Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Reaction 

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not a huge fan of stories over 2 and half hours and mention it a couple times, but this was still a great story RU-vid Movie Reactions Playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLFyO_F_gScu5ASMweIxqOcItRxcWvfYn_ Full Patreon Reactions: www.patreon.com/StudytheCraft

09:53 this is why the TikTok generation of screenwriters will never create any masterpieces

Young people seem to have a real problem with long movies. When we saw this film in the theatres, we all thought it wasn't long enough. We wanted more.

Back then, viewers weren't treated like idiots

The Final duel was far more cruel than you thought. It wasn't a heart shot, it was a deliberately placed LUNG shot so Frank would bleed out just long enough to realize who his avenger is. What an Epic end to an Epic Film by the Master: Sergio Leoni!

You younger guys don't get it, but it's the slow pace that's making movies like this great. They take their time to tell a story. It is not that these old movies are too slow-paced, the newer movies are too fast-paced.

If you cannot understand the greatness of this film, the magic of some scenes, the beauty of the soundtrack and the great immersion that some scenes build and all you can think of is "well, nice scenses but too long, today i can make the same thing in half the time" forget directing films. There are already too much "directors" that can make a 1 and a half hour movie with tens of explosions and shootings.... And all added up are not worth a fingernail of Sergio Leone.

The reveal of Henry Fonda as Frank was huge. He was a superstar and known as always playing a good guy. For a modern comparison, imagine the same scene but you find out Tom Hanks was Frank. Leone's cinematography never looked better.

This is my all time favorite movie. It has so many layers to it. There is a bigger theme than just Harmonica vs. Frank or Jill vs. Frank. The railroad represents civilization and civilization means the end of the independent individual, i.e. Harmonica (and Frank and Cheyenne too for that matter). Their time is over. Frank tried to be the modern businessman but realized that's not who he was. He tried to evolve from the gun to the stack of money as his weapon of choice but in the end he returned to the gun. That was the point of the conversation between him and Harmonica when Harmonica says that there will be other Mortons who come. Morton represented modernization and the end of the era of the "wild" west. Soon the dollar would replace the gun and the likes of Frank, Harmonica, and Cheyenne would no longer have a place in the world when that time arrived. It's also why Harmonica doesn't stay. Not only does Morton represent the arrival of a more modern society but so does Jill. That is why she is left to oversee the building of the station at the end. You seemed to miss that all four main characters each had their own musical theme that played whenever they were onscreen. Naturally Harmonica had the harmonica theme. Cheyenne had the bom-bom-de-bom banjo like theme. Frank had the distorted electric guitar theme. Jill had the orchestral operatic theme. Leone actually Ennio Morricone compose the music for the movie before he started filming so he could play it while the scenes were filmed. Like other people have commented at the time Henry Fonda was the last actor anyone in the audience would have expected to be the one to shoot a child onscreen. It was like watching Mr. Rogers murder a family in cold blood. That's why Leone wanted Fonda so badly for the part. The opening scene also plays into the greater theme of the movie. Jack Elam, Woody Strode, and Al Morlock were all veteran actors who appeared in lots of westerns. Killing them off in the manner they were killed was symbolic of killing the western as a film genre (Morlock actually committed suicide during the filming.) Leone wanted a film that served both as a tribute to the western (Casting Elam, Strode, and Morlock, filming in Monument Valley, using the railroad as a component in the plot, etc.) and a eulogy to the genre with the railroad eventually sweeping away everything and everyone that came before it.

“How can you trust a man who wears both belt and suspenders. Your pants don’t even trust you.” Lmao 🤣 that’s the line.

Once Upon A Time In The West is my favorite movie of all time if you haven't watch The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly check it out it is another Sergio Leone's western masterpiece arguably the greatest western film ever made.

That is a film-maker's movie. The cinematography, the score, a simple tale of revenge made compelling through interesting everyday characters arriving together at a moment in time. And very little dialogue; no wasted words. The dialogue is mundane; there is almost zero exposition in the script. The story is told by witnessing it.

