C'era una volta il West (1968)

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Dario Argento (story) &
Bernardo Bertolucci (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 December 1968 (Italy)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

There were three men in her life. One to take her... one to love her... and one to kill her.

Plot:

Epic story of a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.

Plot Keywords:

Assassin | Widow | Epic | Man With No Name | Gang

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 17

8:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Frank
Claudia Cardinale	...	Jill McBain
Jason Robards	...	Cheyenne
Charles Bronson	...	Harmonica
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Morton (railroad baron)
Paolo Stoppa	...	Sam
Woody Strode	...	Stony - Member of Frank's Gang
Jack Elam	...	Snaky - Member of Frank's Gang
Keenan Wynn	...	Sheriff (auctioneer)
Frank Wolff	...	Brett McBain
Lionel Stander	...	Barman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Livio Andronico	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Salvatore Basile	...	Member of Cheyenne's Gang (uncredited)
Aldo Berti	...	Member of Frank's gang playing poker (uncredited)
Frank Braña	...	Mamber of Frank's gang smoking pipe at auction (uncredited)
Saturno Cerra	...	Hired Gun on Train (uncredited)
Luigi Ciavarro	...	Older sheriff's deputy (uncredited)
Spartaco Conversi	...	Member of Frank's gang shot through boot (uncredited)
Bruno Corazzari	...	3rd Member of Cheyenne's Gang (uncredited)
Paolo Figlia	...	(uncredited)
John Frederick	...	Jim - Member of Frank's Gang (uncredited)
Don Galloway	...	Member of Frank's Gang in flashback (uncredited)
Michael Harvey	...	Frank's lieutenant (uncredited)
Stefano Imparato	...	(uncredited)
Francesca Leone	...	Girl at Flagstone station (uncredited)
Raffaella Leone	...	Girl at Flagstone station (uncredited)
Frank Leslie	...	(uncredited)
Rafael López Somoza	...	Train Station Master (uncredited)
Luigi Magnani	...	(uncredited)
Claudio Mancini	...	Harmonica's brother (uncredited)
Dino Mele	...	Harmonica, as a boy (uncredited)
Antonio Molino Rojo	...	Member of Frank's gang at auction (uncredited)
Enrico Morsella	...	(uncredited)
Umberto Morsella	...	(uncredited)
Al Mulock	...	Knuckles - Member of Frank's Gang (uncredited)
Ricardo Palacios	...	Engineer (uncredited)
Tullio Palmieri	...	Flagstone carpenter (uncredited)
Renato Pinciroli	...	First bidder at auction (uncredited)
Lorenzo Robledo	...	2nd Member of Cheyenne's Gang (uncredited)
Sandra Salvatori	...	(uncredited)
Aldo Sambrell	...	Cheyenne's lieutenant (uncredited)
Conrado San Martín	...	Gangmember on Train (uncredited)
Enzo Santaniello	...	Timmy McBain (uncredited)
Simonetta Santaniello	...	Maureen McBain (uncredited)
Claudio Scarchilli	...	Member of Frank's Gang (uncredited)
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia	...	(uncredited)
Robert Spafford	...	Construction yard owner (uncredited)
Benito Stefanelli	...	Frank's lieutenant (uncredited)
Luana Strode	...	Indian woman (uncredited)
Fabio Testi	...	Member of Frank's gang with black hat at auction (uncredited)
Dino Zamboni	...	(uncredited)
Marco Zuanelli	...	Wobbles (uncredited)

Directed by
Sergio Leone

Writing credits
Dario Argento		(story) &
Bernardo Bertolucci		(story) &
Sergio Leone		(story)
Sergio Leone		(screenplay) &
Sergio Donati		(screenplay)
Mickey Knox		(dialogue: English version)

Produced by
Bino Cicogna	....	executive producer
Fulvio Morsella	....	producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Tonino Delli Colli

Film Editing by
Nino Baragli

Production Design by
Carlo Simi

Set Decoration by
Rafael Ferri
Carlo Leva		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Antonella Pompei
Carlo Simi

