Il était une fois dans l'Ouest [Blu-ray]

Fantastic, thank you!

After his classic DOLLAR TRILOGY of Westerns, Italian Director SERGIO LEONE returned to the genre with his equally impressive ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.The film centres upon four main characters. Jill McBain (CLAUDIA CARDINALE) is recently widowed and living on her deceased husband's estate in the hope of building a new life for herself. Cheyenne (JASON ROBARDS) is a cunning outlaw with a price on his head. The mysterious Harmonica (CHARLES BRONSON), so called after the musical instrument he plays, assumes the names of dead men and has an agenda of his own. Finally, and by far the nastiest character in the whole film, is gun slinger Frank (HENRY FONDA), a vicious thug who works for corrupt railroad tycoon Morton (GABRIELE FERZETTI).All the characters, save for Jill, seem to carry on their shoulders an air of impending doom and each is played to perfection by the excellent cast. Hiring FONDA as a seasoned killer who thinks nothing of butchering women and children was a stroke of genius on the part of LEONE and his first glimpse, stepping out of the dusty bush with his equally long coated cronies, is truly memorable!Film fans, and especially those of Westerns, will have fun spotting familiar genre favourites such as WOODY STRODE and JACK ELAM in cameo roles.No SERGIO LEONE Western would be complete without a spirited ENNIO MORRICONE soundtrack and here we really have only four (highly effective) themes, one for each of the main characters. Other scenes have music of a different kind. The HIGH NOON style train depot sequence at the very start of the film, for example, has a natural soundtrack of its own featuring the likes of a buzzing fly and creaky wind turbine. Simple ideas but highly effective in helping to crank up the tension!The 159 minute film is full of LEONE trademarks such as figures standing in shadow and close ups of faces (especially the eyes) during silent, tension filled encounters. Panning shots showing the natural beauty of the American wilderness are reminiscent of the great JOHN FORD, whom LEONE deeply admired, and the film is crammed with delicious irony and wry humour.The feel of the film goes for authenticity and succeeds on all fronts, from the shabby clothing and rugged appearance of the characters to the rough craftsmanship on the buildings and train platforms. Clearly the times are changing with the coming of the railroad, yet the vanishing older way of life is to be soon replaced by a busier and more corruptible Era.I was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of Special Features included for a film of this age, most of which are on the second disc. The film has a commentary from three Directors (including horror maestro JOHN CARPENTER) and a couple of Film Historians. There are three interesting documentaries (ranging from 18 minutes to 29 minutes in length), the absorbing if brief RAILROAD: REVOLUTIONISING THE WEST featurette (6 minutes), location and production stills galleries featuring dozens of unique photographs, cast profiles for the five top characters and the Original Theatrical Trailer. Within the packaging a little booklet gives even more insight into the making of the film as well.I feel that even non-Western fans will easily enjoy this film, one now regarded as a true classic in its own right from a remarkable visionary of Italian cinema!

If you like the 'spaghetti westerns' you will like this film.I have just watched it for the second time and I think I can sum it up as the 'spaghetti westerns' coming of age.What I mean is that there is a bigger budget.Henry Fonda is just so menacing, hard to remember he was always the good guy in his previous films.Charles Bronson plays the enigma brilliantly.Jason Robards catches that bad guy we love brilliantly.Claudia Cardinale is mysterious and drop dead gorgeous.If I can pick a fault it would be the storyline gets confusing, watching twice is needed to get it.Sergio Leone I just love that man and Ennio Morricone is here again with the soundtrack.I can highly recommend this western.