Once Upon a Time in the West
"There were three men in her life. One to take her… one to love her —and one to kill her."
As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.
Curator's Take
“The opera. The ballet of death. Henry Fonda as a child-killer. Charles Bronson as a ghost. Jason Robards as a romantic bandit. It is slow, deliberate, and undeniably the greatest western ever made.”
Why This Movie Is Important
If 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' is the genre's rock opera, this is its symphony. A slow, melancholic, and visually stunning eulogy for the death of the Old West. Leone audaciously cast American icon Henry Fonda as a child-killing villain, shocking audiences. The film is a masterclass in using sound and silence, with the opening scene alone being a breathless exercise in tension. It represents the artistic peak of the genre, transforming the B-movie western into high art that influenced filmmakers from Tarantino to Scorsese.
Production Details
Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 drama and western film directed by Sergio Leone. Originally released in Italy under the title "C'era una volta il West", the film was produced during the golden era of European westerns. Ennio Morricone composed the film's score. Cinematography was handled by Tonino Delli Colli. The screenplay was written by Sergio Donati. The film stars Claudia Cardinale as Jill, Henry Fonda as Frank, and Jason Robards as 'Cheyenne'. Running 2 hours and 46 minutes, it is one of the longer entries in the genre. The film features a notable on-screen body count of 30 kills. It holds an average rating of 8.3 from 4,726 ratings, placing it among the highest-rated films in the Spaghetti Western canon.
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Did You Know?
Henry Fonda originally turned down the role of Frank, but Sergio Leone flew to the US to convince him, bringing a copy of the script and a picture of what he wanted Frank to look like.
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