Once Upon a Time in the West (film)
"Once Upon a Time in the West" is a 1968 spaghetti western directed by Sergio Leone, recognized as a significant film within the genre. The film is known for its stylistic elements, including long, tension-building scenes, close-ups, and a haunting score, which contribute to its epic storytelling. It features a complex plot that revolves around two main conflicts in the fictional Arizona town of Flagstone: a struggle for railroad land and a vendetta against a ruthless killer named Frank, played against type by Henry Fonda. The narrative intertwines the fates of characters like Jill, McBain's new bride, and a harmonica-playing gunslinger seeking revenge.
The film pays homage to classic westerns while also revising traditional conventions, marked by sudden bursts of violence and a meticulous attention to period detail. Initially met with mixed reviews in the United States, it gained acclaim in Europe and eventually became recognized as a masterpiece, influencing many contemporary filmmakers. It is frequently cited as one of the greatest films ever made, featured in various top film lists, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2009. Its legacy endures as a landmark in cinematic history and western storytelling.
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Once Upon a Time in the West (film)
- Release Date: 1968
- Director(s): Sergio Leone
- Writer(s): Sergio Donati; Sergio Leone
- Principal Actors and Roles: Charles Bronson (Harmonica); Claudia Cardinale (Jill McBain); Henry Fonda (Frank); Jason Robards (Cheyenne); Jack Elam (Snaky); Gabriele Ferzetti (Morton)
Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 so-called "spaghetti" western, a term applied to the distinctive style of westerns that were directed by the Italian Sergio Leone and his imitators. These movies feature lengthy scenes using close-ups of sweating faces and minute details of life in America’s nineteenth-century West, often intense and exotic soundtracks, and sudden interludes of extreme violence. Once Upon a Time in the West is an epic in this subgenre, and is considered a masterpiece.
The movie makes explicit efforts to pay homage to the great westerns that preceded it. Allusions are made to The Iron Horse, Duel in the Sun, My Darling Clementine, Winchester ’73, High Noon, Shane, Vera Cruz, The Searchers, 3:10 to Yuma, Warlock, The Magnificent Seven, The Comancheros, The Last Sunset, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. One critic says Once Upon a Time in the West uses direct quotes from thirty different westerns. At the same time Once Upon a Time in the West revises some of the conventions of the older films. For example, Henry Fonda is cast completely against type as a sadistic, amoral killer who even shoots down children.
Like Leone’s other westerns, the style of Once Upon a Time in the West is notable for its long, slow-developing scenes. For example, the opening ten minutes show three men waiting at a train station. Almost nothing happens, but it draws viewers ever more deeply into the semi-arid desolation of the setting—and the movie. Dialogue and action are both sparse, with tension building steadily to a moment of sudden, intense violence. The gun battles are carefully and elaborately choreographed. All of this is set against an impressive attention to detail designed to evoke the time period and the setting. Flies land on the faces of men who are engaged in deadly duels. Dirt coats almost every surface. Clothing is worn and faded. The props and setting details can create an entire story on their own.
Leone’s westerns are famed for their musical scores, and Once Upon a Time in the West is no exception. However, the movie opens with ambient sound only—a windmill squeaking as it turns, insects, an approaching train, and so on. But then the famous soundtrack begins with the second scene.
Plot
The plot of Once Upon a Time in the West is simultaneously simple and complex. Two overlapping conflicts meet in the fictitious Arizona town of Flagstone. One is a standard moneyed-interests battle over railroad land. The other is a vendetta against a sadistic killer.
Brett McBain is waiting for his new bride to arrive from New Orleans. On McBain’s land is the only reliable source of water in the area, so his land is extremely valuable to the railroad that is coming through. Railroad tycoon Morton wants McBain’s land and sends his hired killer Frank and his gang to drive McBain away. Frank murders McBain and his young children. Frank leaves evidence that will implicate another bandit named Cheyenne. McBain’s bride Jill arrives to take ownership of the land, which complicates Morton’s plans.
In the converging second plot, a harmonica-playing gunslinger kills the three men at the train station, who were there on Frank’s orders. "Harmonica" later meets Cheyenne and tells him the three men were posing as members of Cheyenne’s gang. Something of an alliance forms, and Harmonica works to help Jill keep her land. Harmonica’s motive is revenge on Frank, but this is not discovered until the final scenes.
Morton wants to make a deal with Jill, so Frank turns on him. Morton buys Frank’s men, but Harmonica prevents the men from assassinating their boss—Harmonica wants to be the one who kills Frank.
Cheyenne’s gang kills Morton and the rest of the men Frank hired, and Frank confronts Harmonica. He has asked the mouth-harp-playing stranger who he is on two occasions, but Harmonica has never answered. Instead he named men Frank had killed. In the final confrontation, Harmonica says he will say who he is "only at the point of dying."
Frank and Harmonica face off, and a flashback reveals that Frank forced Harmonica as a boy to try to support his older brother on his shoulders. Otherwise, the brother will be strangled by the noose around his neck. While the boy labored to stay upright, Frank jammed a harmonica into his mouth. The sound of the boy’s traumatized breathing through the harmonica echoes the theme song of the movie. The boy collapses, and his older brother is hanged.
Harmonica outdraws Frank and shoots him. Frank again asks who he is, and Harmonica stuffs the instrument in Frank’s mouth. Frank nods with recognition and dies.
Significance
Once Upon a Time in the West was a hit in Europe with audiences and critics alike, but the initial critical reaction in the United States was tepid at best. This was probably because the American distributor insisted that it be cut before it was released—the running time in Europe was longer by more than twenty minutes. As the full-length version was more widely seen, the movie began to be regarded as a great film. Well-known directors such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, John Carpenter, and George Lucas acknowledge the influence Leone’s film had on them. Numerous films have paid homage to specific scenes in the movie.
Many critics list it among the greatest movies ever made. It is arguably the best western ever filmed. TIME magazine listed it as one of the 100 best films of the twentieth century, and Total Film and They magazines both listed it among the top-100 films of all time. Empire magazine conducted a poll in 2008, surveying 10,000 readers, 150 filmmakers, and 50 critics to assemble a "500 greatest movies" list. Once Upon a Time in the West was ranked fourteenth. In 2009 it was selected for preservation in the National Film registry by the Library of Congress.
Bibliography
Cumbow, Robert C. The Films of Sergio Leone. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2008. Electronic.
De Fornari, Oreste. Sergio Leone: The Great Italian Dream of Legendary America. Rome: Gremese, 1997. Print.
Fawell, John. The Art of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West: A Critical Appreciation. Jefferson: McFarland, 2005. Print.
Frayling, Christopher. Once Upon a Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone. New York: Abrahms, 2005. Print.
Frayling, Christopher. Sergio Leone: Something to Do With Death. St. Paul: U of Minnesota P, 2012. Print.
Hughes, Howard. Once Upon a Time in the Italian West: The Filmgoers’ Guide to Spaghetti Westerns. London: Tauris, 2006. Electronic.