Review of Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) by Jude P — 12 Jan 2014

Close-ups.

Patience.

That's my review.

No it isn't, but it might as well be. As with Sergio Leone's other films, the faces are amazing. The bandits, cowboys, and killers on display in Once Upon a Time in the West look like their roles, not dandied up fools playing at it.

The story in which these stolid men do battle is told with restraint, with patience. That, I think, is Sergio Leone's greatest mastery, his willingness to let the pot stew, to let it heat up, until it is boiling angrily and only then to let it explode, in one instant, in the famous Old Western quick draw. Yet it's more than mere gunplay and vengeance; Once Upon a Time in the West is Leone's goodbye to the Old West. The railroad is present even the first scene and plays a pivotal role throughout. With it comes the birth of the New West and the death of the Old West. There's a sadness there, a melancholic inevitability that lingers in every frame.

I suppose I haven't said much about the actual plot of this film. Well, it's a tale of the dying West. There's a railroad baron, a bandit named Cheyenne, a nameless drifter with a harmonica, a beautiful woman, and a killer named Frank. The greedy, the ugly, the good, the beautiful, and the bad, if you will. What do you think is going to happen?

Final Say: Pure mastery. Absolute must watch. Sergio Leone is probably my very favorite director.

How to Watch It: This should really go without saying, but with your phone turned off, your children put to bed, your dog already walked, your tasks all done. Once Upon a Time is a film which pulls you in. If you don't let it... *shrug*.

Trivia: This film originally tanked at the box office: $5.3 million when it cost a budget of $5 million. *shakes head* People are idiots.