Once Upon a Time in the West

Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era una volta il West, 1968), directed by Sergio Leone, is considered by many to be his greatest film. Its critical acclaim has led some to declare it the greatest Western ever made.

Related Topics:
Sergio Leone - Western

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The epic film stars Henry Fonda, in his most villainous role, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Jason Robards, as a generally benign bandit, and Claudia Cardinale, as a newly-widowed homesteader with a past.

Related Topics:
Henry Fonda - Charles Bronson - Nemesis - Jason Robards - Claudia Cardinale

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Stylistically unique as a Western, the film has several striking features - emotionally resonant leitmotivs which relate to each of the main characters (each with their own unique theme music), as well as to the spirit of the American West, and long scenes in which there is very little dialogue and not much happens, broken by brief and sudden violence. Leone was more interested in the rituals preceding violence, more than the violence itself. The dry, unsentimental tone of the film is consistent with the arid semi-desert in which the story unfolds, and imbues it with a feeling of realism which contrasts with the elaborately choreographed gunplay.

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The film begins with a parody of Fred Zinnemann's classic High Noon; in this case, the train arrives two hours late and time is openly distorted. According to film critic and historian Christopher Frayling, the film quotes from as many as 30 classic American Westerns.

Related Topics:
Fred Zinnemann - High Noon - Christopher Frayling

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The composer Ennio Morricone wrote the score before Sergio Leone began filming, forcing the movie to conform to the music. Like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the stirring music almost defines the film and adds to its mythic or operatic grandeur.

Related Topics:
Ennio Morricone - Sergio Leone - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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