Once Upon a Time in the West
Director | Sergio Leone
Presented by Illy
Once Upon a Time in the West is recognised as the pinnacle of the western film genre and hailed as a Masterpiece.
Set in a time when the railway expanded into the West, it’s a story of violent, rapid change.
1968 | 166 min | Spaghetti Western | Italy | Italian with English subtitles
CAST | Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, Gabriele Ferzetti
Charles Bronson plays the mysterious ‘man with the harmonica’ who, with outlaw Cheyenne protects the majestic Claudia Cardinale, arguably in her best role.
The standout performance comes from the wildly against-type casting of the great Henry Fonda as a ruthless assassin working for the railways. It is a film of sprawling scale, operative and exquisite in its detail, unlike an other western - cinema on a grand scale.
Sergio Leone’s collaboration with composer Ennio Morricone was one of the most creative partnerships in cinema history and its influence is still felt today. The themes are uncannily resonant today; the foundations of contemporary USA with the unstoppable force of technology and the violent, lawless brutality of unchecked greed.
This is UNMISSABLE on the big screen.
A true masterpiece of the genre and arguable the best spaghetti western every made
Sher Linden. The Hollywood Reporter