Makeup Department
Alberto De Rossi	....	makeup artist
Giannetto De Rossi	....	makeup artist
Grazia De Rossi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Claudio Mancini	....	production manager
Camillo Teti	....	production supervisor
Ugo Tucci	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Salvatore Basile	....	assistant director (as Salvo Basile)
Giancarlo Santi	....	first assistant director
Adolfo Aristarain	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Antonio Palombi	....	assistant production designer
Enrico Simi	....	assistant set decorator

Sound Department
Fausto Ancillai	....	sound engineer
Luciano Anzellotti	....	sound effects (as Luciano Anzillotti)
Roberto Arcangeli	....	sound effects
Italo Cameracanna	....	sound effects
Claudio Maielli	....	sound engineer
Elio Pacella	....	sound engineer

Special Effects by
Eros Bacciucchi	....	special effects (as Bacciucchi)

Stunts
John Landis	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Franco Di Giacomo	....	camera operator
Giuseppe Lanci	....	assistant camera
Roberto Forges Davanzati	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marilù Carteny	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Andreina Casini	....	assistant editor
Carlo Reali	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Ennio Morricone	....	conductor
Alessandro Alessandroni	....	musician: whistle (uncredited)
Cantori Moderni	....	music performers (uncredited)
Franco De Gemini	....	musician: harmonica solo (uncredited)

Other crew
Serena Canevari	....	script supervisor
Benito Stefanelli	....	master of arms
Glauco Teti	....	production secretary
Manuel Amigo	....	second production supervisor (uncredited)
Roberto Chevalier	....	voice dubbing (uncredited)
Corrado Gaipa	....	voice dubbing: Frank Wolff (uncredited)
Lauro Gazzolo	....	voice dubbing (uncredited)
Nando Gazzolo	....	voice dubbing: Henry Fonda (uncredited)
Bruno Persa	....	voice dubbing: Jack Elam (uncredited)
Cesare Polacco	....	voice dubbing: Lionel Stander (uncredited)
Giuseppe Rinaldi	....	voice dubbing: Charles Bronson (uncredited)
Carlo Romano	....	voice dubbing: Jason Robards (uncredited)
Rita Savagnone	....	voice dubbing: Claudia Cardinale (uncredited)
Stefano Sibaldi	....	voice dubbing: Keenan Wynn (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Finanzia San Marco (as A Rafran-San Marco Production)
• Rafran Cinematografica (as A Rafran-San Marco Production)
• Paramount Pictures (co-production)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Paramount Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Adams Filmi (1970) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (2009) (Australia) (theatrical) (new 35mm Panavision print - re-release)
• Chapel Distribution (2009) (Australia) (theatrical) (re-issue new 35mm Panavision print full version)
• Paramount (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1971) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
• Cine Plus Home Entertainment (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Mondo Home Entertainment (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Lowry Digital Images  digital restoration (2003 re-release)
• RCA  music recording facility

Also Known As:

Once Upon a Time in the West (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (Australia)
There Was Once the West (USA) (literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for western violence and brief sensuality. (re-rated; rated M/PG in 1969)

Runtime:

Italy:175 min | 165 min (international version) | Finland:137 min (1970)

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2004) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (re-rating) (1977) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1970) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2000) | UK:15 (video rating) (1989) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2003) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1969) | West Germany:16 (w)

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Finanzia San Marco

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Sergio Leone] [theme]Harmonica, Frank, and Cheyenne.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Cheyenne shoots the man who's guarding Harmonica through the train window, there is no blood on the chair the man was sitting in, despite the fact that he was shot at pointblank range.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Station agent: Hey - hey hey hey hey, if you want any tickets, you'll have to go around to, eh, to, eh, the front of the, eh... oooh, well, I s'pose it'll be all right.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Wages of Sin (2003) (V)

"Something To Do With Death"

Sergio goes Hollywood for this big-name, big-budget Spaghetti Western. Fonda, Bronson, Robards and Cardinale queue up and take Leone's choreographic direction in an epic tale of blood and revenge.