I understand this kind of masterpieces can be difficult for a young man with an attention span of 2 minutes...

Certainly one of the greatest westerns ever made. You should also watch “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984) An epic mobster movie by the same director.

Great reaction video. Keep in mind a lot of the actors didn't speak English. Claudia Cardinale spoke Itslian and the actor playing Mr Choo Choo also only spoke Italian. It was all dubbed laterm the director also spoke no english but is considered the greatest American western director of all time. Cheers

This is the best Western ever made. Sergio Leone was a genius and Ennio Morriconne's score is a masterpiece with each main character having their own theme music. The black actor at the beginning of the film is Woody Strode. He was a decathlete and football star. He was the first black athlete in post war NFL. Check out John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with James Stewart, John Wayne and Woody Strode.

When you think about it, this way was actually a better kind of revenge against Frank. He'd not only lost his life, but all his men, the land and potential millions. And Frank died with the knowledge that he'd been defeated by the only mistake he's ever made in his life: He didn't kill the brother of a previous victim. And now for some movie trivia: (1) Harmonica was riding the same train Jill was riding (she alights later at the town). (2) Three men waiting for a train pays homage to the film "High Noon". (3) The sawed-off Winchester used by Stony (Woody Strode) pays homage to the tv series "Wanted: Dead or Alive" starring Steve McQueen. (4) Originally, the three waiting gunmen were slated to be Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach (a good friend of Henry Fonda). (5) Henry Fonda wanted to wear brown contact lenses. However, Sergio Leone decided Fonda's blue eyes world seem even more menacing. (6) Jill's house is the same house used in Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" (2015). (7) Claudia Cardinale's character (Jill McBain) pays homage to Joan Crawford's character (Vienna) from the film "Johnny Guitar"

The great Charles Bronson plays the harmonica character, classic role.

The introduction of Frank played by Henry Fonda...I'd only seen a few of his movies my dad liked, but he was *always* the good guy. So that way he said "Well, now that you've called me by name..." gave me chills.

Showing your youth! Some of the best movies of all time were made before you were even a glint in your Daddy's eye, maybe even before your Grandpa's ! Hitchcock never gets old. Keep watching the 'oldies' - they really knew about setting, pace, dialogue, atmosphere building, telling a story. I'd rather have a movie like Rope or Harryhausen effects than all the CGI fast paced no real story rubbish.(Venom is great though!) :)

Verisimilitude. You must also remember this is the age of epic movie soundtracks. When going to a theatre meant a whole night out.

So you'd reduce this absolute masterpiece to the length of a music video, with the final shootout having them blast full clips into each other. Let me guess, in The Godfather, when the gunmen rush up to assassinate, Vito would pull two uzi's out and blast them to hell! Then he takes out the 5 families John Wick style. 20 minutes tops.

' Once upon a Time in the West ' still the best peace of Art about the Wild West . Never cut out one second . This is Epic ... watched it about 40 Years , enjoyed every second again and again

Now this is a movie

One of the best movies ever! And the soundtrack is one of the best in history! So sad that most young people don't appreciate a masterpiece (however long!) when they see it!

This movie is an art, cmon niga, do you prefer a Wild West?

Remember when Frank says "maybe now you'll tell me what you're after", Harmonica merely says "only at the point of dying", and Harmonica delivers one fatal bullet, lets Frank contemplate as he bleeds out..."who...who are you?"

Very disappointing reaction IMO. Poor insight into the craftsmanship put in to make this movie an epic movie from which guys like Tarantino, the film director, learned a lot about cinematogrophy. You just stuck to the storyline. Not a single word about the soundtrack which was and still is a masterpiece as far as soundtracks go. Sergio Leone, the director of this movie and 3 other previous westerns, is to this day a legend.

