Once Upon A Time In The West

THE FLICK: The DVD format has made it fashionable to label nearly every special edition re-release a “classic.” That’s capitalism at work. And it’s hard to argue when so many obscure one-hit-wonders not only get the digital treatment, but are also hailed as masterpieces in their own mini-genres. So for a film like “Once Upon A Time In The West,” director Sergio Leone’s finest work and a high point of the Western, to slip quietly into the night would have been more than a shame...it would have been embarrassment. Thankfully, Paramount came through and Leone’s epic not only shines on home video, it runs a few minutes longer to boot. Made from fragments of Leone’s own work, and those classic Westerns he idolized (most notably “High Noon” and “Johnny Guitar”), “Once Upon A Time...” is both the last gasp and an invigorating shot in the arm for a dying genre. Charles Bronson is another “man with no name” (although everyone calls him “Harmonica”), Henry Fonda is a cold-blooded killer (for the first and last time in his illustrious career), Jason Robards, a scruffy outlaw with an impish grin. And Claudia Cardinale binds them all together as an atypical hooker with a heart of gold. Although criticized in ’69 for its funereal pace, the film plays now as the epic it was always meant to be. But an epic made up of the smallest of moments, set against the backdrop of the joining of East and West via that harbinger of civilization, the railroad. Leone’s direction is lackadaisically brilliant, stretching out the opening gunfight for nearly 15 minutes...with only three shots fired! When violence happens in a Leone film it’s brutal but quick. Much more is made of the rituals that proceed the violence – staged in an almost operatic fashion. While Leone’s use of the Western landscape juxtaposed with the landscape the actor’s faces – wrinkled, sunburnt, and sweaty – creates images that sear themselves on the screen and our collective movie-going memories. THE FEATURES: The extras on Paramount’s two-disc collector’s edition are equally impressive and strikingly well produced. Three documentaries, each nearly a half-hour in length, are the piece de resistance, gathering Leone admirers John Carpenter, Alex Cox, John Milius and biographer Christopher Frayling, among others, for a well-edited round table discussion of the film’s merits. Benardo Bertolluci (a co-writer with horror auteur Dario Argento) speaks of the film’s conception from a chance meeting at a post-screening function. Fonda, in an archived interview, tells how he drastically altered his looks to play a bad guy...only to have Leone strip it all away. The stories are fascinating, beautifully shot (when was the last time you heard that about a DVD extra!), and will leave you wanting more. Luckily, there is. A running commentary brings back many of the principals from the documentary to give further details on the film’s production and their own reactions. At nearly three hours in length, there’s a lot of space to fill, but fans should be more the satisfied. Another short (mostly text) featurette, “Railroad: Revolutionizing the West” provides facts and figures on the titular invention. A trailer, production gallery, and cast profiles go along with a “then-and-now” montage of locations from the film. And while it goes without saying that most DVDs look and sound terrific, Paramount deserves high marks for presenting Leone’s work in gorgeous 16 X 9 enhanced widescreen with restored Dolby sound. FINAL SCORE: Rising from the ashes of its Spaghetti Western roots, “Once Upon A Time In The West” is as much about filmmaking as it is about the story on screen. Like Welle’s “Citizen Kane,” it inspired a generation of writers and directors and is only now being recognized for the creative genius behind every shot. After a long wait, Paramount has put together a DVD worthy of the work. Heck, even the cover art looks cool!