Once Upon a Time in the Westis a highly influential film within thehistory of Spaghetti Westerns,which makes sense considering it came from the great Italian filmmakerSergio Leone. Leone was coming off of the success of “The Man With No Name” trilogy withClint Eastwood, which exposed American audiences to the exaggerated Italian style. However,Once Upon a Time in the Westestablishes itself as an entirely different type of narrative with an even grittier approach to the realities of the Old West in its brilliant opening sequence. The film justifies an engaged viewing from any cinephile, but for those unwilling to commit to the epic 166-minute runtime, the first scene stands as one of the greatest in film history.
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‘Once Upon a Time in the West’s Subversive Take on Characters
While the “Dollars Trilogy” was an action-packed series of adventures,Once Upon a Time in the Westwas more reflective. Leone used the development of the railroad system as a way to explore the end of ranching and the “Western era” as cinema had depicted it up until that point; the violence was also more extreme, and the performance ofHenry Fondaas the film’s main antagonist Frank was an interesting case ofcasting an actor known for playing heroic rolesas one of the most detestable characters in screen history. The opening of the film introduces the main protagonist simply known as “Harmonica” (Charles Bronson), a character who is only honorable in comparison to the even more ruthless outlaws that surround him.
Bronson was not the type of actor who would traditionally play these types of heroic roles; Western heroes tended to be popular, charismatic stars likeJohn Wayne, Gary Cooper,orSteve McQueen, and not character actors like Bronson who tended to work on B-movies and darker revenge thrillers. While Eastwood certainly had a signature dark edge to him, Bronson lacked the subtle sense-of-humor and casual decency that had made “The Man With No Name” so beloved. Within the opening moments, Leone doesn’t try to turn Harmonica into an empathetic character; like everyone else who makes a living as a killer, he’s someone to be feared.
Compared to the heroic introduction of characterslike Ringo Kid inStagecoach, Harmonica’s first appearance within the background of a tavern isn’t sensationalized in any way. He’s not even given a signature one-liner or monologue about justice to establish that he’s the protagonist within the story, and the audience is unclear about his morality until they see who he is up against. Leone makes it clear that in this hostile environment, everyone can only be judged in comparison to one another; if Harmonica seems vaguely threatening, any fear of him subsides when the boastful killers Snaky (Jack Elam), Stony (Woody Strode) and Knuckles (Al Mulock) arrive at the train station in Cattle Corner.
The Intense Direction and Pacing of ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’
Outside of the creaking sound of wind and a few scant noises from the run-down train station, the opening is almost entirely silent for around ten minutes. The creaking of the wood, dripping of water, and buzzing of flies suggest that this train station is far past its prime, even though it may have once played an important role within the community. With the absence of the epic music ofEnnio Morricone(whose gorgeous score doesn’t appear until later on), there’s no instant thrill of adventure like other Westerns of the era; even darker Westerns likeJohn Ford’sThe Man Who Shot Liberty ValanceorAnthony Mann’sWinchester ‘73had some sort of musical cue that signified the quest that would follow.
It’s fascinating to see how Leone appears to mirror his past work by recreatingthe iconic ending sequence ofThe Good, The Bad, and the Uglyas the killers assemble to face off against Harmonica. Their impatience only adds to the tension; the audience is weirdly in the same position as the bandits, as they’re waiting for some sort of declaration to break the ice. Scant dialogue indicates that they’re under the employment of Frank, a character whose ruthlessness would be depicted momentarily during the disturbing house raid sequence. However, any further expositional notes are expunged; the scene is presented like the introduction to a fairy tale or fable, which makes one re-consider the “Once Upon a Time” context of the title.
The resulting shootout that follows comes after a brief exchange of dialogue where the men discuss the quantity of horses in their company; while Harmonica’s line “you brought one too many” hints at some sort of intentionality, the rest of the conversation is fairly plain spoken and dull. Leone doesn’t do anything to break from the realism, and the subsequent violence is just as shockingly blatant. Harmonica guns down his would-be assassins in cold blood, and while it finally breaks the suspense that had been building, it doesn’t offer the viewer the sort of energized thrill that generally comes after the death of an antagonist.
‘Once Upon a Time in the West’s Influence on the Genre
The influence of this scene has grown significantly asOnce Upon a Time in the Westcontinues to be lauded as an all-time classic.Breaking BadandBetter Call SaulcreatorVince Gilliganseems to be influenced by Leone’s approach; the meticulous attention to detail in theBetter Call Saulepisode “Bagman” and Jesse’s (Aaron Paul) quiet menace during the shootout inEl Camino: A Breaking Bad Moviehave the same nauseating aura of suspense.Quentin Tarantino’s affection for it is evident inOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood, a film that similarly reflects upon the end of an era;Inglourious Basterds’similarly intense opening sceneis titled “Once Upon a Time in Nazi-occupied France” as an obvious tribute.
Once Upon a Time in the Westis an epic that is deserving of immense praise; its placement on the2022 Sight & Sound pollof the greatest films of all-time indicates that its fan base spans far beyond genre aficionados, as the only other Western to make the list is Ford’sThe Searchers. Any aspiring director would certainly learn a lot from the exacting nature of Leone’s direction. A nearly three hour long examination of the collapse of the American west may not sound exciting on paper, but it would be tough for any viewer to turn the film off after witnessing its stellar first few minutes.
