Probably one of the most iconic and most watched films in my teenage years, Once Upon A Time In The West, the film that spurned many kids of my generation to learn to play the harmonica!
Released in 1966 after The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Director, Sergio Leone didn’t want to make any more westerns and wanted to produce a film based on The Hoods, which was later made and released as Once Upon A Time in America, which ended the unofficial trilogy that stared with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
The role of Harmonica, played by Charles Bronson, was original going to be played by Clint Eastwood, but after he turned down the role, Bronson was offered the part and took it on.
As with the The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Once Upon A Time in the West  in 1969 the film was edited down to 145 mins by Paramount for the US and wasn’t taken to as the earlier release with negative response and was a financial flop, which only goes to show that if a film is great, don’t play around with it and leave it well alone.
Nowadays the film is classed as another masterpiece from Sergio Leone and one of the greatest films ever made and I would have to agree, its one of his movies that I absolutely love to watch when I get the time to watch it in its entirety.
Once Upon A Time In The West
The film portrays two conflicts that take place around Flagstone, a fictional town in the American Old West: a land battle related to construction of a railroad, and a mission of vengeance against a cold-blooded killer. The main storyline revolves around a struggle for Sweetwater, a piece of land near Flagstone containing the region’s only water source. The land was bought by Brett McBain (Frank Wolff), who foresaw that the railroad would have to pass through that area to provide water for the steam locomotives. When railroad tycoon Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) learns of this, he sends his hired gun Frank (Henry Fonda) to simply intimidate McBain to move off the land, but Frank instead kills McBain and his three children, planting evidence on the scene to frame the bandit Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and his gang. It appears the land has no owner; however, a former prostitute (Claudia Cardinale), arrives from New Orleans, and reveals she is Jill McBain, Brett’s wife, who married him previously, and she is the owner of the land. – Source WikiPedia.
Once Upon A Time In The West, A Classic DVD
It’s worth mentioning the UK DVD release of the movie, which I do have in my collection of Sergio Leone movies, it runs at 159 mins, this is down to the speed differences of the playback between NTSC and PAL formats, so it is the full version that was originally released, so thankfully we get the full version as it should be seen.
The DVD also features some brilliant special features that bring you closer to feel of the Leone classic, it’s enhanced for widescreen TVs and is Digitally Remastered for not only crystal clear image but also sound, it even includes a bonus disc packed with stuff.
For me the film is one of those that I never get bored with, but to be honest, I am a fan of the Sergio Leone westerns, the Dollars Trilogy is always a must view when it’s time for something excellent to watch and the same goes for this one.
With a cast including Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards and Claudia Cardinale, plus the fantastic soundtrack by long time Leone collaborator Ennio Morricone, with each of its characters having their own distinctive music throughout, is a pure joy to listen to.
So there we are folks this weeks choice for Film Friday, a film that can only be described as being in the collection of one of the great films ever made.
So have you seen Once Upon A Time In The West, is it one of your favourites or do you prefer one of the other Sergio Leone movies?
Please let me know in the comments.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