Looks like you didn't get the movie. And I did when I was like 15🤣

They They They. It was SERGIO LEONE... All in HIS head, he directed the music first, then directed actors playing the music on stage, all was in HIS head... He was a genius. This is the best movie in Space Time. And don't be fouled, as much as I respect Enio Morricone and love his work, in those movie he was DIRECTED by Sergio... So even on the sound track, there's Sergio genius "inside".

I love this movie, on par with The good, the bad & ugly. Great commentary and reaction

Nice to see you cover this masterpiece.The western as visual poetry.

great example of "show, don`t tell"

It has been often said it was a love letter to the genre of the American Western from Leone. By the time of this film, the Western as a film genre was disappearing. Leone included many staple features of the Western genre. Also, near the last dialogue between Harmonica and Jill McBain, she asks if she’ll ever see him again. “Maybe,” Harmonica replies. It can be interpreted as it’s a question of would we ever see the Western film genre again? And with that the “Western” figuratively departs. Love this film. There’s always something to find in every viewing.

Dude it was hilarious watching you talk about the final duel knowing the revelation that was coming. Despite everyone KNOWING it was gonna be a one shot duel the emotional payoff of learning Harmonica's history made it all so worth it. Cheyenne dying will always stick with me. He was a man out of time, a relic living on the fringes of the future and yet he gave his life ending a corrupting force of that future in Morton; there is a kind of twisted poetry in that. Glad you enjoyed the film even if it permanently damaged your back.

It has long been my view that this ranks as one of the finest westerns ever produced, a masterpiece of cinema from one of the greatest ever directors Sergio Leone and with a music score by his regular collaborator Ennio Morricone that ranks among the best. To really appreciate it you need to put yourself in the shoes of a movie goer in 1968 seeing it for the first time. The lengthy opening credits sequence, among the longest opening credits scene ever filmed, completely fooled the audience. The three men waiting on a train, playing homage to another cllassic western, included two legends of Hollywood westerns Woody Strode (the black man) and Jack Elam the man tortured by a fly. Audience members were encouraged to imagine that the film was about them, never suspecting that they would be dead before the credits ended! Their sudden deaths would have been shocking to many fans who knew them from the many westerns the two actors had appeared in. Another shocking scene for the 1968 audience was the sudden reveal of Hollywood legend Henry Fonda as a cold blooded killer of children. Fonda was well known for his portrayals of decent guys in many many movies since thge mid-1930s, including Grapes of Wrath, Young Mr Lincoln, Drums along The Mohawk, Twelve Angry Men and so many other Hollywood classics. Movie goers had never seen him give such a performance as a villain before and he absolutely nailed it. Yes it is a long movie, but I have seen it so many times and it never ceases to amaze me.

Each character has their own tune. And in that scene all the tunes were combined

guess you feel more comfortable reviewing movies like naked gun or spiderman.. or tv commercials

Anytime water is introduced in literature/ film it signifies “change” or “renewal” Think Andy in the rain in Shawshank or Neo /Smith fight in the downpour etc Hard to introduce water in this film setting A little masterwork by Leon links the characters yearning for the water to the upcoming turn of events

Its so painful watching a young person watching a masterpiece like this and not understanding all the things that makes this one of the best movies ever. Today people wants fast pace to anything and dont have the patience to appretiate good storytelling.

This is an older style of film referred to as an “epic”. Basically like a Zach Snyder’s Justice League level of directorial indulgence. Love this movie to bits, even as a young teen this movie connected with me.

The movie is 3 hours long but there are only 15 pages of dialog. The entire sound score was recorded and in the can before the first scene was shot. Sergio Leone played the sound track on set during filming.

