Once Upon a Time in the West -- Special Collector's Edition (2 discs) [1969]

On the DVD: Once Upon a Time in the West on disc is the transfer fans have been waiting for: the longest available version of the film in shimmering widescreen (enhanced for 16:9 TVs) which lends full impact to Leone's long shots of Monument Valley scenery or bustling crowds of activity, but also highlights his ultra-close images as Bronson's beady eyes or Cardinale's luscious pout fill the entire screen. A commentary track is mostly by expert Sir Christopher Frayling, with input from other academics, participants and enthusiasts--it's good on the detail, and Alex Cox winningly points out that one scene bizarrely can't be reconciled with what happens before or after it.

Disc 2 has four featurettes which, taken together, add up to a feature-length documentary on the film, and though overlapping the commentary slightly offer a wealth of further good stuff, plus the elegant Cardinale's undiminished smile. Also included is the trailer, notes on the cast, menu screens with generous selections from Ennio Morricone's score, stills gallery, comparison shots from the film and contemporary snapshots of the locations. --Kim Newman

Needless to say, this dvd is a must have. After this the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy seems trivial and insubstantial. This my friends is true cinema, art for arts sake, not just money making. This film has to be seen to be appreciated. Sheer Class. Convinced?


Once upon a Time in the West   August 28, 2003
29 out of 32 found this review helpful

The best spaghetti western ever made, arguably the best western and one of the most glaring omissions from Channel 4's recent 100 best films.
From the wonderful crescendo of the opening scenes (the longest start to a movie without a word of dialogue?) to the eerie, bewitching harmonica strains of Charles Bronson, this is a piece of film-making you will remember for a long time.
Henry Fonda was famously cast against type - since Twelve Angry Men in '57 he had played numerous whiter-than-white roles - and the American cinema-going public were shocked at the cold and vicious Frank...
Jason Robards is great as the laconic, amused middleman, Charles Bronson dark and quiet doing what he does best, the impenetrable, mysterious, native-American stranger.
Anyway, what with Leone's lingering, photographic landscape shots, the fact that the score was played on set so that the actors and cameras could move with the music and the choreographed, dance-like gunfight scene at the end (Fonda, filmed from behind at foot level, taking off his black jacket, dropping it to his right and slowly stepping to his left - a movie moment!), this really is an all-time classic.
A film for Friday night, a few Mexican beers, darkened room and preferably a big wide-screen TV...


A masterpiece!   October 24, 2003
22 out of 24 found this review helpful

Director Sergio Leone's sprawling epic amounts to an elegiac vision of a crumbling "Wild West" beset with greed and self interest.

Acting highlights include Charles Bronson's best every performance as a brooding avenging angel, Jason Robards world weary convict and even Claudia Cardinale is good as the feisty widow. Whilst Henry Fonda casting as a baddie was necessary for a powerful act of murderous cruelty early on, he is not this always convincing in this against type role. Ultimately I just didn't buy him as a baddie!!!

The cinematography is stunning, the direction is skillful, sets have been constructed with an almost faultless attention to detail and Ennio Morricone's soundscape is arguably the best of all time.

The film has its flaws though - most notably the story itself which could have been more crisp. I also found the relationship between the Henry Fonda and the Jason Robards characters confusing. This film,however,is more than just a story!

For me the best highlight comes early when the charisma of the actors mesh with the skill of the director in a stunning landscape to create tension that you can almost touch. This scene also includes the longest credit sequence of all time.

The DVD extras are fine too - include a brief history of Sergio Leone from his biographer, interviews with most of the leading cast and also Leone himself.

Whilst you don't have to be a lover of westerns to enjoy this it is a recommended purchase for the lover of great films.


"Only at the point of dyin"   December 2, 2003
M. JONES (uk)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

'Once Upon a Time in the West' is an opera. Its direction and music tell more than any script could. The film is a calculated, lyrical work of genius and my favourite film. From the off, Sergio Leone has surpassed his 'Dollars' trilogy and has produced a poignant farewell to the Western, before moving on to make 'Once Upon a Time in America'. Orignially made soleley to please the studio, Leone's masterpiece combines some big names on screen (Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson) and off screen (Bertolucci and Argento!) to create a stirring Western that's as ritualistic as a samurai film. Three characters are brought together because they each have a score to settle with stone-cold sadist Frank (Fonda). As the film continues (at a pace which Hollywood audiences would not accept), we begin to realise that Leone is counting down... to death. The characters don't expect to survive and are simply awaiting the inevitable. The pace of the first 10 minutes sets the standard and if you don't like those 10 minutes, switch off - in fact, stop reading now. This is more than a Western, it's a ceremony, played out to Ennio Morrocone's greatest score ever - the film was shot to fit the music! The words "best ever" can be applied to any of the following... 'duel' 'one-liners' 'scenery' 'direction' 'score' 'villian' and anything else that I've missed. Once Upon a Time in the West, there was a DVD collector's edition. This double disc set boasts some superb commentaries from various people (inc. John Carpenter!) and some interesting documentaries. Nevertheless, you buy a film FOR THE FILM! In this case, you pay 15 for the greatest western ever and two and a half hours of beautiful filmmaking.


The Grandaddy of All Westerns   February 27, 2004
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

When we think of westerns, a couple of choices come to mind.We think of The Searchers,Unforgiven,Fistfull of Dollars,Dances With Wolves etc. But the single greatest western of all time is without a doubt ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.
The story revolves around Jill(Claudia Cardinalle) trying desperately to keep her dead husband's land from the cold and sadistic gunslinger Frank(played chillingly by Henry Fonda), who wants the land to make way for the railways.She luckily obtains the help of the wily Cheyenne(Jason Robards) and the mysterious Harmonica(Charles Bronson) to keep industrialists at bay.What follows is a breathtaking meditation on the last days of the "west" before "real men became exstinct and real women had to carry a nation"(Sergio Leone's words).Every aspect of film is superb(with the exception of some confusing voice-overs on Cardinalle and Robards). The music soars, whether its capturing the mood of Cardinalles struggle for independence or the intenstity of the showdown between Bronson and Fonda.The cast is amazing aswell, with Fonda as the embodiment of all malice just from looking at his piercing blue eyes.Or Bronson who's calm,omnipresence thinly hides the painfull memory of his brother's death at the hands of Frank. But the real applause should go to Cardinalle, for really being the first leading lady in a western, and oh does she do a fine job at it aswell, showing us sincerity and courage as the burdened widow.
Sadly,the film wasnt recognised on its release in 1969, but now that it has been digitally remastered it would be a definite buy for any western fan out there.