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Critics Consensus: A landmark Sergio Leone spaghetti western masterpiece featuring a classic Morricone score.
Critic Consensus: A landmark Sergio Leone spaghetti western masterpiece featuring a classic Morricone score.
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (1) | DVD (12)
There is something touching and maniacal about the two-and-three-quarter- hour result.
'Once Upon a Time...' now looks like an over-cooked mess of style, metaphor and reference.
The Western is dead - or so they tell us. Long live Leone's timeless monument to the death of the West itself, rivalled only by Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid for the title of best ever made.
Leone (1921-1989) is here at the peak of his epic powers.
If only the first 10 minutes of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West still existed, this most hyperbolic of oat operas would still be acknowledged as one of the genre's greatest exhumations.
It is mostly fun for the way it cherishes movie styles and attitudes from the past.
...an exaggerated, fairy-tale variation on the Western, big bad wolf and all.
Leone's violent epic Western is an essential masterpiece.
[Sergio] Leone creates a horseback epic of bad guys with a heart of gold and an iron engine that reshapes the landscape as its tracks are laid through the wilderness.
Is Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) the best western of all time?
Once Upon a Time in the West is the mythic Western; an ode to the end of its era.
Gunslingers, one-road towns, horse and buggies... Once Upon a Time in the West has them all, and spread across a sprawling near three hour running time that is as punishing on the ol' rickety knees as it is rewarding to the eyes.
Or ol'Sergio goes Hollywood, baby. Big and sprawling and dusty, this screaming Western-epic-western nearly looks as epic as it wants to be. And the stars are out for this too, like peanut shells under yer feet at a carnival, ready for their "Ima be famous!" trademark Leone close-up, only the rationale for the gist of this over long thing seems to be the least of Leone's worries, and that's too bad because by the ending, the bodies stacking up don't seem to matter much as we never really knew them much anyway. Why is everyone here on Rotten Tomatoes so enamored of this lesser Leone? Star power is my dubious answer.
Super Reviewer
Leone's ultimate Western is this classic operatic elegy for the dying genre - a perfect masterclass of cinema with unforgettable scenes from beginning to end, memorable dialogue, an evocative use of silence, outstanding performances and a wonderful score.
Sergio Leone goes a long way with Once Upon a Time in the West. Perhaps too long.
Once Upon a Time in the West isn't exactly a race down the track and running 2 hours and 45 minutes doesn't help its cause. There are a lot of scenes that are drawn out, especially in the beginning, that do not need to be. Granted, the cinematography is solid, but story-wise it hurts. The film is nearly an hour in before it even feels like it starts to go somewhere.
The action is far and few in between. Sure, a Western, or any film for that matter, can live without bullets flying, but this picture needs it. The buildup is there; however, when the guns start shooting it is over as quickly as a bullet reaches its target.
The mystery and confidence behind Charles Bronson is fascinating, which leads to a fantastic character. Henry Fonda and Jason Robards do a good job of rounding out the trio of expert gunmen. Claudia Cardinale is a stunning presence that just grabs the eyes every minute she is on screen.
Once Upon a Time in the West has its moments and influences, but it also has its flaws. Watchable, if only once.
I'd maintain that westerns are not specifically my cup of tea, and I'd also maintain that, occasionally, I do enjoy them. Its music is remarkable, but the same can't be said for all the performances. If you too are running out of options, stop running.
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