Once Upon a Time in the West / C’era una volta il West (Sergio Leone, 1968)

Spaghetti Westerns 🎬
81

It was Leone’s freedom in this film to renounce the longest action scene (if he had shown it, but it was never shot or intended to do so). Apart from this scene also Cheyenne’s first escape is not seen but only heard by the thunder of the gunfire explosions. These renunciations add to the special style and atmosphere of this masterwork.

Quite contrary to AFoD where Leone shows too much, and which would be better if he had omitted or shortened down the river ambush and the banal directed cemetery shooting between the Baxters and the Rojos.

82

But why did Cheyenne attack Morton? He didn’t kill him first time because he feel a little pity for him. And then, why? Morton had nothing to do with him after that talk…
Perhaps they wanted just his money?

83

I think Cheyenne felt if Morton was willing to pay off Frank’s men to kill him he, Harmonica and Jill would be next as they all stood in his way of obtaining Sweetwater.

84

[quote=“Tom B., post:83, topic:322”]I think Cheyenne felt if Morton was willing to pay off Frank’s men to kill him he, Harmonica and Jill would be next as they all stood in his way of obtaining Sweetwater.[/quote]well but he for example never wanted to kill the mcbains(were they called that, i am talking about the family that build sweetwater)he only wanted to scare them. He just saw that frank was taking his business away and was afraid of him.
I think he wanted the money and felt that there was trouble between frank and morton and that morton was weak(i.e. defenseless without his people)

85

I have seen this film recently again in an open air cinema.

Fantastic!!!

86

[quote=“stanton, post:85, topic:322”]I have seen this film recently again in an open air cinema.

Fantastic!!![/quote]

Awesome. That would certainly be SOMETHING!

87

i watched it again thisafternoon ;D

88

I love this movie!

It’s beautiful, intense, and yes slow-paced, so what?
I pretty much love the 11-minutes initial scene, it’s such a raising tension that makes me tremble.

And I love the emotion the movie brings out. I can’t help feeling so sorry for Jill after she losing her family in that slaughter… it’s so sad! And that song! Ennio Morricone does one of his best works here, no doubt!!

This one is my second favorite spaghetti western, and my third favorite Leone movie (behind Leone’s magnum opus Once Upon a Time in America, which I think is a masterpiece, and GBU, which I consider to be the best spaghetti western EVER!)

9 out of 10 (5 stars) – yeah, i’m too exigent for my taste (literally) :stuck_out_tongue:

:smiley:

89

The first time I’ve read the entire thread on my favourite SW.

Some people wondered why Cheyenne attacked Morton, and why he did’t kill him when he had the chance earlier in the film.

I think Once upon a time in the west is a film about transition, about the Old West that is dying and is about to be replaced by the New West. Note that the Italian title is C’era una volta il West (which means Once upon a time the West). ‘C’era una volta’ is the opening line of many fairy tales in italian: c’era una volta … long, long time ago … in a country far, far away … Only this time we’re not talking about kings, princes and princesses, but about people who populated the Old West: the outlaw, the avenger, the man who-had-to-do-what-he-had-to-do: thir time is over and they wll be replaced by a world they do not really understand, the world of the Mortons and … the Jills - after all Leone is an Italian and a catholic, a mail-dominated world is replaced by a matriarchate …

Like to Harmonica, the avenger, to Cheyenne the outlaw, conflicts are personal matters: when he has the chance to kill Morton for the first time, Morton is still a personal opponent to him, something like a gang leader: with his man killed, he’s no longer a threat to him - he is, after all, a handicapped man who can’t even walk.
But in the course of the movie Cheyenne learns what’s going on: he’s not sent to town jail but to Yuma, he has learnt about the stupid red-haired Irishman that wasn’t stupid after all and Harmonica (who’s a bit more educated than he is) has introduced him in matters of law and jurisdiction. He understands that he lives in a West that is no longer his West, that his time is over. Still thinking in terms of man-to-man he attacks the man who responsable for all this, so he - Morton - shall die with him, even though he knows instinctively that this is useless - Morton is no individual in Cheyenne’s sense, he’s mister Cho Cho, he represents the train, the New west: you can’t kill Morton, cause other Mortons wil come and wipe the men of the Old West out.
For this reason the more educated harmonica rides off (like a Shane would do) into the sunset when he has killed Frank. The revenge that has consumed all his thoughts, has been executed, he has become obsolete too.

This theme, the dying of the Old West and men becoming obsolete, is also the theme of two other great westerns, Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch and John Ford’s The Searchers. The tragedy of John Wayne’s character in The Searchers is that he, the old indian fighter, has outlived his own time: the door is locked behind his back, he is doomed to wander forever between the winds.

1 Like
90

Just rewatched this one again and it was as exceptional as ever.
Someone on a seperate thread (may have been Top 20) suggested the other day that in a way this film can’t be judged alongside other spaghettis as it is so different and so much bigger.
I have to say, I see their point. It is on such a different scale in every way that it is almost in a category of its own. It is a spaghetti in terms of its origin and make up of creative (behind the camera) personel. But with its mainly american cast, monument valley setting and and grand scale it is in many ways more like the american westerns Leone was homaging (is that a word?) than its italian contempories.
It also has a far more sentimental mood to it in large parts and although the soundtrack is beautiful it is far softer than any other italian western I can think of.
God, I love it though. What a film. The only trouble is finding the time to sit through it all in one go. Luckily I was up at stupid o’clock this morning and was able to watch it through before the rest of the family woke up. Time well spent.

