Once Upon a Time in the West

I recently had the chance to check out the current show at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts that focuses on the history of westerns, a genre I have always loved, and it of course put me in the mood to re-watch a bunch. My favorite westerns are Sergio Leone’s “Man with No Name” (or “Dollars”) trilogy, but I decided to start by watching his Once Upon a Time in the West, which I (embarrassingly) think I’d never seen. It’s a fantastic film, and I’m just so in love with all of the close-ups he does of the characters. I don’t think anyone does epic quite like Leone, and this movie is just another fantastic example of how he creates mood and iconic setups like it’s nothing. And the Ennio Morricone music, oh my. Also, to my great surprise, in the credits it shows that the film was written by Leone AND Dario Argento AND Bernardo Bertolucci. Wow. I also think Charles Bronson has the best western face ever.