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Once Upon A Time In The West (Film)
Rating: M
Running Time: 157
Country: Italy
Director: Sergio Leone
Cast: Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards
Distributor: Chapel
Film Worth: $15.50
Release Date: November 22, 2009 (Melbourne)
This remastered print reiterates all of the near-perfect elements of this influential classic.
Once Upon A Time In The West is epic in every possible sense. It's epic in ways that James Cameron has fitful, jealous dreams about. The shootings are spectacular, the women are lusty, the good folk are scoundrels, and the scoundrels come out in front. Befitting Dario Argento and Bernardo Bertolucci's mythic story, a dazzling new 35mm print with remastered Dolby sound is playing for two weeks at The Astor Cinema in Melbourne.
Directed in 1968 by the legendary Sergio Leone, the film's influence resonates in everything from Star Wars to No Country For Old Men and Inglourious Basterds, and it is still scorchingly brilliant. Henry Fonda clearly revels in his role as the ruthlessly ambitious gun-slinging villain, playing beautifully off Charles Bronson's unnervingly inscrutable harmonica-playing drifter. Jason Robards injects vibrant mischief in each of his scenes, and Claudia Cardinale is just gritty enough for you to forgive her improbable beauty.
The sound design is an audiophile's wet dream, masterfully hovering on the edge of consciousness and pressing on your emotions without breaking through to be distracting: the heavy sigh of the rail carriage; the pistol crack slap of a hand on a cheek; silence scything through the chirp of cicadas. Every hum and rattle is measured, and that care pays off in a truly extraordinary aural immersion.
And the score! Composer Ennio Morricone inexplicably didn't win any major awards for his haunting work, but it is rightly regarded as one of the most effective uses of music in film history. In this remastered digital mix, it really does cut to the bone.
The Panavision print is stunning, with lively colours, deep shadows and the crystal clear contrast. And although the two-storey-high screen unfortunately emphasises some shoddy re-recorded dubbing, it's likely that you'll never have a more complete overall film experience.