91

But the real lead in this film is italian: CC

And Ferzetti also. And Bronson was in these years mainly working in Europe.

Rethink! American actors were usually employed for SWs, and many SWs had 2 or 3 american actors as leadplayers. That’s no argument for me to call OUTW american influenced.

Here in Germany this particular film is for many a synonym for SW style.

92

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t actually mean this is a U.S style western. Only that, in many ways Leone’s nods to the american westerns he admired are very much in the foreground here. The sentimental feel to much of the film, Morricone’s strings based theme for Jill, the story of the closing frontier and the Monument valley backdrop all suggest this to me. Plus, although I know SWs employed many american actors, I still think this film has a more dominant american presence in the cast. CC is an obvious exception but Fonda, Robards, Bronson, Woody Strode, Jack Elam, Keenan Wynne are all much more familiar in U.S films.
But as I say, I am not suggesting that this film is not firmly a european one. the visual style of Leone is far too strong for that.
I still stand by the idea that this is not, however, a typical example of the SW genre and understand how some could find it difficult to compare it with others. It is just on a totally different scale.

93

The American actors working in European westerns in the 60s were mostly ex-supporting actors, or television actors like Eastwood at the time.

This film was an Italian-American high-budget co-production, partly filmed in the USA, and had Hollywood stars Henry Fonda and Jason Robards in the cast.

The film’s style is at times also heavily influenced by classic Hollywood westerns, this was Leone’s intention.

Why is it so important for you to categorize it as a true spaghetti-western Stanton?

It’s a great classic western by Italian director Sergio Leone.

94

Because I never understood why people call this an american influenced western. Well it is, but not more than most of all the other SWs, and I think surely not heavily.

Quite contrary, the style of this film is so completely different to all american westerns I know, and instead so typical SW, that it never came in my mind calling this an more american influenced Spaghetti.

Leone had stars and used american locations (for a few key scenes), because he could afford it to do so. But before he wanted Wallach, who was also a star and not less than Robards at this time, and he got Coburn and Steiger for Giu la testa.

I think if he have had the choice, he would have made all his westerns with big american stars in the USA.

But you are right, the real important thing is the quality of the film not his origins.

95

And we are all agreed on that, I think. By any criteria it is a magnificent film.

96

Well there are people on this board who dislike it, but that is okay. What makes this one a bit non-spaghetti to me is more its scenario. Most SW´s play in the mexican-american border region, i guess because spain looked like it the most.
This one is set in another part, of course helped by the shots done in monument valley.
So the taglines of the movie show what is different: the railroad, the boomtowns…

And the Jack ellum and woody strode argument is not that strong in my eyes, they are killed to early, but without the money there would have been the usual suspects.

Ahh and giu la testa was done latter than this one and he allready had the potential to cast american stars.

97

“Happens to be the only movie that Henry Fonda played a villain.” and he did it good i might add 8)

98

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 1969 Henry Fonda Charles Bronson Claudia Cardinale

This is a MASTERPIECE of Film making a Western that has all the technically perfect phases

Cast : First Rate Fonda/Bronson/Cardinale with supporting Elam/Wolff/Robards
Plot : Magnificent, epic, evocative, exciting, human emotions, heroism.
Director : SERGIO LEONE a master of Italian Westerns with style and greatness.
Music : ENNIO MORRICONE superb, timeless musical score of the wild west.

My Vote for ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 1969 is 18.8 out of 20. :smiley:

99

[quote=“SARTANA DJANGO, post:98, topic:322”]ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 1969 Henry Fonda Charles Bronson Claudia Cardinale

This is a MASTERPIECE of Film making a Western that has all the technically perfect phases

Cast : First Rate Fonda/Bronson/Cardinale with supporting Elam/Wolff/Robards
Plot : Magnificent, epic, evocative, exciting, human emotions, heroism.
Director : SERGIO LEONE a master of Italian Westerns with style and greatness.
Music : ENNIO MORRICONE superb, timeless musical score of the wild west.

My Vote for ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 1969 is 18.8 out of 20. :D[/quote]
Where is Robards a supporting in this one please? Mentioned with Elam? Come on it has four leads in a way. What i never understood was the line i saw on one poster:
There were three man in her life: one to love her(who robards he addores her in a way but love???)
one to kill her(eww fonda, i dont think so)
one to take her(take like what? take her to where? i dont get it)
by the way i am referring to this one
[url]http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/adc/10073855A~Once-Upon-A-Time-In-The-West-Posters.jpg[/url]

100

:o You can have 4 leads to include Jason Robards No problem but I had room for 3 :stuck_out_tongue:

My own preference (and most others’ is for Fonda/Bronson/Cardinale then the rest)

Anyway Robards is NOT a leading man in films, having said that he was good/prominent.