C'era una volta il West (1968)

Calificación de los usuarios:

8.8/10   

Director:

Sergio Leone

Escritores:

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

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

21 diciembre 1968 (Italy)

Género:

Acción | Drama | Del Oeste

Frase comercial:

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:

Harmonica | Assassin | Widow | Epic | Railway

Premios:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Comentarios de los usuarios:

pure cinematic paradise

Reparto

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

También conocida como:

Once Upon a Time in the West (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
There Was Once the West (USA) (literal English title)
Érase una vez en el Oeste (Argentina) [es]
Hasta que llegó su hora (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

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

Duración:

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

País:

Italy | USA

Idioma:

Italiano

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Relación de Aspecto:

2.35 : 1

Sonido:

Mono

Clasificación:

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)

Locaciones de Filmación:

Arizona, USA

Compañía:

Finanzia San Marco

Trivialidades:

When Henry Fonda was trying to decide whether to be in this film, he asked his friend Eli Wallach, who had just made Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) with Sergio Leone, if he should take the part of Frank. Wallach said that he had to do it and told Fonda, "You will have the time of your life."

Errores:

Anacronismos: As Frank and his gang ride away from the train, tire tracks are visible in the dirt.

Citas:

[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.

Conexiones de Película:

References Pursued (1947)

pure cinematic paradise

Thank god that I'm a Bronson fan. This was my first Leone movie, and dumb kid that I was, I actually watched it thinking I was in for a typical Bronson "vehicle"! Looking back I'm thankful, because if it wasn't for his involvement, I would never have discovered the beauty and majesty that is Once Upon a Time in the West.

I absolutely love this movie. It's probably my all time favourite, certainly one of the few that I can watch OVER and OVER again without losing interest. I love the way Leone creates intrigue and mystery around what is a relatively thin plot. He can make even the smallest twist of fate seem like an epic turn of events, with that amazing sense of revelation that he generates out of old hackneyed situations (something Argento has since picked up). Leone proves in this film that he could seemingly take anyone, even peripheral characters, and give them screen charisma without using dialogue as a crutch.

OUATITW features the most tense two man stand-offs ever, with some serious deja-vu in the direction of his "Dollars" trilogy. In fact, it does feel like those three movies were warm ups, practice sessions in the build up to OUATITW. Here though, he perfected everything; despite the long running time, it's all focused, and without a single irrelevant scene. For me, the two hours plus just fly by, I wish it would never end. Leone was without question at his artistic peak when he made this, that's not to say that he went downhill from then on, but I honestly don't think he ever did another film where everything came together so perfectly.

The cast is flawless. Fonda eclipsed every good guy he ever did in one fell swoop, truly chilling. Robards is a great comic character, the lovable rogue with an edge. And Cardinale is more than just (incredible) window dressing; she switches between passionate, angry, delicate and sentimental at all the right moments.

Which leaves the hero; I'm a huge Eastwood fan, but I honestly don't believe he could have done the role justice. His "man with no name" was a cool, sly character with hidden complexities. Eastwood always does these layered personalities, with some kind of mental baggage. Bronson, on the other hand, mostly does himself; simple, uncomplicated figures with only one state of mind, that's why he's put in so many revenge flicks. Plus, he looks like he's been seriously wronged at some point in his life, Eastwood doesn't have that quality. Bronson is the genuine hard-as-nails article. You can readily imagine that, had he been born decades earlier and been put in the same situation, he would resolve the problem in much the same way as his character in the movie (sometimes I affectionately refer to this movie as Deathwish part 0- could Harmonica be the great granddaddy of Paul Kersey?).

Of course the other great contribution is the music. I still think that the main theme is one of the most breathtaking pieces of music I have ever heard. It affects me deeply whenever I hear it, regardless of the mood I'm in. Maybe I should listen to more opera or something, I don't know, but that's the way I feel. And the individual character themes are just so well integrated into the film, it's unbelievable. Leone replaces words with music, and it conveys so much more in return. Bronson just plays that melancholy tune on the harmonica instead of answering people back, it consistently cracks me up.

High Noon, Naked Spur, Shane, The Searchers, etc. are all classics of the genre, but I really don't think it's possible to compare those "traditional" westerns with OUATITW. For me, it exists on a plane of it's own, it's the kind of film experience that you let wash over you, a waking dream. I recommend this movie to anyone, if you're on the right wavelength you'll be greatly rewarded.