Cover of Once Upon a Time in the West
Once upon a time in west – A review
The western by Sergio Leone is considered to be a masterpiece in movie history. The movie tells the story of America, the land of dream for all the adventurers from the Isles, and those who made the land. It is a beautiful movie with every pieces blended to make it a great art work.
The story is set against the backdrop of railroads which was signaled the end of horses and the end of old west. Railroads brought in towns and law which was to transform America, making steel and industries. The cast of Henry Fonda, Leone's favorite actor in anti hero role against Charles Bronson as mysterious harmonica player who is seeking revenge, and Jason Robards as Cheyyene, an ethical bandit made the movie as good as it could ever been.
The movie tries to be true to the prospectors and people who came to try their luck in the new country. In the town of flagstone, you see Chinese laundry while Jill rides through the town. You see a good mix of people, Indians, Chinese, British, Irish(from their sideburns) and the prospectors. The Negroes are also shown in uniforms. The railroad is to connect civilized east and wild west. Many pieces condensed into a 160 minute movie.
The story shows woman in good light. The only woman in the movie, Jill played by Claudia Cardinale is a survivor. As a beautiful woman in the old west could hope to be no more than a lady if she is poor, but be a prostitute. As Cheyyene says Jill is quite like his mother who was the biggest whore in all of Almeida but the finest woman ever lived. Though in the end, both Bronson and Robards leaves Claudia Cardinale to build the town with the people.
The dialogues are the strongest part of this movie with very short, caustic and true words spoken by all actors. When Cheyyene meets Jill, he starts to put her down making her feel as if she is powerless in front of him. Jill replies, he can pull her on the table and ravish her, maybe even call all the guys outside, but in the end when they are gone a good hot bath is enough to take of all the grime. They have no more power on her than the dirt on the road, and a bad memory. The dialogues are short and very much rhetorical, without the bang.
The finest line of the movie is when Fonda comes back to seek Bronson. The dialogues goes like this:
F: Surprised to see me?
B: I knew you would come.
F: Well, this makes me different from Morton who wouldn't have cared if you were alive somewhere out there.
B: Guess you are not yet a businessman.
F: Only a man.
B: An ancient race.
The men of the west were not the ones who cared for money or the women. They lived and died by something which the land gave to them, each a different man. The land took them back to her womb in due time. They never lived for sake of glory. They were the last of the breed which roamed the vast lands of America. The Iroquois, The Mohican's, The Chippewas and the Irish, The Scots, The Angles. Ah, an ancient race.
The high light of the movie is the score by Ennio Morricone. The music when Fonda comes, the harmonica for Bronson are so in tune with the movie. Each move and eyes are scored by music which makes the scenes light up to the moments. The sound of the waves rise when the piano forte dies while Morton struggles to reach to the rivulet. The score is the best for any movie, even bettering Morricone's own The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The music emotes to the story and adds as the extra character in the story.
The scene at middle of movie when Bronson first sees mirage of a man walking towards him is perhaps the best cinematography in a western. It fills the suspense of who the person is. Fonda asks Bronson who he is and we wonder who that guy in mirage is. Until the end of the movie, viewers are withheld the identity. Each shot is extremely precise in camera. What is not said by words are said through lens.
Henry Fonda gave finest performance as Frank. Claudia Cardinale is beautiful, strong and shows some skin. Bronson has the steeliest eyes in the industry. A face which displays very fine set of emotions. My first movie of Jason Robards and he is good. On the whole a very fine movie.
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