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Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

And truly this movie is of the now-rare variety, as it pays homage to the films that came before it, but also found ways to innovate and use more "contemporary" film techniques. The score bounces around from traditional to eccentric to ambient, all thanks to Ennio Morricone and his penchant for mixing fiddles with accordions, vocal choirs and electric guitars, and this score is reflected in the intense framing and composition of Leone's and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli's shots. Extreme close ups of characters' faces are juxtaposed with expansive shots of incredible vistas, emphasizing the wildness of the land.

The story revolves around the growing railroad, and several people have interests tied into the railroad: Bad ass gang leader Frank works for a dying rail tycoon who is determined to see the Pacific Ocean before he croaks. Landowner McBain uses his money to try to build a new train station, and around it a new town. Before long, McBain is murdered for his land, Frank is being hounded by a stranger (Bronson), an outlaw named Cheyenne gets himself mixed up with everyone, and McBain's ex-prostitute widow (Claudia Cadinale) is stuck in the middle of it all, scared and unsure of what to do.

The pace of the film is fairly slow and deliberate, though the movie is hardly without action. For example, the movie starts with a ten minute sequence of three of Frank's gang members waiting at a train station. There's a long stretch of these three guys picking out to spots to wait for the next train, and silently and calmly waiting for it to show up. Leone gives us lots of close ups of their intense faces as they wait in the desert sun until finally the train shows up, and the only person to get off is the mysterious stranger. After a bit of tough guy dialog, we get a sweet three-on-one Mexican standoff, punctuated with a quick shoot out. Leone mastered the art of long, still sequences being capped off with a bang, like a long staring contest ending with a quick gun shot. It's like following those extreme face close ups with the wide shots of mountain ranges and buttes. An excellent balancing act of both imagery and motion.

Leone is also interested in the old colliding with the new, as represented by the growing railway system of the expanding United States. New towns spring up along the new railroad, and culture and civilization slowly yet surely make their to way to the Pacific Ocean. Here Leone celebrates the final years of the American Old West, the land of Cowboys and Indians, gunslingers and train robbers and thieves. Along with the railroads, there was the telegraph, the beginning of the end of people running away from their past and starting anew. It only took Frank a little research on the telegraph to find out about the widow's nefarious past, so it's pretty much like the original Google. Times were a'changing around this time, and much like the dying time period it documented, Once Upon a Time in the West is a testament to a time when movies like this were made. Well, movies are still occasionally made like this, but they are generally ignored. Which is why they don't get made anymore. Good thing there's a whole Leone backlog to enjoy.