Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" is a sublimation of the style of his previous trilogy of The Red Dead. They have the same weird music, the same sweaty and ugly faces, the same waiting and violent scenes, the same western life details.
Unfortunately, Leoni was unable to balance all this. The film lasted nearly three hours, including an intermission and two misleading ending prompts. During the period, we experienced a complex plot arrangement comparable to that of Antonioni's movies, which involved killers, land rights, railways, belated revenge, wrong identity, love triangle, deception, betrayal and gunfights. It wasn't until the second hour of the film that we gradually clarified our thoughts.
Despite all the difficulties, "Once Upon a Time in the West" can be regarded as an interesting movie, especially if you like the Leonian style of shooting: as if to chew and taste every scene. For example, the final duel between Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson took at least 15 minutes. They walk around, they wait, they confront each other, they stare at each other, they squint, they spit, they take off their jackets, they wince. Just when they were finally ready to shoot, Leone used the flashback. Yeah, why deal with a big duel hastily?
Leone’s first two "Macaroni Westerns" ("Red Dead Redemption", "Fistful of Dusk") had a small budget. By the time of the third "The Good, the Good and the Bad," the funds were finally ample. But this film was funded by Paramount, and the final effect it presents is: rich details, more extras, and exquisite setting. A feeling of western life is reflected in all aspects of behavior (this feeling is impossible to achieve at low cost).
Leonne also went unconventional in casting roles. Henry Fonda dedicated the only villain in his acting career to this film; Charles Bronson plays a mysterious good man; Jason Robards becomes a tough guy, believe it or not. Claudia Katina is a suitable candidate for the heroine, but the director failed to control it. In "Grand Theft Auto", she showed that kind of stubborn and fierce character, which is what the film lacks.
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Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" is a painstaking distillation of the style he made famous in the original three Clint Eastwood Westerns. There's the same eerie music; the same sweaty, ugly faces; the same rhythm of waiting and violence; the same attention to small details of Western life.
There is also, unfortunately, Leone's inability to call it quits. The movie stretches on for nearly three hours, with intermission, and provides two false alarms before it finally ends. In between, we're given a plot complex enough for Antonioni, involving killers, land rights, railroads, long-delayed revenge, mistaken identity, love triangles, double-crosses and shoot-outs. We're well into the second hour of the movie before the plot becomes quite clear.
These difficulties notwithstanding, "Once Upon a Time in the West" is good fun, especially if you like Leone's way of savoring the last morsel of every scene. A final shoot-out between Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson, for example, takes at least 15 minutes. They walk. They wait. They circle each other. They stare at each other. They squint. They spit. They take off their jackets. They wince. Just when they finally seem prepared to shoot after all, Leone uses a flashback . But why hurry a good shoot-out?
Leone's first two "spaghetti Westerns" ("A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More") were made with small budgets. His third, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," was made with a few dollars more . But this one was bankrolled by Paramount and looks like it: There's a wealth of detail, a lot of extras, elaborate sets. There's a sense of the life of the West going on all around the action (and that sense is impossible to obtain on small budgets).
Leone produces some interesting performances by casting against type. Henry Fonda is the bad guy for once in his career; Charles Bronson is impressively inscrutable as the mysterious good guy; and Jason Robards is a tough guy, believe it or not. Claudia Cardinale was a good choice for the woman, but Leone directs her too passively; in "Cartouche," she demonstrated a blood-and-thunder abandon that's lacking here.
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