Rating of
4/4
Once Upon a Time in the West review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 03/14/12
Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) requests to scare McBain. A hired gun Frank (Fonda) murders McBain and his three children. Cheyenne (Jason Robards) borrows Harmonica’s (Charles Bronson) gun to shoot his handcuffs. Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) unfortunately sees her dead family upon arriving at their home. Cheyenne and Harmonica visit Jill in her place. Both men go after the person responsible for the killings. There is even a story within the story involving one of the protagonists.
The elegant score matches the stunning cinematography, tragedy of certain scenes and camera movements of the characters. Locations were like viewing a postcard shot and costumes were authentic. Some noteworthy lines from the film: Morton - “The only thing that can stop that is this.” Harmonica – “Time sure flies.” “You gotta learn not to push things.” Cheyenne – “Make believe is nothing.” Frank – “You like being alive.” Usage of various camera angles, light, fire and shadows were amazing. Its themes include death, violence, justice, revenge and reformation which was enjoyable from start to finish. Once Upon A Time in the West is an epic western that can be enjoyed for its technical brilliance, solid acting (you don’t even see Bronson blink in the final scenes), entertaining screenplay, wonderful ending and old fashioned shoot-outs executed tastefully.