Sorry, jumped right to the end, seen this film so many times, even seen it in a theater on 70mm, it was incredible, but that ending sequence is truly epic; it's a brilliant film, a genuine masterpiece of film and cinema. Yeah fam, it takes some time to get to it, story gets convoluted but once it comes full circle, holy hell, anyone can feel the pent up rage and anguish that somehow "Harmonica" managed to use as fuel, 'Go on, keep your loving brother happy" is just so chilling, Fonda and Bronson knock it out of the park! And Henry Fonda was regarded as the good guy, the "everyman' in all his characters prior, to see him as the bad guy, and he went full tilt with this role, his chance to really stretch his acting skills, it literally shocked audiences.

Sergio Leonne speaks a purely cinematic language. Dialogue in his movies comes secondary. The story unfolds through characters that act and interact in a universe of visuals, composition, camera movement, and the music of Ennio Morricone.

Back then, they didn't extend films, but they took their time with the story and characters. Like Tarantino today, which would not have existed without Leone/Morricone.

But this was what vengeance was all about. Vengeance is methodical and patient. He didn't rush himself. Harmonica took everything from frank and made him come to him instead. Harmonica won the mental battle and the physical battle And all it took was a single bullet. Nothing too complicated like a cheesy shootouts or martial arts cinematography. Just a simple duel to the death. One bullet. Harmonica is literally Frank's Ghost haunting him. And the ending is the most heart wrenching because Harmonica WON HER HEART. She had no interest in anyone else but him. Even Chyenne. Cause guys like Harmonica lives free and he was jusf a different breed of man. Literallt built different.

One reason for the length is, that Ennio Morricone always composed before the movie was shot or cut. And Sergio Leone created it exactly fitting to his musical masterpiece.

Jill's Theme is a masterpiece!! And Claudia Cardinale is a goddess!!!!!

Hearing you complain about how long this epic film was the most painful thing. Maybe if you pretend that three hours is all you have to live, perhaps then you can appreciate it better.

I loved your reaction to the big reveal at the end. Priceless. Yes, the movie is totally worth it. The big payoff.

This feels like a spaghetti western. Made by Sergeo Leone. IE: Clint Eastwood (the man with no name) westerns.

Every shot in this movie is like a painting.

nice to hear your analysis at the script level! and yeah, you set yourself up for a challenge watching a film of this length without moving or refreshments!! for sergio's epics that take their time, and especially with his italian penchant for not recording sync sound in favor of dubbing (for ease of shooting, and using international actors that speak different languages), they take on a certain stylization that i enjoy more if i think of them as 'operatic'.

Here are some things about this movie, 1. it was supported to be the 4th no-name film, and the role of harmonica was originally offered to Clint Eastwood, but he turned it down. 2. it has the longest carriage ride in movie history for her trip to the farm, starting in Spain and ending in Monument Valley. 3 the Dialog person was very important because the film was shot with no sound, and everyone had to over-dub the movie because 80% of the cast did not speak English. This is why it's called a spaghetti western. 4. it holds the longest time of release in theaters, for it stayed in theaters for 3 solid years.

The Professionals with Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster also good Western.

That "black man in a 1968 movie" you refer to is the great actor Woody Strode, mostly known for his roles in western movies. Check out the great film Sargeant Rutledge which features Woody Strode. And, one of his last films Black Jesus.

If you liked this, you might want to watch another film by the same director - "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." There is general agreement that it's one of the best movies ever made.

This may have been mentioned but here it goes. You keep calling it the death song but it is Harmonica's theme music. The four main characters each have one. That is Harmonica, Frank, Cheyenne, and Mrs. McBain. It was writen to explain who the man with no name is in the The Good The Bad and The Ugly trilogy. Clint Eastwood was busy so the gave his role (Harmonica) to Charles Bronson. This movie marked the change from the old westerns to the modern western.

17:45 My grandad used to wear a belt and suspenders, he didn't want to takeany risks and he spent some time in London as an ARP warden during the Blitz and Doodlebug Summer in 1944.

3 hour movies ain’t long if they’re good. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the first two Godfathers, the Lord of the Rings movies, they’re all 3-hour epics and so is Once Upon a Time in the West.

