--- title: "Once Upon a Time in the West" year: 1968 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west" fi1m_id: "once-upon-a-time-in-the-west" imdb_id: "tt0064116" tmdb_id: 335 wikidata_id: "Q168154" fi1m_score: 91 critics_score: 89 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:52.716327+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Directed by Sergio Leone · 2h 46m · MPA PG-13 · Drama, Western ## Identity Once Upon a Time in the West - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** once-upon-a-time-in-the-west - **IMDb ID:** tt0064116 - **TMDB ID:** 335 - **Wikidata ID:** Q168154 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064116/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/335, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q168154 **Fi1m score: 91** · Critics 89 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* Nobody in this Western is in a hurry, which gives us time to worry about Henry Fonda > Sergio Leone’s Western is worth all 166 minutes, even when its plotting grows needlessly tangled. The faces, the pauses and Ennio Morricone’s music give its violence a dread that few films sustain. ## Synopsis A railway route promises wealth, drawing four people into a struggle over money, revenge and the future of the American frontier. Claudia Cardinale plays Jill, Henry Fonda is the villainous Frank, Jason Robards plays Cheyenne and Charles Bronson is Harmonica. Sergio Leone’s Western follows their competing responses to the prospect of riches as commercial interests begin to displace the West’s older ways. Violence remains a means of settling disputes, but the railway brings changes that reach beyond the men facing one another. ## Review *Once Upon a Time in the West* asks us to wait, study a face and consider how much damage a man might do before he moves. Sergio Leone’s Western earns that attention, and we would recommend it even to someone who usually avoids the genre. The railway promises wealth, while greed and revenge bring four principal characters into conflict. At 166 minutes, it gives the changing frontier weight beyond the immediate prospect of another gunfight. Its tangled plotting is the one persistent irritation. The opening gives a wind-wheel and everyday noises an uncomfortable amount of our attention. We became tense simply listening to that wheel, because the waiting leaves so much time to imagine the violence that might follow. Leone does not rush to relieve the discomfort, and Nino Baragli’s editing makes the length of the pauses feel deliberate. It is an unusually confident way to begin a Western, asking us to attend to small sounds before giving us much reason to trust anyone. Tonino Delli Colli’s widescreen photography gives faces an almost intrusive prominence. We have time to examine the creases and sweat, looking for some warning of what these people might do next. Carlo Simi’s production design gives the railway enough presence to make the pursuit of money credible beside all these enormous faces. The wider views matter because they remind us that the men filling the frame do not own everything beyond it. Henry Fonda’s Frank is frightening because he looks so settled in his villainy. His composure is more disturbing than any strenuous display of menace would have been. Charles Bronson gives Harmonica a stillness that makes even a small change of expression worth watching. Jason Robards brings welcome roughness to Cheyenne, while Claudia Cardinale gives Jill enough strength to remain central among men who take their own importance for granted. Cardinale is essential to our interest in what happens to this place. Ennio Morricone’s score is eerie without making every moment sound equally threatening. The harmonica is especially unsettling, and its prominence encourages us to listen as closely as we look. Music this forceful could easily make the performances seem small. Here its sustained unease suits actors who can command attention while scarcely appearing to move. The reservation is that not every delay has the opening’s purpose. Leone and Sergio Donati’s screenplay lets the plotting become unnecessarily opaque, and some stretches ask us to remember motives when we would rather be watching the people. Baragli cannot make every pause equally charged; at times the film seems too pleased with the prospect of a confrontation to get on with it. A little less complication would have made the struggle over wealth easier to grasp. Leone’s affection for the Western’s familiar confrontations is plain, but he also makes the arrival of commercial power feel troubling. These men can dominate a close-up without seeming capable of controlling what the railway will bring. The film asks for more patience than most Westerns, and occasionally more than it needs. Give it an uninterrupted evening, with the sound clear enough to hear the wind-wheel; the opening deserves your attention from the start. *Fi1m score 91, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond enthusiastically to Leone’s Western, praising its patient construction of suspense, expressive close-ups and treatment of a frontier giving way to commerce. Praise clusters around the opening sequence, where everyday sounds make waiting tense, and Ennio Morricone’s score. Henry Fonda’s villainous performance draws particular attention, while the widescreen compositions and carefully controlled violence support readings of the film as a farewell to an older kind of Western hero. The reservations concern length, narrative complexity and whether Leone’s stylisation sustains its force. The Guardian admires the film’s atmosphere but finds its sprawling story occasionally restless viewing; RogerEbert.com likewise enjoys the details and casting while judging the running time excessive. The sharper dissent comes from The New York Times, which finds absurdity alongside the homage, and Variety, which argues that the treatment of violence dilutes Leone’s distinctiveness. The spread is wider than the dominant enthusiasm suggests. ## Straight answers **Is Once Upon a Time in the West worth watching?** *Once Upon a Time in the West* is worth watching, and we scored it 91, high enough that we would recommend it even to someone who usually avoids Westerns. Sergio Leone's long pauses, the enormous close-ups and Ennio Morricone's score give the violence a dread few films sustain. The one irritation is plotting that grows needlessly tangled across its 166 minutes. **How long is Once Upon a Time in the West, and what is it rated?** *Once Upon a Time in the West* runs 2h 46m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and western film. **Where can I watch Once Upon a Time in the West in the US?** *Once Upon a Time in the West* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $4.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Once Upon a Time in the West compare to Seven Samurai?** *Once Upon a Time in the West* and [*Seven Samurai*](https://film.one/film/seven-samurai) both make waiting count, but Sergio Leone's film is the tenser and Akira Kurosawa's the warmer. Leone studies faces and lets dread build over a tangled plot, while Kurosawa makes the recruitment of his fighters as absorbing as the fighting and is easier to follow. We recommend both; the humane, exciting *Seven Samurai* is the one for almost anyone, the Leone for those who can sit with unease. **What should I watch after Once Upon a Time in the West?