Many consider Once Upon a Time in the West to be one of the most iconic western films to date, and it's hard to disagree. In 1968, Sergio Leone, who directed a number of western films, added this film to his repertoire, all bearing his slow-paced and meticulous method of delivery. The film's a lot to take in, and not just visually. As the title implies, the story is an epic one, taking the audience through the picturesque Monument Valley, telling a tale packed with revenge, greed and an awesome soundtrack.
At a dusty train station, we meet Charles Bronson's character, who goes by "The Man" or "Harmonica," depending on which source you look up. Those aren't self-given monikers -- he is just never given a name. He doesn't need one either, as people typically address him as "that guy who is always playing the harmonica," which he does often. It isn't more than a couple minutes after we see The Man arrive at a train station that he's putting bullets in people -- bad people, fortunately. But as with most Sergio Leone movies, whether or not The Man himself is bad is unknown. Giving The Man a prop like a harmonica, which he plays sometimes in lieu of conversing, makes him mysterious enough, even with the clouded past.
What we do know is The Man arrived at the station to meet with Frank (Henry Fonda), but instead, Frank sent the three unkind gentlemen who are soon dispatched by The Man's gun. In the following scene, we are introduced to Frank as he and his gang of bandits gun down the McBains, a peaceful family living in a house in the middle of nowhere. The level of Frank's cruelness is demonstrated when he comes face to face with the youngest McBain child, and guns him down with a sinister smirk.
Arriving from out of town to reunite with the McBains is the family's new matriarch, now a widow, Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale). Coming from New Orleans, she's new to the west, but blends in like any other typical western belle. She finds her new family dead on the front lawn, with the nearby townsfolk there to pity her.
After finding a piece of falsified evidence at the murder site, left purposely by Frank, the law enforcement makes the mistake of blaming Cheyenne (James Robard), a bandit with a notorious bad streak, however, innocent of the McBains' demise. By the halfway point in the film, we start to learn the reasons behind the McBain murder, involving the the building of the new railroad in the west, control of land, and control of a particular water source in the desert. Old West problems that are solved in an Old West fashion. While The Man and Cheyenne more or less join forces to protect Widow McBain from Frank's greedy grip, The Man waits to exact his revenge on Frank and settle an old score.
Each character is well thought out, and given a proper amount of time to delve into their pasts. There's no way one can argue that Sergio Leone's direction isn't done so at a leisurely pace. Slow is his style, a style that matches the lazy pace of life in the desert, a place where things only seem to move at breakneck speed when guns are drawn. Finding yourself bored will be tough, though. Even during the quietest of scenes, the tension is often building or already built. The story's subject matter does involve auctioning property and claiming a stake of land, which takes up a considerable part of the middle of the film. Admittedly they're not the most exciting scenes in cinema, but sticking with it will be worth your while.
I've always found the Western genre an opaque one -- each one looks, acts and feels the same. Sergio Leone movies on the other hand, this one especially, feel different and are told so uniquely and filled with so many dynamic and mysterious characters that it's difficult to not love them. They've come to inspire many modern-day filmmakers and it's easy to see why.
Extras:
There's a ton of behind-the-scenes material, all by various cast and crew members, along with many insights and opinions of other filmmakers like John Carpenter, John Milius and Alex Cox, and some film historians. There's a feature commentary, three behind-the-scenes bits called "An Opera of Violence," "The Wages of Sin," and "Something to Do with Death," all three of which don't really get very specific, they just talk more about the making of the film. There's a short piece on the building of the railroads, a gallery of stills from the movie, another gallery of stills from the movie that compare scene locations as they appeared then and how they are now, and also a trailer. The Blu-ray also lets you choose between watching the film in its original theatrical version or the cleaner, restored version.
"Once Upon a Time in the West" is on sale May 31, 2011 and is rated PG13. Western. Directed by Sergio Leone. Written by Dario Argento (story), Bernardo Bertolucci (story), Sergio Leone (screenplay & story) & Sergio Donati (screenplay). Starring Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards.
