Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West” is a magnificent epic that elegantly closed the page on the whole Western genre. It lets the visuals tell the story (only 14 pages of dialogue were written for the 3 hour plus film), and it presents a seemingly endless supply of long, lingering scenic shots  that are breathtakingly beautiful punctuated by close-ups and brief bursts of violence. It almost could have been called “The Man With No Name of America.” 

The basic story was made up by Leone assisted by Dario (“Mother of Tears”) Argento and Bernardo (“The Last Emperor”) Bertolucci, both of whom became important directors in their own right. It’s basically a Western done in the style of an opera with exaggerated colors and situations. This film is one of the most impressive fusions of action and music, and the film was cut to go with the music. Each of the main characters have musical themes associated with them that are played when they appear. 

The film was weakened by drastic cuts in its initial 1969 American run (about 24 minutes were deleted), and it bombed at the US box office.  But this is a film that works best when it unravels slowly with maximum buildup.  

A restored 165 minute version is opening at the Music Box this Friday (January 16).  It will be shown in a restored 35mm print as part of a week-long run of Sergio Leone films. The other films in the series are A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966). 

Like Leone’s other films, “Once Upon a Time in the West” is more about films than people or events. The film includes visual references to “High Noon,” “The Searchers,” “Johnny Guitar” and countless other cowboy films. Some scenes were shot in the very spot where John Ford made many of his films. The film masterfully recaps some of the best scenes of other westerns filtered with an experienced European cynicism.  

The distinguished cast includes Henry Fonda (playing a glacier cold villain),Claudia Cardinale (as a Mary Magdeline-like figure), Jason Robarts (as a con-man like cowboy with his own moral code) , and Charles Bronson as the alienated anti-hero protagonist. All are excellent, and Fonda gives one of his most potent performances. His blue eyes and history of playing humanistic everymen are used ironically in the film. 

At the film’s start, a family is brutally gunned down by Frank (Henry Fonda) and his gang for material gain and pleasure. Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) is a reformed prostitute who arrives just after her husband and his kids are slaughtered.  It turns out that the land her dead husband left her is supposed to go way up in value after a railroad comes through, and Frank wants to get the land at all costs.  

But a mysterious stranger nicknamed ”Harmonica” (Charles Bronson) with a secret vendetta against Frank stands in his way.  Whenever Frank asks him who he is, Harmonica tells him he is a different person that Frank killed. For much of the film, Harmonica seems to be a non-distinct spirit of vengeance sent to get justice from Frank. But a powerful flashback towards the end of the film shows one of Frank’s most sadistic crimes and provides some motivation for the Harmonica character. 

But Fonda is like a ravenous wolf: he is just following his predatory nature. The real villains in the film (like in “McCabe and Mrs. Miller”) are progress, “civilization,” and above all the relentless forces of the capitalism marching forward which allow no room any kind for mythic heroism. It is strongly suggested that the independent cowboys, Frank and Harmonica are the last of a species headed for extinction. 

The film, of course ends with a glorious showdown between Frank and Harmonica that more than justifies the long wait, slow spots, and false starts.  After the confrontation,  we see a terrific previously excised denouncement which shows the final fate of Cheyenne (Jason Robarts).

“Once Upon A Time in the West” is one of the supreme achievements
of the Western genre. The more you know about the Western, the more you will enjoy it. Fans of the genre and film history should not miss the opportunity to see this film at least once on the big screen.