
It's the age of westward rail expansion. At a small train station on the way to the town of Flagstone, the mysterious Harmonica (Charles Bronson) disposes of three men sent to kill him. Meanwhile, Frank (Henry Fonda) leads a group of men and they viciously kill Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) and his children, at McBain's isolated Sweetwater farm. Frank, who is doing the land-clearing dirty work of crippled rail tycoon Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti), tries to pin the McBain family murder on local outlaw Cheyenne (Jason Robards).
Harmonica: And Frank?
Snaky: Frank sent us.
Harmonica: Did you bring a horse for me?
Snaky: It looks like we're... it looks like we're shy one horse!
Harmonica: You brought two too many.
To Frank's surprise, McBain had recently married Jill (Claudia Cardinale), a New Orleans prostitute, and she arrives at Sweetwater just in time to complicate Morton's attempt to seize the land. Both Harmonica and Cheyenne support Jill in holding her ground and not fleeing her isolated new home: Harmonica needs to draw Frank into a showdown for his personal reasons, and Cheyenne does not appreciate being falsely blamed for the murder of children. With Jill's intransigence causing friction between Morton and Frank, Harmonica and Cheyenne need to guard against each other while plotting to protect Jill; end Frank's reign of terror; and fulfil Brett McBain's unlikely dream.
Morton: Tell me, was it necessary that you kill all of them? I only told you to scare them.
Frank: People scare better when they're dying.
After The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Leone thought that he was done with Westerns. But offered a large budget and the opportunity to work with Fonda, he created a timeless epic.With an intricate story involving five compelling characters finding their destiny in shifting times, a wondrous Ennio Morricone music score, and dazzling camerwork by cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli, Once Upon A Time In The West is a superlative achievement.
The main theme of Once Upon a Time In The West is the creeping modernity represented by the rail line transforming the West from rule by the gun to influence by the dollar. Men like Harmonica, Frank and Cheyenne have little to offer the coming new world. While Harmonica and Cheyenne know their place, Frank is caught between two worlds, seduced by Morton's business methods but unable to give up his old ways of getting things done through abject violence. The drama swirls around Jill, who represents the bridge between the old and the new, giving up the rough life of a whore for the noble role of frontier woman.

The casting of Henry Fonda against type as the ruthless villain Frank is simply a stroke of genius. Fonda delivers a chilling performance, literally a child killer, his ice-cold blue eyes emanating an utter lack of emotion as he makes his way West, gathering property and riches on behalf of Morton.
Frank: How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can't even trust his own pants.
Bronson was born to portray Harmonica, a man who influences events but says very little, his eyes and sorrowful tune carrying the burden of a haunted past, and a burning desire to impart revenge for an injustice that will remain a mystery until the final 10 minutes.
Jason Robards gets the showiest role as the bandit Cheyenne. Stopping just short of being the noble savage, Robards plays Cheyenne as the outlaw resigned to a jagged life of recurring capture and escape, observing the territory that he operates in getting smaller as men like Morton expands the reach of the law. Cheyenne is nothing if not a survivor, able to meet, understand and control every challenge, including identifying true allies like Harmonica although they may look like the most dangerous of enemies.
Claudia Cardinale is surprisingly excellent as Jill, representing civilization's shift west in search of a better future. Sensual and not hiding neither her past nor her vulnerability, Cardinale proves to be a match for the three men who immediately descend on her in Sweetwater. Effectively sparring with Cheyenne, doing enough to live through her encounter with Frank, and trusting her instincts as Harmonica helps to uncover her destiny, Jill uses all her survival tricks to withstand a most unexpected introduction to life at the western end of the rail line.
Jill: If you want to, you can lay me over the table and amuse yourself. And even call in your men. Well. No woman ever died from that. When you're finished, all I'll need will be a tub of boiling water, and I'll be exactly what I was before - with just another filthy memory.
Cheyenne: You make good coffee, at least?

Frank: Almost like holding a gun... only much more powerful.
Morricone creates an orchestral musical theme for each of Harmonica, Frank, Jill and Cheyenne, music that is distinctive for each character yet beautifully interlinked into a rich soundtrack that adds immeasurably to the powerful elegance of the movie. The music enhances an endless sequence of breathtaking images and exquisitely constructed scenes, Leone and Delli Colli conspiring to capture outstanding landscapes, unexpected angles, tight close-ups and heightened drama with the most patient pacing.
Frank: Morton once told me I could never be like him. Now I understand why. Wouldn't have bothered him, knowing you were around somewhere alive.
Harmonica: So, you found out you're not a businessman after all.
Frank: Just a man.
Harmonica: An ancient race. Other Mortons will be along, and they'll kill it off.
Frank: The future don't matter to us. Nothing matters now - not the land, not the money, not the woman. I came here to see you. 'Cause I know that now, you'll tell me what you're after.
Harmonica: ...Only at the point of dyin'.
Frank: I know.
Jill: Will you come back someday?
Harmonica: Someday.
Once Upon A Time In The West is a masterpiece, an artistic achievement that transcends any one genre and stands among the all-time most eloquent examples of cinematic success.
All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.
No comments:
Post a comment
We love receiving reader comments. Please share your thoughts about this post - thank you!