Why so much hype?

Really Surprised!

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

I always get anxious when I write about my favorite films because I am scared not to be able to be objective. "Once Upon a Time in the West" is one of those films where I talk only about strong points because this film has no mistakes. It is beautifully made and became one of the top films in the cinema industry. Right now, "Once Upon a Time in the West" stays on 36th place in IMDB's top 250 films and has a total point of 8.5. Just like the other films of Sergio Leone, like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly or Once Upon a Time in America; "Once Upon a Time in the West" is also a masterpiece. This is one of the films where you can easily guess the director if you have seen his previous films. He uses all his known techniques to their limits. I have mentioned those techniques of Sergio Leone while writing about his other films but it is no harm to mention them also here. He uses extreme close up shots to express the feelings of the characters whenever it is possible. All of those scenes are silent and much more expressive. He never fails to use beautiful soundtracks in those scenes. In Sergio Leone's films soundtracks are as important as any other component, therefore his collaboration with the composer Ennio Morricone was very important. Before, they have collaborated in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly as well, and if you have seen that film, you will understand the importance of his soundtracks.The story, atmosphere, casting, performances and the set are very strong from all points of views. When I think about it, there is absolutely nothing bad in this film. The story focuses mostly on six main characters. Henry Fonda, as Frank, Claudia Cardinale, as Jill Mc Bain, Jason Robards, as Manuel 'Cheyenne' Gutierrez, Charles Bronson, as Harmonica and Gabriele Ferzetti, as the railroad Baron Morton. The story turns around these characters. They all have different backgrounds but their stories are connected with at least one of the other characters. These relations build a complex progress in the story. Most of the time nothing makes sense, you don't know the answer for a particular move. You don't know why they did that. But, the revelation of these mysteries is explained in such ways that you get to understand why this film is considered a masterpiece and why it was selected for the preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." Such a complex story could not be told in a better way. After seeing all Sergio Leone's films, in my opinion this one is the best of all.There is a piece of land in the middle of the desert. This place holds some water reserves that are essential for trains to continue on their journey. A guy buys this land, thinking to build a station there and get rich. However, railroad Baron Morton hires Frank to scare that man and his family to move out from there. Frank kills this guy and his three children in disguise as the bandits of Cheyenne. A couple of days later, Jill arrives in town as the dead guy's married wife and claims this land. In the meantime, Cheyenne tries to find out about the murder and who frame it on him. He meets a stranger in a bar who calls himself as Harmonica. He is also after Frank for a completely different reason. The story evolves and reveals everything towards the end. Morton, the railroad Baron, lives in a luxury train designed for him. He is a disabled man and hires people to do things for him. His death is the most iconic and the saddest part of the film. While his ultimate goal was to go on a cruise ship and see the ocean, he dies near a little muddy water. His constant sadness on his face during the film is one of the best examples of how reflection of feelings are the most important thing in Leone's films. The similar expressions are visible also on the faces of Henri Fonda and Charles Bronson. Henri Fonda is one of the most experienced actors when it comes to western. In this film his character is the bad guy. He has chosen this role of a bad guy in order to escape from his typical image. This is called casting against type. This is how Sergio Leone convinced Henry Fonda to star in his film. His cold blue eyes gave an amazing image for the character of Frank. The role of Harmonica was offered previously to Clint Eastwood but he rejected it. I don't think Clint Eastwood would have fitted for the role of Harmonica. It is nearly impossible to make a film like "Once Upon a Time in the West." You have a story in your head, but in order to reflect this story, you need to find the right casting who have the right amount of expressiveness in their faces and you need to create the right atmosphere for them and for the story and match them in harmony. You need to find the right soundtracks and use them in the right moments. Even if you have all of these components at your disposal, it is very hard to master them. Sergio Leone manages to do that, and this is the reason why his film is considered as one of the best films that was ever made. I have seen a lot of great stories that are wasted in the hands of untalented directors. Sergio Leone's complex style of storytelling must be shown to each and every director that wants to take place in the cinema industry.

This is the ultimate western. The combination of the music and close ups of the faces of the actors makes this film not only the best western ever but also the best film ever.

While it is still most commonly stated that 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' is Leone's ultimate masterpiece, this label is quite unfortunate for another Leone masterpiece, 'Once Upon a Time in the West', which is also one of the greatest films ever made.First and foremost Once Upon a Time in the West is a masterpiece of storytelling. A lot of early scenes will leave you with questions that will only be answered later on after everything becomes clear. The story is a complex and multi layered mystery that is handled with impeccable editing and a slow pace which is always evolving. In the end all of your questions as viewers will be answered in one of the greatest reveals ever in cinema history when nearing its end. It also features an incredible use of sound, having birds chirping when everything seems safe and creating silence and awareness of the characters in question when there is danger brewing. Leone was a master of creating tension, and this way everytime the birds would stop chirping you are at the edge of your seat. There are a lot of close ups as usual in a Leone film, and emotions are put into the incredible facial acting ( especially by Henry Fonda ) and the once again terrific Ennio Morricone score.With Charles Bronson as the mysterious harmonica player who seems to be able to kill with his eyes, Henry Fonda as the intimidating blue eyed villain & Jason Robards as the charismatic bandit Cheyenne we have an incredible cast of actors who are used to the best of their abilities. Ofcourse Fonda was barely cast as a villain before this film, frequently appearing as the hero in a lot of Hollywood movies before this one, which makes his appearance all the more shocking and intimidating when the camera glances from his shoes towards his piercing blue eyes. However, i have a slight critique on Claudia Cardinale ( Jill ), whose dialogue seems to come across as forced, yet her facial acting is absolute world class. One of my favorite scenes has to be the one where she jumps off the train only to find there is no one there to pick her up. Her confused and melancholy look is absolute divine, and combined with Leone's elevating shot which shows the town right when Morricone's music hits its climax, it creates one of the greatest cinematic scenes ever made.The cinematography is absolutely beautiful as usual in a Leone film, especially during the shoots of all the workers working on the railroad, in the background, middle and foreground, all flowing across the screen effortlessly due to Leone's artistic directional talents. Jill's ride to the McBain farm is also one worth of notice, with a lot of beautiful widescreen distance shots of the western environment in a very similar style to John Ford, which was one of the influences of Leone.From its incredible opening sequence devoid of almost any dialogue whatsoever to the very end, it is a movie that grabs you and never lets go due to its incredible slow paced storytelling. It is just a brilliant piece of writing that manages to make every scene look useful and more mysterious, building up to an ending that has to be one of the greatest sequences ever put on the screen.

This one only gets better with each viewing. Leone's masterful storytelling and Morricone's crazy, beautiful, epic soundtrack; desperate, haunted faces that look like the barren landscapes the story is set in and a plot that unfolds with impeccable pacing to culminate in THE ultimate western finale. As in Leone's previous films, music isn't just used to add to the atmosphere but is essential to the story, or perhaps even more: Morricone's main musical theme plays the actual role of a (or rather: the) protagonist in the film. Anyone who thought that the so called "Spaghetti Westerns" were nothing but cheap, violent B-movies had to reconsider after seeing this film. It doesn't get any better than this: this is movie history; iconic, classic, unforgettable, epic - for this film, I just run out of words.