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Once Upon a Time in the West |
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Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti), the power-hungry owner of a railroad company, hires Frank (Henry Fonda, playing against type), a gunfighter without a conscience, to kill anyone who stands in the way of the completion of the railroad. After Frank murders land owner Brett McBain (Frank Wolff), McBain's widow (Claudia Cardinale) hires two killers of her own to protect her and gain revenge: a mysterious, harmonica-playing desperado (Charles Bronson) and his rogue sidekick (Jason Robards). Using techniques previously unseen in the genre, Sergio Leone utilizes close-ups, color, and Ennio Morricone's trademark score to create a tense and somber meditation on death which is widely considered to be one of the best westerns in cinematic history. Soon-to-be legendary Italian directors Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA) and Bernardo Bertolucci (THE LAST EMPEROR) collaborated with Leone on the screenplay.
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| Key Information | |
| Directors | Sergio Leone |
| Stars | Charles Bronson |
| Actors | Frank Wolff |
| Genre | Westerns |
| Subgenre | Western • Recommended • Epic • Murder • Spaghetti Western • Revenge • Old West • Assassins • Railroads • Essential Cinema • Classic • Drama |
| MPAA Rating | PG (MPAA) |
| Available Formats | Laserdisc |
| UPC | 736899009625 |
| Release Date | 1969 |
| Running Time | 2hr 45min |
| Languages | |
| Original Language | Italian |
| DVD Editions | |
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Format: DVD: 2-Disc Set/ Checkpoint, 2hr 45min Release Company: Paramount Home Entertainment (November 18, 2003) UPC: 097360683028 |
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| VHS Editions | |
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Format: VHS, 2hr 45min Release Company: Movies Unlimited |
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| Credits | |
| Screenwriter | Sergio Donati |
| Professional Reviews | |
| (11/01/2003, p.122, Jamie Russell): "...Brilliant....Brutal, bloody and poetic, this is, without hyperbole, one of the greatest Westerns ever made..." | |