Rating: PG13
Genre:
Western
Theatrical Release: 12/21/1968(Italy)
Release Date: 11/18/2003
SubTitles: English/French
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD5.1/DD1
Run Time: 165 Minutes
Flags: Graphic Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Western Violence
Distributor/Studio: Paramount
In
Sergio Leone's
epic Western, shot partly in Monument Valley, a revenge story becomes an
epic contemplation of the
Western past. To get his hands on prime railroad land in Sweetwater, crippled railroad baron
Morton (
Gabriele Ferzetti) hires killers, led by blue-eyed sadist
Frank (
Henry Fonda), who wipe out property owner
Brett McBain (
Frank Wolff) and his family.
McBain's newly arrived bride,
Jill (
Claudia Cardinale), however, inherits it instead. Both outlaw
Cheyenne (
Jason Robards) and lethally mysterious
Harmonica (
Charles Bronson) take it upon themselves to look after
Jill and thwart
Frank's plans to seize her land. As alliances and betrayals mutate, it soon becomes clear that
Harmonica wants to get
Frank for another reason -- it has "something to do with death." As in his "
Dollars" trilogy,
Leone transforms the standard
Western plot through the visual impact of widescreen landscapes and the figures therein. At its full length,
Once Upon a Time in the West is
Leone's operatic masterwork, worthy of its legend-making title.
~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide