Once Upon a Time in the West

Once Upon a Time in the West (Italian: C'era una volta il West, transl. "Once upon a time (there was) the West") is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci and Leone. It stars Henry Fonda, cast against type, as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader, and Jason Robards as a bandit. The widescreen cinematography was by Tonino Delli Colli, and the acclaimed film score was by Ennio Morricone.

The film was released in 1968 and 1969 and received mixed-to-acclaim reviews from critics, audiences fans of the western era. In 2009, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". The film was followed by Duck, You Sucker! in 1971.

Plot
In the Western era, there's a single piece of land around Flagstone with water on it, and rail baron Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) aims to have it, knowing the new railroad will have to stop there. He sends his henchman Frank (Henry Fonda) to scare the land's owner, McBain (Frank Wolff), but Frank kills him instead and pins it on a known bandit, Cheyenne (Jason Robards). Meanwhile, a mysterious gunslinger with a score to settle (Charles Bronson) and McBain's new wife, Jill (Claudia Cardinale), arrive in town.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It is one of the most successful western films like A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, etc..
 * 2) Great directing by Sergio Leone.
 * 3) The actors like Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, and many others did a great job in this movie.
 * 4) Amazing cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli.
 * 5) Excellent storyline.
 * 6) Amazing, and memorable characters, such as:
 * 7) *Harmonica is a badass, memorable, and likable character for most of the time.
 * 8) *Frank is also the greatest, and a badass villain that he was a ruthless, selfish, and sadistic mercenary who was hired by the railroad tycoon Morton to manipulate McBain into moving off the land, and his evil attempt to kill Harmonica.
 * 9) Lots of amazing, exciting, thrilling moments throughout the movie.
 * 10) There are a lot of good references from the other media around the movie, such as Leone admitted that the rustling bushes, the silencing of insect sounds, and the fluttering grouse that suggests menace is approaching the farmhouse when the McBain family is massacred were all taken from The Searchers.
 * 11) Masterpiece soundtrack that was performed by Ennio Morricone, which still retains a lot of excitement, and thrilling songs that it fits well in the western era.
 * 12) The sets for the western era is well-set, making it look very memorable.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The US release with a 145 minute cut of the movie is pretty bad, and is said to be one of the reasons the film flopped at the US box office.

Critical response
The film was acclaimed by critics, audiences, and fans of the western era, On, Rotten Tomatoes it has a 95% approval rating based on 63 reviews, with a weighted average of 9.16/10. The critical consensus reads: "A landmark Sergio Leone spaghetti western masterpiece featuring a classic Morricone score." Metacritic scores the film an 80/100 based on 9 critic reviews with a "Generally favorable reviews".

Box office in Europe, & the United States
The movie was a massive hit in Europe and was easily the most successful film released there in 1969 with 14.8 million admissions, ranking 7th of all time. But in the United States, Paramount edited the film to about 145 minutes for the wide release, but the film underperformed at the box office, earning $2.1M in rentals in North America.

Videos
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Trivia

 * The film was originally rated M, meaning it is for mature audience, before it was chopped down into a PG-13 rated.