Believed by many to be the greatest western ever made, Once Upon A Time In The West is director Sergio Leone's masterpiece. On release, however, the film was considered a financial flop in the United States. Critical consensus wasn't universally glowing either, with Time magazine in 1969 claiming: "Leone's newest effort, with a major cast and a lot of big studio money behind it, proves that he is simply a serious bore." Whereas his Dollars films were more tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Wild West, Once Upon A Time In The West is slow, with very little dialogue or action, punctuated by sudden bursts of violence. If you think that sounds a bit like a Tarantino film, you'd have a point. Leone's classic was hugely influential on the pop culture auteur, whose Inglourious Basterds opens with a lengthy sequence entitled 'Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France' and uses clips from Ennio Morricone's score.
It was part of a movement known as Spaghetti Westerns, partly because the director was Italian, but also because it was filmed relatively cheaply in Italy and Spain. In a nostalgic, romantic throwback to a bygone era, Once has a main storyline that revolves around a struggle for a piece of land expected to rise in value when a railroad is built. Naturally, a cunning railroad tycoon learns of this and sends his hired gun Frank (Henry Fonda) to intimidate the owner, Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) and his family…
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
This is one of my favourite films, not just westerns. From the incredible opening sequence to the use of character music, this film is a masterpiece. On seeing it you will understand why it was so influential for a generation of film makers.
And only once. At 2 hours 45 mins the best that can be said about this movie is it's a great cure for insomnia. And as well as a Western it's a mystery. It's a mystery why anybody would want to resurrect it 42 years after it was stillborn.
This is a Western Masterpiece. This is one of the greatest movies from the 60s ever made. The music is fantastic...and so is the acting the terrific Henry Fonda and the chilling Woody Strode..to a young and fantastic Charles Bronson. This is moviemaking at its very best. Why do we just not see films of this class and pure entertainment any more! Thank You for putting it back on the Big Screen where it belongs....A tourDeForce....of magnificent entertainment and great Western storytelling.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Monday, 1st Jan 1968.
Release date: January 1st 1968.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
