100 All-Time Films (To see the entire list, click here)
Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
My all-time favorite western and slightly different from Sergio Leone’s usual work. I don’t know why it took me so long to see it (I only saw it for the first time 2-3 years ago) but it impacted me like few films ever have. The jaw dropping moment for me was Henry Fonda’s chilling entrance. The scene stands against any villainous moment in cinematic history. The characters are well-developed enough for us to know next to nothing about them, but still care about their actions. It is a riveting and emotional exploration of the genre’s mythologies.
This film is filled with the usual Sergio Leone techniques. Frame-filling closeups. Drawn out duels. Amazing score from Ennio Morricone. Once Upon a Time in the West has one of the most beautiful marriages between image and music I’ve ever witnessed. It is absolutely essential to Leone’s films moreso than possibly any other director (although Spielberg could be a good argument).
Leone’s European style of filming brought to the American western is simply astounding and a wonderful tribute to the “dying” west. Gone are the good guys with white hats and choreographed bar fights, and perfect clothes. These guys are dirty and none of them are good. Everyone has a history, and it usually isn’t too pleasant. Just as Blade Runner shifted what science fiction could be and Chinatown for film noir, Once Upon a Time in the West changed the definition and direction of the genre.
