Once Upon a Time in the West

     The American tagline for director Sergio Leone's 1968 masterpiece Once Upon a Time in the West reads, "There were three men in her life. One to take her … One to love her … And one to kill her." Even after multiple viewings, it's not entirely clear which man is which — not that it matters. It is the heightened level of epic storytelling and classic performances that make this "Spaghetti Western" quintessential viewing.
     Reformed prostitute Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale, The Pink Panther, 8 ½) has journeyed west to join her kind new husband on his infertile farm, Sweetwater. Problems arise almost immediately for Jill when she arrives to discover that McBain and his children have been murdered. Several questionable characters are also lurking about the farm. Among them are recently released criminal Cheyenne (Jason Robards, All the President's Men, Magnolia) and a mystery man known simply as Harmonica (Charles Bronson, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape).
     Meanwhile, crippled and dying railroad tycoon Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti, L'avventura, On Her Majesty's Secret Service) urges his unscrupulous employee, Frank (Henry Fonda, The Grapes of Wrath, 12 Angry Men), to lay tracks through Sweetwater and all the way to Pacific Ocean as quickly as possible since Morton's time is running out. Bullets fly when Cheyenne and Harmonica swear to protect Jill, and Frank vows to take the now valuable land for his own.
     From the opening showdown between Harmonica and three of Frank's men to the dizzying final gunfight, Once Upon a Time in the West is tense, visually thrilling filmmaking at its best. It's obvious that after completing the Man with No Name trilogy (Fistful of Dollars, Few Dollars More, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly), Leone was at the top of his game. The reach of the story is ambitious, thoughtfully exploring themes of redemption, death, avengement, love, betrayal and the slow ebb of Wild West lawlessness in order to make way for civilization.
     The acting is equally superb. Bronson is especially perfect as the unnamed outsider, Fonda obviously enjoys himself while playing against type as a cruel murderer, and Cardinale is a perfect blend of self-interest, empathy and lonely desperation.
Supposedly, Leone was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata, as well as countless Westerns; he even went so far as to make the film entirely from references to predecessors. The result, however, is something sort of unique and magical. Once Upon a Time in the West may owe its existence to those that came before it, but it is still an undeniably fantastic Western in its own right.