One of the great classics : a riveting, wildly immersive Western set against the historical backdrop of the expansion of the railroads. The Ennio Morricone music is rousing, the scenery is jaw-dropping and the various characters spring to colourful life.

This last fact owes much to the casting, which includes a bit of truly inspired counter-casting : actor Henry Fonda, used to playing pretty decent guys, takes on the sable-black persona of an amoral middle-aged mercenary fully capable of killing random children. It's a marvellously chilling performance - but wait for the ending of the movie, where a short flash-back shows the mercenary as a young man already much given to taunting and torturing. Fonda takes on a sick, twisted intensity that can only be described as diabolical.

Now this is a long and intense movie which requires attentive viewing, meaning that it is a good idea to create an intermission and watch it in two parts. But do watch it - it's excellent.

I have absolutely loved the Sergio Leone "Spaghetti Westerns" that he made before ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. So, given that I have given very positive reviews for FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY, my being far from impressed with this film isn't because I dislike the genre or have it out for Mr. Leone! No, I have some legitimate reasons why I think the film is overrated--certainly very few of the IMDb users can honestly think this movie is one of the best 25 movies of all-time (despite its high IMDb score).

The biggest problem is the terribly slow pacing. While none of his films of the genre are fast-paced, they are deliberately paced and hold your interest. However, this film could easily have had 45 to 60 minutes chopped out of it without a major negative impact on the movie. The buildup is just way too long and drawn out to allow this to be a great film. Self-indulgent in its pacing, yes, but not great. I don't want to watch Jack Elam blowing a fly off his face again and again and again. I don't want to see closeups of the actors eyes again and again and again. And I certainly do not want to have a scene take three times longer than it would in any other Western! The second biggest problem is that although the film seems like a meticulous labor of love in some places, a few other ones it is just plain sloppy. The absolute worst is the actor who seems to play a younger version of Charles Bronson. Not only does it look almost nothing like him, but the eye color doesn't even match--and considering all the closeups of eyes, this is just sloppy (Bronson's are bright blue-gray and the other has dark brown eyes). Also, in a few other places it looks like scenes were missing as the movie just jumped from one scene to another--and I DID watch the extended version of the movie, not the edited version. And finally, how Jason Robards was able to carry on the entire final portion of the movie--apparently fine--only to keel over dead in the very end just seemed ridiculous and sloppy.

Now as far as what I liked (and boy did I want to like this film). I loved having nice-guy Henry Fonda play a cold-blooded creep. This was great. And, although I generally hated the long, slow pace, the opening scene was worth the very long wait. The music, while not Ennio Marricone's very best, was still excellent and haunting. My advice is see these other Leone Westerns and then compare them. Even THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY (a very, very long movie as well) is much faster paced than this film.

Although I have not seen all his films, I have yet to see a Sergio Leone film I hate. The movies I have seen of his are visually gorgeous with superb scores and interesting stories and characters. Once Upon a Time in the West is no exception. It is long and slow, but I think the film was deliberately paced like that.

Once Upon a Time in the West does take a lot of risks, including improvising the action around the score's moods. This was a risk that paid off. The story is rich and compelling and the dialogue is thought provoking and beautifully written. Leone also proved what a fine director he was by directing so wonderfully on this film.

The characters are great and quite complex, and are further advantaged by being wonderfully portrayed. There is the brutish gunfighter, the beautiful widow, the mysterious harmonica player and the sympathetic outlaw. Henry Fonda particularly does brilliantly in the role of Frank. The visuals once again are exquisite and quite grandiose in its scope and beauty, while Ennio Morricone's wonderfully operatic-like score fully justifies why he is considered one of the all-time great film composers.

All in all, a big and bold western and one unlike any other. It also took risks, ones which could have gone horribly wrong but due to the evident work and care of all involved, they paid off. 10/10 Bethany Cox