WESTERNS: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of sex work, sexual assault. Spaghetti westerns are their own unique style, their own flavor, and one of the key issues is the dialogue is almost always sloppy and cheesy. Yet Sergio Leone, a true master of filmmaking, took that to a different artistic height, and really made it perfect with this film. This film is impeccably shot, with spans of John Ford’s favorite locations that would make the father of the genre salivate. The cast is top notch, with a truly evil villain made all the more bad by the fact that they got America’s Dad to play him. The only thing missing is punchier dialogue, but when it comes to Leone, it’s worth the eye rolls to wait for the next incredible shot. Bide your time with a little harmonica as we watch 1968’s Once Upon a Time in the West on Have a Good Movie! You can email us with feedback at [e-mail], or you can connect with us on BlueSky! If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends. Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive. Excerpt taken from "Man With A Harmonica" from the film Once Upon a Time in the West, written and composed by Ennio Morricone. Copyright 1968 Rafran - San Marco Production. Excerpts taken from the main theme to the film Support Your Local Sheriff!, written and composed by Jeff Alexander. Copyright 1969 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.