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ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
1968
Director
Sergio Leone
Starring
Charles Bronson
Claudia Cardinale
Henry Fonda
Jason Robards
Woody Strode
Runtime
171 minutes
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A stranger arrives at a lonely railroad station. A harmonica echoes across the desert. An empire is being built, and the West is dying. Sergio Leone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST unfolds on a monumental scale, a foundation myth that's actually all about waiting for death. As a ruthless railroad baron’s ambitions reshape the frontier, the lives of a mysterious gunslinger known only as Harmonica (Charles Bronson), outlaw Cheyenne (Jason Robards), and newly widowed settler Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) become entwined in a struggle over land, revenge, and the future itself.
Rather than celebrating the conquest of the frontier, Leone lingers on what is being lost as modernity arrives. Every gesture, glance, and gunshot carries the weight of history. As our friend Joe puts it, “The definitive Sergio Leone shot: an extreme close-up of someone at the exact moment they suddenly realize they're fucked.” Photographed in breathtaking widescreen and elevated by Ennio Morricone’s unforgettable score, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST stands as one of cinema’s grandest elegies—Leone’s final attempt at transforming the terrain of the Western into something mythic, mournful, and operatic.
THE MORRICONE CONTRIBUTION:
Each major character arrives carrying their own sacred hymn. Edda Dell'Orso's voice floats above the orchestra like a mirage while harmonicas, church bells, and immense strings stretch into infinity. Forget Wagner, Verdi and Puccini. This is the greatest opera ever written.
Rather than celebrating the conquest of the frontier, Leone lingers on what is being lost as modernity arrives. Every gesture, glance, and gunshot carries the weight of history. As our friend Joe puts it, “The definitive Sergio Leone shot: an extreme close-up of someone at the exact moment they suddenly realize they're fucked.” Photographed in breathtaking widescreen and elevated by Ennio Morricone’s unforgettable score, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST stands as one of cinema’s grandest elegies—Leone’s final attempt at transforming the terrain of the Western into something mythic, mournful, and operatic.
THE MORRICONE CONTRIBUTION:
Each major character arrives carrying their own sacred hymn. Edda Dell'Orso's voice floats above the orchestra like a mirage while harmonicas, church bells, and immense strings stretch into infinity. Forget Wagner, Verdi and Puccini. This is the greatest opera ever written.