Once Upon A Time In — The West(1968)

(Jason Robards): A charming outlaw framed for the McBain massacre who forms an unlikely alliance to protect Jill. The Leone Signature

Leone moved away from the fast-paced grit of his Dollars Trilogy to create something operatic.

(Henry Fonda): A ruthless enforcer for a railroad tycoon who committed the murders to seize the land. Once Upon a Time in the West(1968)

Set against the backdrop of the arriving Transcontinental Railroad, the plot revolves around a valuable piece of land called .

(Claudia Cardinale): A former prostitute from New Orleans who arrives to find her new husband and his family murdered. (Jason Robards): A charming outlaw framed for the

The Elegiac Masterpiece: Revisiting "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968)

In the late 1960s, while Hollywood westerns were fading into the sunset, Italian director was busy building a cathedral for the genre. Released in Italy in 1968, Once Upon a Time in the West ( C'era una volta il West ) isn't just a film; it is a three-hour "dance of death" that serves as both a funeral and a monument for the American frontier. The Story: Land, Law, and Lead Set against the backdrop of the arriving Transcontinental

(Charles Bronson): A mysterious, stoic stranger with a literal and metaphorical score to settle with Frank.