** After *Once Upon a Time in the West*, try [*Johnny Guitar*](https://film.one/film/johnny-guitar) (1954, Fi1m 84): For another formidable woman among Western men with dangerously fragile pride. Then [*Seven Samurai*](https://film.one/film/seven-samurai) (1954, Fi1m 95): Patient preparation, sharply distinguished fighters and action that makes the waiting count; and [*The Proposition*](https://film.one/film/the-proposition) (2005, Fi1m 79): An Australian Western with harsh landscapes and violence that refuses easy reassurance. ### Reviews we read (12) - **Radio Times**, David Parkinson (5/5): The critic describes it as a breathtaking operatic masterpiece and fresco on the birth of a nation, influenced by John Ford. Praise is singled out for the tale of progress, greed and revenge with its impressive screenplay credentials and Morricone score. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ydz4ds/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west/) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (95/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as the greatest Western ever made for its monumental scale and operatic set pieces. The opening sequence is singled out for its suspenseful build using everyday sounds and Morricone's score. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/upon-time-west-review/) - **Slant Magazine**, Nick Schager (95/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as Leone's finest, an ode to the fading American frontier and the death of the western genre itself, mythologizing the shift from rugged individualism to corporate greed through masterful mise-en-scène and sound design. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west/) - **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a masterpiece and Leone's best film, praising its epic story of progress in the Wild West, iconic performances especially Fonda's villainous turn, and dreamlike intensity in visuals and sound. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-dvd-1798199123) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it the final Western and a mythic summation that packs a wallop as a tombstone for a certain kind of hero. Praise is singled out for the lurid Italian-infused style, Ennio Morricone's beautiful score, and the craggy faces filling the widescreen frame. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west) - **Little White Lies**, Dan Einav (85/100, inferred): The critic views the film as a product of 1968 social upheaval, a eulogy for the western genre about the shift from old violent ways to modernity. Praise is singled out for Leone's masterful direction in the opening scene and career-best performances, especially Henry Fonda's. [Read](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-sergio-leone-1968) - **The Independent** (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a landmark Western with one of the greatest opening sequences and the best use of a harmonica in cinema. Leone's grasp of the West's romance and use of actors' faces as landscapes is singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-r-i-1758706.html) - **The Guardian**, Philip French (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the restored re-release of Leone's 1968 western still mysterious and mesmeric in its grandiloquent style and operatic close-ups, yet admits to some restlessness with its opaque and sprawling narrative. The opening wind-wheel sequence is singled out as still great. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jul/24/once-upon-time-west-review) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert: The film is a distillation of Leone's signature style with eerie music, sweaty faces, and deliberate pacing of violence, but it overstays its welcome at nearly three hours with an overly complex plot. It offers good fun in its details and against-type casting, particularly Henry Fonda as the villain. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-1969) - **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby: The biggest, longest, and most expensive Leone Western to date is in many ways the most absurd, yet it remains interesting as an eclectic mix of lampoon and homage to classic Western styles. It is best suited for undiscriminating patrons or buffs, with moments of impact amid its elaborate excuses for confrontations. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1969/05/29/archives/once-upon-the-time-in-west.html) - **Variety**, Variety Staff: The story focuses on four characters' reactions to wealth and a key railroad route, with strong performances from Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, and Claudia Cardinale. Leone's stylized violence seeks a new moral light here, but this dilutes his special talent for film ideas into something merely imitative. [Read](https://variety.com/1968/film/reviews/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-1200421869/) - **Eye for Film**, Jeff Robson (95/100, inferred): Leone's finest work is a stately, sombre masterpiece that celebrates and subverts the Western genre while centering a strong female protagonist amid themes of destiny, revenge and progress. The critic singles out the peerless direction, majestic cinematography, Morricone score and performances (especially Fonda and Bronson) for praise. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-film-review-by-jeff-robson) ## Details - **Director:** Sergio Leone - **Director:** Sergio Leone - **Screenplay:** Sergio Leone, Sergio Donati - **Story:** Sergio Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dario Argento - **Cinematography:** Tonino Delli Colli - **Editor:** Nino Baragli - **Music:** Ennio Morricone - **Production design:** Carlo Simi - **Producer:** Fulvio Morsella - **Cast:** Claudia Cardinale as Jill; Henry Fonda as Frank; Jason Robards as 'Cheyenne'; Charles Bronson as 'Harmonica'; Gabriele Ferzetti as Morton; Paolo Stoppa as Sam; Woody Strode as Frank's Gunman; Jack Elam as Frank's Gunman - **Runtime:** 2h 46m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 4 July 1969 - **Genres:** Drama, Western - **Budget:** $5 million - **Box office:** $5 million ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $4.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-15.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FR, GB, IE, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, RO, RS, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* (1962): Another Western in which progress makes the gunman’s place increasingly uncertain - *Johnny Guitar* (1954), Fi1m 84: For another formidable woman among Western men with dangerously fragile pride — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/johnny-guitar.md) - *Seven Samurai* (1954), Fi1m 95: Patient preparation, sharply distinguished fighters and action that makes the waiting count — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/seven-samurai.md) - *The Great Silence* (1968): A colder, bleaker Italian Western with little faith in the gunman’s honour - *The Proposition* (2005), Fi1m 79: An Australian Western with harsh landscapes and violence that refuses easy reassurance — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-proposition.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. 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