Each character has his own theme music

Jason Robards. check out the eye movement... 8:32 in this video.

"So you found out you're not a businessman after all." "Just a man." "...An ancient race."

great analogy with Stringer Bell!

Go to see a Marvel Movie, friend! You deserve it!

Aparently seeing Henry Fonda play frank back then would be like seeing Tom hanks play a serial killer for us

The theme is a play on Don Giovanni. You might recognize it, cause Hans Zimmer uses it in almost every movie. Sherlock Holmes, Man of Steel, Dune. But this is the best one, and one of the best soundtracks ever done.

If you notice each main character has his or her own theme music

Study Sergio Leone! It's high art. Leona is easily top 4 directors of all time! Stanley Kubrick is 1 of the 4 as well

That quote by QT is FAXTS I rented movies from him when he worked at “Video Archives” Video Rental shop in the South Bay- My mom was disabled so I’d ride my bike there to get her movies for the week. She was a piece of work, my mum, lol, loved the bad “B” horror movies Killer Nuclear Earthworms From Mars type none-sense - So QT would have a bad ass selection for her new every week. He knew my mom fairly well but then she just couldn’t get there. He was always extremely cool to me, always had martial arts or funky 70’s movies on inside He was STUDYING while he was working That’s why those genres influence his work even the soundtracks. He was very kind to my mum who was pretty ill. I was around 12 or so He was a good dude.

What do you think Harmonica Guy did after this story?

If I had a chance, I would love to sit down with you and discuss this film in serious depth. Singularly, I would use the word “Operatic” to describe this film. The drawn out, pacing (which is not used today at all) was also not a technique wisely used even in the time of this film. Sergio Leone, like Kubrick, understood that cinema is the art of showing the story and NOT telling the story. Sergio Leone also understood something that maked him standout compares to almost all American western filmmakers: with all due respect to John Ford, the Italian master understood what the west was really like even more so (American film makers tended to create a Mythic (fantasy) West and American audiences tended to by into it.) Leone was not interested in glorifying the west, but showing that it was dirty, sweaty, hot, and beyond lawless. Premiere magazine once described Lyons his other film, “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. One can see something operatic in the conclusion, not in the gunfight, or even in the death of Cheyenne, but in Mrs. McBain in her bringing water to the hard-working men. She came to Sweetwater to become a mother to children who lost one. Now you can well imagine in this harsh and remote section of the west these workers were orphans of the frontier and mrs. McBain becomes mother to them all.

The version your watching, and is now thee version everyone sees, is not the one that was released. Paramount chopped the hell out of it after its premier didn’t go over so well. This and all home video releases is from the restoration from the early 90’s. Some say it may had even been a bit longer than this version.

Revenge is like forgiveness. It is not about what one deserves but what one needs. Harmonica was a decent guy, not a sadist. He would not lower himself to the level Frank had when it came to killing people. He had to do it, but he had to do it clean, because that is who he himself is. About the pacing of the film. It is like music. The notes are nothing without the pauses in between. A fast paced movie with all this killer lines would be a stupid action film. The tension is created with the pace.

I see you missing the ponts as you reviewing this movie. Like the reason for Frank to shoot that kid, was that one of his crew members said "What we gonna do with this one Frank". When he said his name, he had to kill him, or else he would have been busted.

Sorry, had to leave at the 10 minute mark. You keep on talking about why the movie is too long. I had to leave due to you talk too much in this reaction. Instead of complaining, try to pay attention as to why it's one of the greatest westerns ever made. That's why it's a classic. You'll never be a successful screenwriter with that attitude. It's because you're young and that's all you know from your generation. Watch and learn from other reactions from people your age. They totally love the older movies due to the detail. In older movies, they could afford a multitude of great actors. These days, they can only afford one or two. Suggest watching It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart. It's the simple details that will make it a forever classic. Hope you learn from this and other great older movies. Right now, with your attitude if you ever write one, it will be a one and done.

