C'era una volta il West (1968)
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A tense, slow-paced epic follows the escalating conflict over a piece of land in the Old West involving a mysterious man with a harmonica and a ruthless outlaw.
The story
A train arrives at the Old West town of Flagstone, where a man known as Harmonica kills three men attempting to ambush him. Nearby, a ruthless outlaw named Frank and his gang murder the family of a man named McBain at his ranch, Sweetwater. The victim's widow, Jill McBain, arrives at the ranch and begins searching for the motive behind the killings. As the local land becomes a point of contention between the railroad interests and local ownership, Harmonica and a fugitive named Cheyenne become entangled in the escalating tension between the desperate Jill and the menacing Frank.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After the murder of the McBain family, Jill McBain takes ownership of the Sweetwater ranch. A railway tycoon, Morton, had hired the outlaw Frank to intimidate McBain into selling the land for a watering station, but Frank's actions led to a deadly confrontation. Harmonica, a man with a mysterious past, encounters the fugitive Cheyenne. The two men form an uneasy alliance to help Jill protect her land from Frank's intimidation. The conflict culminates in a series of violent encounters, including a shootout on Morton's train where many are killed. Ultimately, a final showdown occurs at the Sweetwater ranch between Harmonica and Frank. In a final act of poetic justice, Harmonica defeats Frank and forces him to face the memory of his past. Cheyenne is mortally wounded in the final struggle, and Harmonica rides off as Jill prepares for the arrival of the railroad workers.
- Original title
- Once Upon a Time in the West
- First release year
- 1968
- Runtime (minutes)
- 171
- Production countries
- Italy; United States
- Original languages
- Italian; English
- Directors
- Sergio Leone
- Writers
- Sergio Donati · screenplay; Sergio Leone · screenplay; Dario Argento · story; Bernardo Bertolucci · story
- Cast and characters
- Claudia Cardinale · Jill McBain; Henry Fonda · Frank; Jason Robards · Cheyenne; Charles Bronson · Harmonica; Gabriele Ferzetti; Woody Strode; Jack Elam; Lionel Stander; Paolo Stoppa; Frank Wolff; Keenan Wynn
- Genres
- Western; Spaghetti Western; Epic
- Themes
- Revenge; The transition from the Old West to the industrial age
- Tone and mood
- Somber; Slow-paced; Realistic
- Setting
- The American Old West, specifically the area around Flagstone and the Sweetwater ranch.
- Premise and plot tags
- Western; Revisionist Western; Action
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Hoods
- Franchise connections
- Once Upon a Time trilogy
- Content notes
- Violence
- Reception
- The film is regarded as one of the greatest Westerns and one of the greatest films in history, enjoying a cult following and critical acclaim.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 96% · scale: percentage · review count: 68; Metacritic · score: 82 · scale: 100 · review count: 9
- Awards and nominations
- National Film Registry · Preservation · 2009 · Selected
- Production trivia
- The film sparked a brief fashion trend for duster coats in France.; The film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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