Frank is a bad guy who has killed a lot of people. He now works for a railroad entrepreneur whose ruthless sterile tracks are spreading ever westward. The time has come for the real Americans to confront both the railroad and Frank.

Leone sat down with film intellectuals Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento and watched dozens of Hollywood westerns. From this saturation-viewing emerged a 300-page treatment which was eventually distilled into the script, penned by Leone and Sergio Donati. There are conscious echoes of "Shane" and "High Noon" in the meticulously-plotted screenplay. Ennio Morricone apparently sat in on the planning stage and had composed the score in toto before shooting began, the reverese of the usual process of fitting music to existing footage. The result is a tight matching of soundtrack and visuals. Robards, Bronson and Cardinale each have musical 'signatures' which play whenever their characters are onscreen. Bronson's is an eerily-wailing harmonica, Robards has the plonking banjo and Cardinale the lush strings. So intricately was everything structured that the themes were available to be played on set, so that the actors could co-ordinate every nuance of gesture to fit with the score.

The film is a grandiose lament to the death of the Wild West. Decay is everywhere to be seen. Streets, bars, buildings and people all have a beat-up, grungy look. When Cheyenne (Robards) pauses beside a rough-hewn wooden post, there is little difference in texture between his face and the post. Morton the cripple is killing the romantic West of open spaces with his "snail trail" of railroad tracks, leaving the fine adventurous men (Cheyenne and Harmonica) nowhere to go.

There can be few opening scenes with the visual and aural brilliance of this one. Three bad guys stake out Flagstone's railroad depot in a High Noon pastiche. Jack Elam (who was actually in "High Noon") leads the villains. The only spoken words throughout this long (but totally gripping) scene are uttered by the old station clerk. Haunting rhythms raise the tension to an unbearable pitch ... the squeaking windmill, the chattering tickertape, the creaking bench. This wonderful crescendo climaxes with the appearance of Bronson, a sequence as stylised and choreographed as a Shinto ceremony, all the more effective for the absence of spontaneity.

Equal to and counterbalancing this scene is the very next one, the introduction of Frank. This time it is "Shane" that gets the treatment as the McBain boy spots five men in yellow duster topcoats. A growing sense of unease on the McBain homestead is beautifully conveyed (was the stopping of a cicada chirp ever so effective?) A cinematic multiple orgasm ensues, with the musical theme crashing in as the boy sees the devastation, and the camera swoops round to reveal the baddie to be none other than Henry Fonda as Morricone's trademark solitary tubular bell peals out.

Cheyenne's entrance is also a piece of impressive cinema. Inside Lionel Stander's strange labyrinthine tavern, quite unlike any saloon ever filmed before, the violence which hovers around Cheyenne like a dustcloud is heard but not seen, preparing us for his appearance in person. The sliding of the lamp towards Bronson works brilliantly, the film's two good men sharing the light of humour, the symbolic forging of a meaningful friendship.

By a slow accretion, the plot reveals itself. The leviathan of the railroad must be stopped, and there must be a reckoning with Frank. Gradually the fates of the main characters converge, and swim into sharp focus for the shoot-out.

It is not the story, excellent though that is, which lingers in the memory, but rather a hundred individual flashes of brilliance: Claudia Cardinale (are those eyes for real?) filmed on the bed, viewed vertically downward, through a lace canopy: Cheyenne's surprise method of concealing himself on the train: Morton ("when you're not on that train, you're like a turtle out of its shell") imprisoned by the armature that helps him walk: the 'heartbeat' of the train's engine during the cardgame: the tension of the ambush preparations against Frank: the eruption of guitar music as Bronson enters the frame: Bronson's stillness and self-possession, the emblem of his righteousness: Fonda's eyes flickering rapidly in his motionless head, denoting the waning of his self-confidence: the amazing super-close-ups of Bronson: and the weird brick arch, the only man-made intrusion into the entire terrain, and the focus of human depravity.