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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Once Upon a Time in the West (re-release)
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 8 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Drama | Western
Written by:
Sergio Leone (also story)
Sergio Donati
Dario Argento (story)
Bernardo Bertolucci (story)
Directed by: Sergio Leone
Release Date:
Theatrical: September 30, 2005
DVD: November 18, 2003
Running Time: 165 minutes, Color
Origin: Italy / USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for western violence and brief sensuality
Starring Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, Gabriele Ferzetti, Paolo Stoppa, Woody Strode, and Jack Elam
Sergio Leone's monumental epic is as big as its Monument Valley locations, as grand as its fine, distinguished cast, as tough and bawdy as every kid imagines the Old West. (Paramount)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Duck, You Sucker The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site Film Forum Profile
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
An additional treat is seeing Hollywood good guy Henry Fonda playing one of the nastiest curs in the West. Once Upon a Time in the West is one of the great films in cinema history. (8/30/2000 Review)
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
Leone brought back a masterpiece, a film that expands his baroque, cartoonish style into genuine grandeur, weaving dozens of thematic variations and narrative arabesques around a classical western foundation myth.(Review of Original Release)
Read Full Review >TV Guide Staff (Not credited)
Sergio Leone's masterpiece. In Once Upon a Time in the West, Leone pulls together all the themes, characterizations, visuals, humor, and musical experiments of the three "Dollars" films and comes up with a true epic western. It is a stunning, operatic film of breadth, detail, and stature that deserves to be considered among the greatest westerns ever made. (Review of Original Release)
Read Full Review >Village Voice Chuck Stephens
Akira Kurosawa once said that Toshiro Mifune could give him in three feet of film the emotion any other actor would take 10 to deliver, but in a single flash of Fonda's electric turquoise orbs, Leone (Kurosawa's first and sincerest flatterer-imitator) managed to say as much about John Ford, the devil, and the corruptions of the Way Out Western world as the genre ever would.
Read Full Review >Variety Staff (Not credited)
Henry Fonda and Jason Robards relish each screen minute as the heavies, and Charles Bronson plays Clint Eastwood's 'man with no name' role. (Review of Original Release)
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Good fun, especially if you like Leone's way of savoring the last morsel of every scene. (Review of Original Release)
Read Full Review >The New York Times Vincent Canby
The biggest, longest, most expensive Leone Western to date, and, in many ways, the most absurd... Granting the fact that it is quite bad, Once Upon the Time in the West is almost always interesting, wobbling, as it does, between being an epic lampoon and a serious hommage to the men who created the dreams of Leone's childhood. (Review of Original Release)
Read Full Review >Film Threat Phil Hall
Alas, the big screen also magnifies the problems with Once Upon a Time in the West. Specifically, Leone’s insistence on style trumped the need for substance. The film is basically a B-Western stretched an agonizing 165 minutes.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Yoga P gave it a4:
If Claudia Cardinale had not been in this, it would have been unwatchable. I know it's supposed to be a tribute to the American Western but it often seemed like a parody of the "spaghetti Western." People stared silently at each other so often I started laughing each time it happened. If you don't like Westerns, stay away!
Ronan C. gave it a10:
A poignant masterpiece, everything about this film is amazing. From the uncompromisingly rich musical score, the fine cast, and it's grand cinematography. Stands neck-to-neck with it's predecessor The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.
George M. gave it a10:
An epic to be savored like a fine meal...don't watch this movie if you're in a hurry. Your patience with the slowly building story line is more than rewarded with some of the most compelling and operatic concluding scenes ever put on film. I think that this has more in common with Lawrence of Arabia than the spaghetti westerns that Leone became famous for. It is a masterpiece. The music is unforgettable, and Fonda and Bronson are perfectly cast, along with all of the supporting actors.
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
As good as movies -- of any genre -- get.
Pat C. gave it a9:
The spagetti western is an inherently flawed format, but this movie begs to differ, and is a fine example of the possibilities of the genre, rivalled only by The Good The Bad & The Ugly in relevance and breadth of perspective.
Danny S. gave it a9:
Sometimes too slow, but always brilliant. Ennio Morricone's score and other sound effects contribute to probably the greatest collaboration ever witnessed in cinema. The brooding revengeful Charles Bronson stalking evil incarnate Henry Fonda in the most effective stylisation of the Western form. Sergio Leone's opera masterpiece will never be bettered.
