briliant made I´ll never forget in my howl Lifetime. Excellent Moviemaking in every Sens of the Word. Nothing is better than Charles Bronson playing the Harmonica and gunfighting with Henry Fonda. Already can offer one of the Best Endings ever.