Once Upon a Time in the West

When Sergio Leone made Once Upon a Time in the West he was through with Westerns. The screenplay, written by Leone and Sergio Donati (who would later help produce the script for Orca), is based on a story devised by Leone himself, along with the help of two other Italian masters: Dario Argento and Bernardo Bertolucci. Paramount lured the director onto the project by promising him a big budget and a chance to work with Henry Fonda, Leone's favorite actor. Evidence of serious financing can be detected easily in the sets and special effects. At times, when the camera pans out to reveal teeming crowds of extras laying railroad tracks or simply milling about in period clothing, the movie starts to resemble old studio epics like Gone with the Wind. As for Henry Fonda, Leone cast him against type as Frank, the despicable villain of the picture.

The dialog is punchy and amusing, often coalescing in bad ass gems like this one:

Harmonica: The reward for this man is 5000 dollars, is that right?

Cheyenne: Judas was content for 4970 dollars less.

Harmonica: There were no dollars in them days.

Cheyenne: But sons of bitches... yeah.

Yet the plot of Once Upon a Time in the West takes its time to unfold, as the camera habitually lingers on each gritty cowboy face, every textural detail of costume and set. Supported by the film's impressive score, traces of moments secondary to anything remotely touching the principle action are savored and exploited to the last possible degree, at any opportunity. Once things take off, however, we learn that the widow Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) is being targeted by the vicious railroad gang that killed her husband and his three children, as she now stands to inherit his property. Cheyenne (Jason Robards), a frowzy escaped convict, and a mysterious harmonica playing loner (Charles Bronson) join forces to protect her. Love triangles are born, conflict ensues, and various scuffles between gunslinging members of the opposing parties lead up to a final showdown between Harmonica and Frank best represented in this YouTube video. Spoiler Alert.

That Cardinale's character is eventually revealed to be a cunning ex-prostitute who likes the feeling of a man's hands all over her so much that she doesn't care if they belong to the man who killed her husband is just a little bit troubling from a certain perspective. At one point Cheyenne tells her, "You know what? If I was you, I'd go down there and give those boys a drink. Can't imagine how happy it makes a man to see a woman like you. Just to look at her. And if one of them should pat your behind, just make believe it's nothing. They earned it." What's more, at film's end, she takes his advice.

And yet above all else, one thing is certain: This is a movie to be enjoyed and treasured. Because it is awesome.