I LOVE HENRY FONDA!!! It’s just unfortunate that I didn’t completely love this film.
I’ll be completely honest here: I’ve never intentionally sat down and watched a Western from start to finish before. So why not start with the one that is hailed ”the great Western of all time”?
Okay, I’ll start with the positives.
One of the main pros for me is the soundtrack in that it’s absolutely excellent. The music really matched the mood of the events on screen; parts were dreamy and hopeful, other parts were pointed and intense. In a way, the score was kind of like its own character, which is a really cool move by Sergio Leone.
What else did I like? I can’t lie, the cinematography was glorious. It is such a magnificent achievement for a movie from 1968, I can’t deny that. The best part for me, however, was the deafeningly silent opening sequence. The water dripping slowly and irritatingly onto the cowboy hat, the annoying hum in the background… It is truly a brilliantly well-worked scene.
However, I had some issues with this.
This film is LONG. And I don’t just mean long, I mean loooooooooong. Once Upon a Time is only 30 minutes shorter than Titanic, except this movie seems longer because it’s a much tougher watch. It is very, very slow-paced, and not something I expected from a Western. As you can imagine, I was expecting non-stop gun slinging and shoot-outs on horseback. After researching, I am told that this is a kind of anomaly in the back catalogue of the Western genre, and most of them are more in line with what I thought they would be. So I guess this movie was kind of an innovator in a way, focusing more on subtleties and plot than the action sequences. Unfortunately, this was my first Western so at the time I didn’t appreciate that whatsoever.
Also, there’s a weird dubbing issue that I just couldn’t comprehend. The first time a character’s mouth moved differently to the words coming out of his mouth, I assumed it was just an editing error that slipped through the cracks. But no, it happened again. And again. And again after that. I just don’t understand how ”the greatest Western of all time” could contain such errors?
The other thing is the fact that so many call this movie a ”masterpiece”. I wouldn’t go that far. Is it because I’m not American? As a Brit, I just didn’t relate to any of the events that were happening here, other than maybe the sequence at the start where an annoying fly was buzzing around one character’s face. Is it because my ancestors weren’t cowboys? Is it because I don’t relate to the historical aspects of this movie? Those things are all entirely plausible.
On the whole, I appreciate that Once Upon a Time in the West is extremely well made – especially for the time in which it was released – but it’s just not my cup of tea. (That’s not a pun based on my English heritage, before you ask). As I said, Henry Fonda is beyond brilliant, but the story is just too slow.
There’s a great pay off for your patience that comes in the form of a gory death scene towards the end… but it’s too long, man! I don’t mind a slow burn, but I felt like I was watching this for three years.
Once Upon a Time in the West is available on Sky Cinema and NowTV.
TQR Category Ratings:
Performance: 
Cinematography:
Soundtrack:
Costume & Set Design:
Plot:
Overall Rating:
The Quayside Review 