The best it's ever looked. Paramount delivers a solid presentation of one of the best westerns of all time. This one is out now.
“One of the most iconic, and influential, movies ever made. Sergio Leone’s monumental epic comes to 4k Ultra HD. This definitive Paramount Presents limited edition includes both HDR-10 and Dolby Vision, restored from the original camera negative by Paramount’s archive team, L’imaggine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation, and personally scrutinized and signed off on by Martin Scorsese. Set in the dying days of the Old West, a struggle to control water in a dusty desert town embroils three hard-bitten gunmen in an epic clash of greed, honor, and revenge.”
Once Upon a Time in the West changed my view of cinema, as I’m sure it has countless others. Although I loved The Man With No Name trilogy, this film solidified my love of the Western genre, and easily became my favorite Sergio Leone film. There’s something intangible about his films that piques the interest of every aspect of filmmaking, to the history Spaghetti Westerns, to the unmistakable, iconic, and thrilling scores of Ennio Morricone. This film sets the bar for so many different aspects of filmmaking, it’s impossible to appreciate them all in a single viewing, which is the reason that this is one of my absolute favorites and most re-watched Leone film, including all the Western genre.
If the film accomplishes anything, it establishes films beyond the scope of simple entertainment. For me, it was art, pure and simple, some of the most entertaining art I had ever seen. Each scene was constructed with such care and consideration for symmetry, the natural movements of the eye, that everything had a grandiose quality that I’ve yet to experience since. The Once Upon a Time trilogy as it would later become known, never got as good as this. Leone’s exploration of America in its infancy, struggling to find its foothold in a world with centuries of history, is translated to the screen with such breathtaking beauty, that an entire master class could be taught on this film alone. His fascination with the American West resulted in some of the best films in the history of cinema, and I for one count this film among them.
Before the announcement that Paramount was releasing this film in 4k, I had gone on a Charles Bronson binge, re-visiting and experiencing a plethora of his films, the majority contained in the Kino Lorber catalogue. Although I still consider this one of his best roles, I had mainly only known him from this and The Great Escape. With the launch that this film gave his career, he’s a fascinating actor that has a certain quality about him that is almost as indescribable as this film is. He has a raw grit to his performances that you rarely see. While some may not see the dimension he brings, Bronson somehow embodies the ‘everyman’ as well as the hero simultaneously. His dry delivery, no matter the film; I can’t help but smile when it happens. Perfect example: the opening of this film, when he asks if his rivals have a horse for him. Looks like we’re shy one horse. Shaking his head. You brought two too many. It’s moments like this that make him an icon of that golden age of cinema history.
Something that I’ll always love about Leone’s films is the different characters. It’s not simply a protagonist and antagonist, good and bad, as demonstrated by one of his most well-known films, there is also ‘the ugly’. Jason Robards as Cheyenne is, in some ways, even better than Eli Wallach’s character. Although he is portrayed as a dirty, despicable character, he has a certain honor about him, honorable enough to be one of the most likable characters in the film thanks to his sly nature, whimsical demeanor, and openness that we just don’t get with Bronson’s character.
For the antagonist side of things Leone wanted something that would shock everybody at the time, and after some persistence, he was able to cast Henry Fonda as Frank. Typecast as the ‘good guy’, there is a famous story about him finally relenting to Leone’s advances and coming on set trying to look the part, with a dirty and unkempt mustache and brown contacts to look more menacing. Leone wasn’t having any of it. He wanted those piercing blue eyes to be seen, the ‘good guy’ as the audience had known was now ‘the bad’, turning expectations upside down, and providing us with one of the best Fonda performances of his career.
Video
Once Upon a Time in the West is presented by Paramount Presents in 2160p Ultra High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1. This release boasts an impressive remaster, restored from the original camera negative and personally scrutinized and signed off on by Martin Scorsese.
If you’re an avid physical media collector, you may have a finger on the pulse of upcoming releases and take an interest in comments of other die-hard fans of the medium. As with absolutely anything these days, there will be those on both sides of the fence on quality and what they think a perfect release should be. While the community was very divisive on the recent James Camron releases from another studio, before copies of this film were even sent out there had been remarks on the transfer and capabilities of the disc that Paramount had decided to go with.
What I will say about this release, with those criticisms in mind before watching the film, they quickly melted away once I saw the stunning beauty of the 4k presentation. This is a film I had watching many times over. It may have lost a tiny fraction of the ‘grittiness’ that criticizers refer to, but in my eyes it looks better that I have ever seen it before. The picture is absolutely stunning. Not only are details clear and concise, but some of the close ups were so impressive that I 100% just paused the film to just look at Bronson’s and Fonda’s eyes. With some recent 4k releases there are some doubts with clarity, or the image looking too soft. This isn’t one of those. Faces don’t look plastic, they don’t look soft. This isn’t Terminator 2 or American Graffiti. Sure, this may look better on a Kaleidoscope system designed for the super wealthy, but on this disc from Paramount, this looks damn good, and I’m so happy to have it on 4k.
Audio
From what I can tell, there is no difference in the audio presentation from this release and the previous Blu-ray release. Despite this, I don’t remember it sounding this good. Perhaps it’s an upgraded system, perhaps it’s in my head with the upgrade picture. The Ennio Morricone track solidifies him in my eyes as the greatest composer of all time. As much as I love film, there are only a handful of composers that I know by name, and I made it a point to know Ennio Morricone and every iota of work he’s ever done.
Special Features
The majority of the extras are imported from previous releases, however, there are a couple new items that may tempt those that haven’t already been enticed by the glorious remaster.
- New Commentary by the Hosts of The Spaghetti Wester Podcast
- Commentary with Contributions from directors John Carpenter, John Milius & Alex Cox, Film Historians Sir Christopher Frayling & Dr. Sheldon Hall, and Cast & Crew.
- New A Look Back with Leonard Maltin
- An Opera of Violence
- The Wages of Sin
- Something to do with Death
- Railroad: Revolutionizing the West
- Locations Then & Now
- Production Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer
The packaging comes with a slipcover that opens to reveal the theatrical poster, as is the same with all Paramount Presents releases. It contains the Blu-ray copy that is from the same remaster, as well as a digital code.
Once Upon a Time in the West may be the best film Paramount Presents has released in their lineup. If you’re a fan of the film, you cannot afford to not have this. This is the best it’s looked. There may be some divisiveness in the community, but these days that’s about the norm with everything. Get it. You won’t regret it.
