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Once Upon a Time in the West

Original title: C'era una volta il West
  • 19681968
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 45m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
325K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,382
365
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
UK Trailer
Play trailer3:02
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Western
A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
325K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,382
365
  • Director
    • Sergio Leone
  • Writers
    • Sergio Donati(screenplay by)
    • Sergio Leone(screenplay by)
    • Dario Argento(from a story by)
  • Stars
    • Henry Fonda
    • Charles Bronson
    • Claudia Cardinale
Top credits
  • Director
    • Sergio Leone
  • Writers
    • Sergio Donati(screenplay by)
    • Sergio Leone(screenplay by)
    • Dario Argento(from a story by)
  • Stars
    • Henry Fonda
    • Charles Bronson
    • Claudia Cardinale
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 805User reviews
    • 144Critic reviews
    • 80Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #49
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 5 nominations

    Videos1

    Once Upon A Time In The West
    Trailer 3:02
    Once Upon A Time In The West

    Photos214

    Charles Bronson in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Jason Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Claudia Cardinale in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    "Once Upon a Time in the West" Claudia Cardinale 1968 Paramount Pictures
    Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, and Jason Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, and Jason Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Henry Fonda
    Henry Fonda
    • Frankas Frank
    Charles Bronson
    Charles Bronson
    • Harmonicaas Harmonica
    Claudia Cardinale
    Claudia Cardinale
    • Jill McBainas Jill McBain
    Jason Robards
    Jason Robards
    • Manuel 'Cheyenne' Gutiérrezas Manuel 'Cheyenne' Gutiérrez
    Gabriele Ferzetti
    Gabriele Ferzetti
    • Morton - Railroad Baronas Morton - Railroad Baron
    Paolo Stoppa
    Paolo Stoppa
    • Samas Sam
    Woody Strode
    Woody Strode
    • Stony - Member of Frank's Gangas Stony - Member of Frank's Gang
    Jack Elam
    Jack Elam
    • Snaky - Member of Frank's Gangas Snaky - Member of Frank's Gang
    Keenan Wynn
    Keenan Wynn
    • Sheriff - Auctioneeras Sheriff - Auctioneer
    Frank Wolff
    Frank Wolff
    • Brett McBainas Brett McBain
    Lionel Stander
    Lionel Stander
    • Barmanas Barman
    Livio Andronico
    • Bit partas Bit part
    • (uncredited)
    Salvatore Basile
    Salvatore Basile
    • Member of Cheyenne's Gangas Member of Cheyenne's Gang
    • (uncredited)
    Aldo Berti
    Aldo Berti
    • Member of Frank's Gang Playing Pokeras Member of Frank's Gang Playing Poker
    • (uncredited)
    Joseph Bradley
    • Train Station Masteras Train Station Master
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Braña
    Frank Braña
    • Member of Frank's Gang Smoking Pipe at Auctionas Member of Frank's Gang Smoking Pipe at Auction
    • (uncredited)
    Marilù Carteny
    • Mourner at Brett McBain's Funeralas Mourner at Brett McBain's Funeral
    • (uncredited)
    Saturno Cerra
    Saturno Cerra
    • Member of Frank's Gang on Trainas Member of Frank's Gang on Train
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Sergio Leone
    • Writers
      • Sergio Donati(screenplay by)
      • Sergio Leone(screenplay by) (from a story by)
      • Dario Argento(from a story by)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Henry Fonda originally turned down the role of Frank. Director Sergio Leone flew to the United States and met with Fonda, who asked why he was wanted for the film. Leone replied, "Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera pans up to the gunman's face and...it's Henry Fonda" (until then, with one exception, Fonda had only been cast in "good guy" roles. Leone wanted the audience to be shocked).
    • Goofs
      Frank goes to Morton's train and finds that dead bodies are scattered around. But the train's fireman appears not to be bothered. The engine's safety valve opens frequently, which means that the fireman dutifully keeps doing his job and keeps the boiler at maximum pressure. (The fireman and the driver never appear in the movie, but they must be there.)
    • Quotes

      Harmonica: [facing three men] And Frank?

      Snaky: Frank sent us.

      Harmonica: Did you bring a horse for me?

      Snaky: Well... looks like we're...

      [snickers]

      Snaky: ...looks like we're shy one horse.

      Harmonica: [shaking head] You brought two too many.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits appear over the three gunmen waiting at the train station.

      The film title itself appears at the end of the film.
    • Alternate versions
      Frank's line upon giving Harmonica his namesake varies from version to version. The Italian translates to "play something for your brother," but the most common English version is "keep your loving brother happy," and the German translates to "play me the song of death." The German movie title was inspired by this line.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Clock (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Danny Boy
      (1913) (uncredited)

      Written by by Frederick Edward Weatherly

      Hummed and sung a cappella a bit by Simonetta Santaniello

    User reviews805

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Without a doubt, one of the best Westerns of all time
    I won't claim to have the ability to say anything new about this movie. It's been around for nearly fifty years, and is widely regarded as not just one the best Spaghetti Westerns of all time, but one of the best Westerns full stop. And it's not hard to see why: an incredible soundtrack, strong performances from the entire main cast, some surprisingly good humour and funny one-liners, a few tense sequences, a well-told story that doesn't rely on excessive dialogue or exposition, and consistently amazing cinematography and direction throughout. At least half the frames in this movie would probably make good paintings- no exaggeration.

    It's probably the marriage of the great visuals and soundtrack that make Once Upon a Time in the West work as well as it does. There's a good number of dramatic camera movements and interesting reveals that are tied up perfectly with the music- almost like some kind of singing-free musical at some points.

    Sergio Leone was one of the greatest directors of all time. It's a real shame that he apparently never got the kind of recognition he gets nowadays while he was still alive. Out of all his films, there's a strong argument to be made for this one being the closest to perfect. Honestly, there's not a lot that could be changed to make it better. My biggest direct gripe is the way the title pops up at the very end of the film, and rotates in a full circle before it disappears. It looks really cheesy, and comes close to killing the mood the otherwise extremely strong ending creates. While we're on complaints, another minor one would be that I want to say the film feels a little too long- maybe about 10 to 15 minutes. But at the same time, I wouldn't really know what to cut. Every scene is so well-constructed and orchestrated, and there's always something interesting to look at or listen to or think about, so I'm not really sure what should be cut. It's a pretty weak complaint, I know. Like I said, this thing's close to perfect.

    The Good The Bad and The Ugly might be a tiny bit more entertaining, and Once Upon a Time in America might have a slightly better soundtrack and stronger emotional moments (for me, personally), but it's still really hard to find much to complain about here. Absolutely recommended to any Western fan, and it gets a little better every time I watch it (four for me now, and counting).
    helpful•30
    5
    • Jeremy_Urquhart
    • Sep 30, 2017

    FAQ6

    • Is this movie based on a book?
    • What is the sequence of events involving the ambush of Frank in Flagstone and Cheyenne's attack on Morton's train?
    • Why doesn't Frank kill Morton?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 4, 1969 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • United States
    • Languages
      • Italian
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • There Was Once the West
    • Filming locations
      • Monument Valley, Arizona, USA
    • Production companies
      • Rafran Cinematografica
      • San Marco
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $5,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $5,321,508
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,434,825
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 45 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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