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Told like some mythic western fairy tale, Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In The West may be his best film. It's outrageous and darker than an John Ford western. Leone's trademark sweeping camera moves and larger than life moments are all here. What makes West so memorable is the way it plays with the western genre, the myths perpetrated by cinema and the more self consciously arty European cinema (in contrast to the narrative pulp driven American cinema). It's also as simple as this; Leone fills the screen with images as epic as anything written by Homer.

The plot itself isn't as important as the way its told. In the hands of a more conventional director, West could have still been a very good western but it would have lacked the central element of all Leone's films--the element of satire that brims beneath the surface of his films. There was also a sense of irony at work in all Leone's westerns that helped to breathe new life into a moribound film genre.

Harmonica (Charles Bronson)is on the trail of Frank a ruthless sociopath and killer. We're never clued into why but Frank, despite his brutal nature, is clearly concerned about Harmonica; he sends three of his best men (two of them are played by Ford regulars Jack Elam and Woody Strode in a brilliant nearly wordless opening sequence) to meet him at the train station and kill him. Harmonica's nickname proves to be a misnomer; he plays a series of long, mournful notes almost like a bizarre funeral march as a prelude to killing all three.

Shortly after meeting Harmonica, we see just how ruthless and deadly Frank can be. He quietly attacks the McBain family who are preparing a feast to welcome their father Brett's new bride. In a brilliantly shot sequence (almost as stunning as the opening sequence), Frank and the members of his gang gun down the family. We see Frank for the first time and we're stunned as we recognize the blue eyes of Henry Fonda.

Shortly after the murders, McBain's new bride arrives (Claudia Cardinale) in town. When she isn't greeted at the station by McBain or eldest son, she hires a driver to take her to her new home. She arrives just as the funeral is commencing for the family on the very day the McBain family was to celebrate her arrival and the marriage. The murder is blamed on Cheyenne (Jason Robards) an escaped convict and his gang of men. Cheyenne wants to get to the bottom of who murdered the McBains almost as much as his bride. It seems the town has formed a posse and they're pursuing Cheyenne. While Cheyenne doesn't shy away from admitting he's murdered men before, he is offended that someone would think he would kill children.

There are mysteries throughout this fine film; who is Frank and why has he murdered an innocent family celebrating a wedding? Why is Harmonica pursuing Frank?

The DVD transfer is vivid and sharp. The film has some minor blemishes in the form of edge enhancement but even these aren't a major issue. The film's rich color and cinematography are finally rendered in an aspect ratio similar to the original theatrical version. None of Leone's widescreen images are cropped and we see Monument Valley in all its glory (which is important as the valley itself is an important character).

Paramount has done a spledid job of presenting the most important part of the film--it has been restored to its original running time. When the film first appeared and the box office wasn't all that great, Paramount pulled it from circulation, recut it removing about 30 or so minutes of the film. The recut film was re-released and did just as badly before at the box office. The longer cut of West hasn't been seen in the United States in quite some time. Surprisingly, the original negative with the restored footage looks marvelous. Obviously, they didn't have to piece together the film from a variety of sources (and if they did the look of the film is even more impressive).

The soundtrack is almost as good as the visuals. The film is presented in Dolby Digital (English 5.1 Surround) with a restored English mono track. Not surprisingly, the dialog is slightly out of synch with the picture (as it was during the original release). Since the film was directed and edited by an Italian crew, this shouldn't come as a shock.