Average Rating: 
Rating: - Leone's masterpiece
After having established himself as the Master of the Spaghetti Western, Italian director Sergio Leone set out to make a western epic of very stylish proportions. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST was the result. Like Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH, which was also released in 1969, O-U-A-T-I-T-W did not receive a particularly warm welcome from either the critics or the audiences. But like Peckinpah's film, it has now come to be seen as a masterpiece among the rise and eventual fall of the West (and maybe the way Hollywood thought of the West).Claudia Cardinale is the widow of a businessman whose land is being sought out by a ruthless railroad magnate (Gabrielle Ferzetti). The land is well sought because it is the only known place in the desert within a 50-mile radius where there is any water. Defending Cardinale are a cold, calculating gunslinger (Charles Bronson) and an amiable outlaw (Jason Robards). But standing in their way is a ruthless hired gunman named Frank, played by (are you ready for this?) Henry Fonda! At 165 minutes in the director's original cut, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST marks a change for Leone. Although part of this film was shot in Spain, where he had shot his previous films, a good deal of it was filmed in John Ford's beloved Monument Valley. Leone gets solid performances by Bronson, Cardinale, and Robards, as well as a stunning fifteen minute opening credit sequence featuring Bronson and two of Fonda's hired hands (Jack Elam, Woody Strode). But Leone scored a real coup by casting Fonda, the man known for playing good guys most of the time, as one of the coldest and meanest villains in screen history; it is he who kills Cardinale's family, and it is he who is being sought out by Bronson for reasons we do not know until the famous confrontation at the end. Another superb Ennio Morricone score caps this fabulous western epic, one that thankfully can be seen the way Leone had intended, not the horribly butchered version that Paramount had foisted on the public for so many years. Although very long, requiring a good deal of patience, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST is well worth seeing. A classic of the 1960s.
Rating: - High Art as Spaghetti Western!
Occasionally, one encounters an example of film, music, etc. which transcends its genre to become a major artistic achievement. "Once Upon a Time in the West" does exactly that. Director Sergio Leone did virtually nothing that he hadn't done in his string of prior westerns; this time he created a work of stunning beauty, riveting tension and dense emotional impact.The bare bones outline of the story (written by Leone, Bernardo Bertoluci and Dario Argento) is almost a western cliche: unscrupulous railroad tycoon wants land owned by local homesteader and sends hired gunman to persuade him to vacate. Gunman kills homesteader but homesteader's widow, with help from locals, triumphs in the end. But reducing this movie to the above is like Woody Allen describing "War and Peace" as "about some Russians". Gabriele Ferzetti, as Morton (using crutches and wearing a neck brace) hires gunman Frank (Henry Fonda) to "clear away obstacles" as his railway extends. Fonda plays about the most chilling villain in movie history. Utterly amoral and with a sadistic element barely concealed by his coldness Frank murders an entire family (including the young son). When Morton later admonishes "I told you only to scare them" Frank answers matter of factly "People scare better when they're dyin'". Opposing Morton and Frank are characters whose goodness lies well below layers of complexity. Widow Jill, played by Claudia Cardinale, is a former New Orleans whore, taking advantage of a marriage proposal in order to begin again. She projects alternating facades of toughness and fragility, concealing real durability. she's unafraid to do whatever is required for survival but does spend a lot of time being bullied by the men around her and she immediately elicits our concern. The brilliant Jason Robards plays local outlaw, Cheyenne, who has cowed the entire community, but finds it in himself to care about Jill and to take up her cause. Laconic Charles Bronson is Harmonica (so named by Cheyenne), a man who is tailing Frank. Beyond this we know nothing and learn little until the end. Like most Leone works, "Once..." is a visual treat (one should consider the surprising aesthetic effect his visuals had on an audience used to the comparitavely tepid Hollywood Western). The director outdoes himself here, using Montana's Monument Valley to great effect and rendering his characters true to period (grimy, unkenpt and probably malodorous) and simultaneously visually arresting. He uses lengthy shots of the actor's eyes, particularly in the climactic scene. Fonda's blues convey the icy murderousness of his character and a little squint by Bronsonsets up the "why" of their relationship. Leone's long stills, whether of people or scenery do not bore, rather small tics, gestures and movements become heightened in importance. In addition, the score by Ennio Morricone is brilliant. Each major character has a musical motif which supports without being intrusive. Much of the incidental music is also well done (listen to the percussion/piano background during Frank's shootout with his former employees). Morricone's score also seems to heighten its absence. Long stretches of silence or desert sounds create a tension which slowly builds, then either climaxes or ebbs. I first saw this movie in 1970, not too long after is was released. When I left the theater I found it occupying my head more than just about any film I'd seen to date. I've seen it on late night television about a half dozen times but bad editing turns it into nothing more than a pretty good movie (kind of like trimming "La Guernica" to make wallpaper). I was thrilled to see that it had been released intact and have watched it several times since getting a copy. It still occupies my head for a long time afterward.
Rating: - 5 stars isn't enough
First let me say that Leone's operatic masterpiece is my favorite film of all time. Leone took everything we loved about the Western and put it in here in what has become, in my estimation, the grandest swan song ever to punctuate a genre. This film has it all: Larger-than-life characters (Fonda's turn as a cold-blooded killer is chilling and unforgettable). Sweeping, gorgeous cinematography. The most mythic screenplay ever written for a Western. And a brilliant score in which each character had their own piece of music composed for them (from the script no less!) and Leone played while filming so that each actor could move in rhythm to it. Just one word of advice to the first time viewer: never, and I repeat, never watch this film in anything less its original aspect ratio (widescreen letterboxed). You would be doing yourself a disservice and missing out on the sheer grandeur of this flawless epic.
|