29:36 If you want fistfights as a finale to a western you were looking for the wrong kind of spaghetti-western. The correct ones would be most of those starring Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill. (or both)

This film was made because of the worldwide success of the GOOD BAD & UGLY Dir Sergio Leone.Have U ever seen it, fast moving highly Stylised & great sound track.This film doesn't date & Quentin Tarantino names it as his favourite movie.

No, Frank had a reason to kill the kid. He was trying to frame Cheyenne

This movie is epic in every way,

27:11 “tension..” No idea- Waiting for the climatic scene reaction!

Patience my young friend. 😄

There is mainly trinity of gun fighters , in Sergio , Hawks movies

i would really like you to check out the movie " The harder they fall". This is Jeymes Samuel film directorial debut

Watch RAN Akira Kurosawa, The LEGEND- Directed Based on King Lear so if you’re not familiar with that story I’d suggest a quick RU-vid review before watching Kurosawa IS- “Every frame a masterpiece “ RAN is one of the most beautifully filmed movies of all time. It’s epic in every way The colors and perspectives are stunning For my humble opinion there’s three or 4 “of all time” candidates Kurosawa Kubrick Sergio Leon John Ford all were genius of perspective and color

This came out in late 68 while Star Wars came out in May of 1977 so less than 9 years.

Why people think so much the past was so puritan? Is totaly the opposite, nowadays that everything is forbiden.

So about Frank. The actor who plays him was known for playing "good guys" in other movies. And... I just wanted to share this bit of interview with you: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cHI6Hl7FUqA.html

If you’re going to review movies and claim to be a future award winner (geezus) you should try harder or review something lighter. Try and be more articulate. It’s painful listening to you review this. Do better.

At 34:10 why are my eyes sweating?

Italian film❤❤

do you know anything about Henry Fonda, Charles Broson , Jason Robar. Fonda the OxBow incident

Building atmosphere takes time. I think movies today could stand to be a little bit better in that regard. This movie might be just a tad too long in places, but I like that it dwells on things, building suspense and making me understand and embrace the characters more than a modern movie would. In a modern movie, scenes are cut so short that I feel nothing towards the characters. Those that manage it, are few and far between, even if it can be done with just a few scenes. Take "Triple Frontiers". On paper, I would love this movie, but I feel no connection to the protagonists, so when things happen to them, there is no sense of loss or dread. I miss that in movies today (there are execptions). The thing about the beginning is that it was not normal by the time the movie was made, to show children being killed or even just dead. That was a shocker. The second shock was seeing Mr. Good guy himself, Henry Fonda, playing the bad guy. He only played wholesome and standup guys. So, from a writer's point of view, I guess, this would be the equivalent of showing some horrific rape scene nowadays, and handing the bad guy role to Tom Hanks or George Clooney. I was born long after the film was made, but it made an impact on me when I first saw it. The music, the story, the directing, the photography and the acting all was spot on for me. I get why younger people feel it's too long. It might be. Nowadays, this could have been made as a solid HBO mini-series to get the same effect.

Not often you get someone react to this film so i was ready to hit the subscribe button. Unfortunately you lost me after 5 minutes, a complete lack of emotional intelligence, you are unable to connect with any character. The quiet scenes are to set the tone, atmosphere, your relationship with the characters, to build tension and to increase the impact of the scenes. You missed all of that, i'd focus on directing Tv comercials or music videos because your never going to make it in films.

Big difference between this and Star Wars? 😂 Uh yeah, this takes place in the old west. Star Wars takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. This film is a masterpiece. That’s not even an opinion. It’s a stone cold fact.

For me it doesnt translate well to new york

If you and your generation can’t understand true art , I suggest you stick to franchise movies like the Marvel universe ones or Fast and Furious

Yay!!! I'm the one hundredth like!!!

You interrupt TOO much. Listen and watch more.

You talk too much.