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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Dolby, Dolby Digital (5.1)
The arrival of a mysterious stranger sets off a chain of violence in the dusty prairie town depicted in this epic western. The newcomer gets himself involved in a bitter land dispute between a widow and a ruthless railroad magnate.
Editor's Note
Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti), the power-hungry owner of a railroad company, hires Frank (Henry Fonda, playing against type), a gunfighter without a conscience, to kill anyone who stands in the way of the completion of the railroad. After Frank murders land owner Brett McBain (Frank Wolff), McBain's widow (Claudia Cardinale) hires two killers of her own to protect her and gain revenge: a mysterious, harmonica-playing desperado (Charles Bronson) and his rogue sidekick (Jason Robards). Using techniques previously unseen in the genre, Sergio Leone utilizes close-ups, color, and Ennio Morricone's trademark score to create a tense and somber meditation on death which is widely considered to be one of the best westerns in cinematic history. Soon-to-be legendary Italian directors Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA) and Bernardo Bertolucci (THE LAST EMPEROR) collaborated with Leone on the screenplay.
Plot Summary
Sergio Leone's epic homage to the Hollywood western has become a cinematic classic. Leone plays with the genre's conventions primarily through evocative camerawork and music, and with a minimum of dialogue.| The film follows several stories, all centering on greed, murder and revenge. In one, gunmen slaughter an entire family who are awaiting the arrival of their father's new bride. The wife valiantly attempts to hold on to the land she has inherited. But the cold-blooded outlaws who committed the massacre want to complete the job by killing her.| There's also a mysterious "Nameless Man" who has his own reasons for hunting down these bandits... and he has murder on his mind.
| Features | Widescreen Version | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Audio: English 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Paramount |
| Release Date: 2/13/2007 |
| Running Time: 165 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1969 | | Catalog ID: 068304 | | UPC: 00097360683042 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Italian | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English Dubbed, French Dubbed, Italian | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 16:9 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Los Angeles Times
"...One beautiful image follows another....Throughout, Leone is a master of the expressive gesture in celebration of an Old West that exists more in our imaginations than it ever did in reality..." 01/02/2003 p.C12USA Today
"...Director Sergio Leone's 'spaghetti' masterpiece'..." 12/09/1994 p.3D Total Film
"...Brilliant....Brutal, bloody and poetic, this is, without hyperbole, one of the greatest Westerns ever made..." 11/01/2003 p.122 Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...Bronson and Fonda never looked better..." 11/01/2003 p.120 Uncut
Ranked #18 in Uncut's Best DVDs Of 2005 -- "[I]t's simultaneously an elegy, a critique and a fairytale of the cowboy myth." 01/01/2006 p.84-85 |
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| Customer Reviews | ![]() | | Cinematography |  5 | | Plot | 5 | | Acting |  4.5 | | Overall Satisfaction | 5 |
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5 of 5 GREAT MOVIE Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Gary Kelly from Spokane, Wa
This is one of the best produced and made westerns in the history of movies. How can you go wrong with Henry Fonda, Jason Robard and Charles Bronson. Was this review helpful?  
5 of 5 One of the best westerns ever made. Tuesday, May 11, 2004
mustangace from Vashon, Washington
This is one of Sergio Leone's best films. Sergio is perhaps known best for his films with Clint Eastwood - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly; A Fistful of Dollars; For A Few Dollars More.
As in The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Sergio shows life on a grand scale, the building and affect of the railroad on western life in this film, and does this while telling us a story about the main characters. Henry Fonda, known for his good-guy roles, plays Frank, an extremely convincing, heartless villain. Charles Bronson is excellent as Harmonica, a boy who has grown into a man seeking Frank in order to avenge his brother's death. Jason Robards is something of an outside observer who understands that what must be done must be done.
Once Upon A Time In The West is an excellent film that all who enjoys westerns should view.
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1 of 1 customers found this review helpful.
5 of 5 A Classic Spaghetti Western from Sergio Leone Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Billymac from New York, NY
Once Upon a Time in the West is the next film Sergio Leone made after the Good the Bad and the Ugly,and it compares to that film in quality, length, and iconic performances. Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda (as the coldest villian you'll ever see), Claudia Cardinale, and Jason Robards are each introduced in the special Leone fashion. Then the story is revealed, a tale of revenge,friendship and the building of the railroad. The music by Ennio Morricone ( same one who did all Leone's films) is his peak. Each major character has a theme, and when Monument Valley is shown, the music is magnificent.The film takes its time, but it is worth it. Many scenes are classics, and will remain with you long after the flick is finished. I know this film is not as well known as the Clint Eastwood movies by Leone, but everyone I have turned onto this flick has come back raving about it. Catch it, and you will too. Was this review helpful?
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