How the West was Won

The birth of a nation. as seen through the eyes of Sergio Leone, in his greatest opera of the west.
The genius of Leone and Morricone, in their respective visual and sonorous treatment, is mesmerizing.
A larger than life, solemn, almost sacred elegy that presents a remarkable group of characters and compels them to move to the rhythm of a waltz of death. Henry Fonda, tears down his heroic cinematic persona, to incarnate the devil; Jason Robards as a sympathetic outlaw who yearns for settle down; Charles Bronson as Harmonica, an impervious man with no name; and the fully blossomed gorgeousness of Claudia Cardinale, as never seen before.
What other filmmakers cemented for the genre, Sergio Leone lifted it to the stars, and beyond. He abandoned what made him popular, the nihilistic and frenetic nature of his work; for a gradual, more introspective and rhetorical masterpiece that increases its power with each passing minute, exudes vitality and spiritual depth, and rightfully placed him among the grand myths of cinema.

Epitome of the spaghetti-western. phenomenal acting trio; epic, raw, operatic grand direction by the unique Sergio Leone, sublimed by Ennio Morricone's score, a quintaessential, perfect film-music marriage. fantastic at every level.

The bloodiest western ever, the captivating choice of suicidal glory among fellow fighters in the last days of the wild west. magnificent

Exceptional elegy.
A poignant and romantic story about the meaning of honor, and the thin line that separates legends from facts.

Thrilling, humorous, moving. the good adjectives to describe the first Ford-Wayne masterpiece are countless. A magnificent film with richness all over, heroism, racism, social class struggles, love stories and a charming alcoholic played by Thomas Mitchell.

Second installment of "dollars" trilogy. magnificent touch by Leone's brutal, cold-heart, raw, violent, almost operatic approach to action. great duo Eastwood-Van Cleef. the most entertaining and touching of the three spaghetti-western masterpieces

poetic, sublime and fascinating demythologized western with superb narrative pillars. Clint Eastwood's masterpiece.

The man with no name's burst in cinema.
Dirty and violent, but operatic retellling of 'red harvest' set in a honorless west.

Near perfect psychological western. Great confrontational scenes between Van Heflin and Glenn Ford, and pure suspense from start to finish.

There are many ways to follow when recapitulating the virtues of this postmodern marvel of the western genre. beginning with the loose and affable nature or tone of the story by screenwriter William Goldman and director George Roy Hill; Conrad Hall's impressive photographic work; Burt Bacharach's mellow musical interludes; and above all, the likeable, legendary partnership Paul Newman-Robert Redford, both comfortably playing the notorious outlaws who shared the same woman and destiny. Their charm, chemistry and tongue-in-cheek attitude can't be ignored, especially in the memorable final scene.

An engrossing western epic with intimate and poetical sensitivity and a wonderful score by John Barry. Kevin Costner is very good in his role and behind the cameras. Excellent directorial debut for this outstanding human drama.

Seems futile to compare this to the other westerns made by Sergio Leone. It doesn't reach the levels of drama, lyricism and intensity of his previous work, nor the raw epic excitement of the "dollars trilogy" however it isn't exempt of his engaging and rich storytelling and it sure is the most politically conscious film he ever made.
It looks more like it was done by Sam Peckinpah (no wonder why he was in line to direct it, but declined at the last minute)
Leone's biographer Sir Christopher Frayling very wisely puts "this one is between the twilight of the frontiere and the dark night of the city".
Humourous but ultimately tragic story of defience, passionate struggle and camaraderie.

Two gunslingers, Silenzio and Loco, meet in Utah in 1899's blizzard, where the snowy landscapes will be inevitably splattered with blood.
A bleak western with some atypical patterns, the presence of two great european actors, and a powerful conclusion.