Once Upon A Time In The West Review (1968)

With this, a new trilogy begins in the career of master Sergio Leone, who with this film, begins to expand beyond the formal conventions of the Western genre and the style that he had developed with his previous “Dollars Trilogy”. The dialogue is reduced in favor of extended scenes, imagery, suspense and extreme visual dynamism.

The plot of the film, is somewhat complex to understand, for what Leone does here is reduce every information to the bare minimum of dialogue and use the images to convey emotions, ideas, themes etc. The opening sequence, probably the lengthiest of the many “suspense set pieces” in Sergio Leone films, is an almost dialogue less, 13-minute sequence, which predictably ends with a shootout, but with the twist of the hero also getting a bullet.

The way this sequence is built might possibly the seed for the style of heightening suspense in films by showcasing the characters doing meagre daily works. Even something simple as swatting a fly away is given extreme care and detail and adds more layer of characterization to these men about whom we don’t get to know much. Another fascinating thing about this sequence is the way the opening credits are laid in the sequence contributing to the escalating tension.

Leone, with this film, attempts to tell not only a more stripped down and realistic Western, as compared to the fun, fast and more stylish Dollars Trilogy, he also retrospectively comments upon the end of the idea of the Wild West, of railway lines intruding into the lives people with the bounty hunters gone. The stylization of the violence in Dollars Trilogy has been replaced by a more emotional and moving depiction of violence which, without manipulation is able to evoke in us, great emotions.

The pacing of the film works greatly except for the portions before the final climatic duel, which seem to drag somewhat before we get to the fight. Even here, Leone subverts by giving us a flashback in the midst of building suspense, which works brilliantly well, and again the near wordless encounter emotionally touches us.

Ennio Morricone’s score for the film, surpasses the artistry of his work in the Dollars Trilogy, with the 3 main themes being reused absolutely brilliantly well, the music conveying different emotions for the different characters.

Despite being somewhat flawed, Leone crafts a masterpiece, taking his style into more experimental zones.