C'era una Volta il West (1968)
Genre: Western
Duration: 165 minuten / 175 minuten (Italiaanse gerestaureerde versie) / 145 minuten (bioscoopversie, VS)
Alternative titles: Once upon a Time in the West / Er Was Eens in het Verre Westen / Het Gebeurde in het Westen
Country:
Italy / United States
Directed by: Sergio Leone
Stars: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Claudia Cardinale
IMDb score:
8,5 (389.027)
Releasedate: 21 December 1968
C'era una Volta il West plot
"There were three men in her life. One to take her… one to love her —and one to kill her."
Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) is hosting a welcome party for Jill (Claudia Cardinale), the woman he married last month in New Orleans. When he and his three children are shot by desperados, Jill inherits the land from her husband and has to fight the intentions of a railroad builder who is building a railroad right through her land. But then a lifesaver comes from an unexpected quarter.
Actors and actresses
Jill
Frank
'Cheyenne'
'Harmonica'
Morton
Sam
Frank's Gunman
Frank's Gunman
Sheriff
Brett McBain
Reviews & comments
Sir Djuke
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- 388 messages
- 1110 votes
'C'era Una Volta Il West' or 'Once Upon A Time In The West' is the 'Mona Lisa' or 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' of cinema: the measure by which everything is measured. say about a masterpiece in which camerawork, scenery, landscapes, tension, emotion, plot and music form such an overwhelming whole? Cardinale's sighs), but in fact your eyes are too busy to let that spoil the fun. In 1968, director Sergio Leone gave a college lesson about the most important law of directing: timing is everything.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Noodless
-
- 10100 messages
- 6209 votes
The umpteenth revision of this legendary spaghetti western that is one of the better movies of all time. The film owes this to the beautiful music of Ennio Morricone, the beautiful cinematography, the great settings and the beautiful scenic close-ups. And now a unique opportunity to see this beautiful film in the cinema. A great experience in which certain fragments still give goosebumps from different emotions. Examples are the recurring flashbacks (trauma) of Charles Bronson, the great shootout at the beginning of the film, the brutal scene with Irish farmer McBain, the beautiful melancholic music used in certain scenes by Claudia Cardinale and of course the ultimate legendary confrontation between Bronson and Fonda. Depending on the situation, Morricone applies nuances to these musical themes, making them appear slightly different each time. Fantastic scene is also when Cardinale arrives by train and wants to build a new life with McBain. The music, the camera work, the cinematography...in one word colossal. A little later, that music fragment (title song) is used again when she arrives at the farm. masterly. But the short melancholic music reserved for Mr. Tsjoek Tsjoek who sees his dreams fading in the painting of the Atlantic Ocean is perhaps a moment of detail, but beautifully rendered. The acting is excellent. Bronson as the quiet mysterious Harmonica, Fonda as the perfect bad guy, the light-hearted Chayenne and of course the stunning Claudia Cardinale. A masterpiece !
Translated from Dutch · View original
Film Pegasus (moderator films)
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- 31491 messages
- 5627 votes
15 years ago I saw the film for the first time. Revised once more along the way, but such a classic deserves to be set up again after a while. Sergio Leone partly builds on the dollar trilogy, but goes a lot further. The spaghetti western has become a grand opera, which is also reflected in the music. Because you can't see the movie without thinking about Morricone. We get scenes that sparkle in the silence, and when the music resounds he has a recognizable tune for the 4 main characters.
The film opens very strong. The tension is there from the very first moment. Impressive, because we don't know anyone yet, don't know what's going to happen yet, and yet Leone has the viewer fixed from the first images. He manages to crank up that tension regularly. Just think of the family setting the table and suddenly the cicadas stop chirping. Leone sometimes takes his time and it pays off.
The characters are captivating and for a western (usually with good guys and bad guys) quite layered. By the way, there are no real good guys. The tension between the four characters is interesting. Each with different motives. And it doesn't seem to be what you'd expect from their looks either.
Once Upon a Time in the West is one of the best movies ever. Made great with attention to the images, characters, story, music and atmosphere. The pinnacle of Leone's 60s all come together here, it never gets so epic after that.
Translated from Dutch · View originalPre- and sequels
Once upon a Time in America
1984
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