Typically, studio-released 4Ks have been poor and strip-mined of late. Usually, if you want a good edition, you’re paying out extra payola to a boutique brand with a severely limited run. But the Paramount Presents label has outdone itself with the new 4K release of Sergio Leone’s (The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Duck, You Sucker) Once Upon a Time in the West. From the moment you pick up the case, wrapped in an excellent dust jacket with a foldout poster, you can tell that Paramount is approaching their Presents label with reverence, or at least, they want you to.
L-R: Jason Robards and Claudia Cardinale in Sergio Leonne’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) is one of the best films I’ve ever seen, so my reverence has been easily extracted. This nearly three-hour western epic, presented here in its most complete cut, is appropriately referred to by multiple contributors to this release as the “finale” of the western genre. With a crescendo of thematic cinematic references and subversions to the genre like A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Ducks You Sucker (1971), and Stagecoach (1939), the villainous Henry Fonda (12 Angry Men, The Grapes of Wrath) appearing like a two-episode guest star, Once Upon a Time in the West is structured like a cumulative film for Leone, and, by way of his influence on the genre, all westerns up to 1968.
“What are we going to do with this one Frank?”
The murder of Jill’s (Claudia Cardinale (8 ½, Fitzcarralodo)) husband, Brett McBain (played by Frank Wolff (The Great Silence, Caliber 9)), begins the unraveling of a conspiracy to control The West. Times are changing, and the powers of the gunslinger and the bandit are fading. The runaway train of capitalism is here to replace them. The personal vendettas of Jill, escaped convict Cheyanne (Jason Robards (Magnolia, All the President’s Men)), and the mysterious Harmonica (Charles Bronson (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven)), will finish the job.
Many of the most famous shots in history come from this film, and watching Leone swing the camera over the train station to reveal the town of Flagstaff is still breathtaking. Its visual influence was freshly renewed by last year’s Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), which unearthed the baton Leone buried in Monument Valley at the end of this film, and carried it into our real history.
When reviewing 4K UHD restorations of classics like these, I often speak about how the color looks or how the sharper image affects an older special effect. Well in Once Upon a Time in the West, Claudia Cardinale is the special effect, and so are Henry Fonda’s eyes, and Charles Bronson’s crow’s feet. Rarely have three faces been so loved by the camera, and at this resolution, they’re myths made real.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 4K UHD home release. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
There to guide you through these myths is a cavalcade of extras. A new commentary by the Spaghetti Westerns Podcast hosts, Jay Jennings and Tom Betts, and an archival commentary with an MC and rotating cast, including John Carpenter (Big Trouble in Little China, Halloween) and Claudia Cardinale herself. In the featurette realm, a series of archival films, An Opera of Violence, The Wages of Sin, and Something to Do with Death, by Lancelot Narayan collects interviews with Carpenter, Cardinale, Alex Cox (Repo Man, Walker), academic Christopher Frayling, Bernardo Bertolucci (The Dreamers, The Conformist), cinematographer Torino Delli Colli (Salo, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly), John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn), and more. Even Leone and Fonda join through older archival footage. These are all great dives into the themes and production stories of the film, but I want to call out two of the most inexplicable sights. A statue of Caesar seems to have been poorly photoshopped over Delli Colli’s shoulder to block something from view in his house, and the fact that John Milius seems to be using three different pairs of glasses at once. The wonders of Hollywood never cease.
This is the best studio-produced Blu-ray I’ve had that wasn’t a director-supervised product like the James Cameron films, but that makes a lot of sense when you realize that the extras are from 2003, the peak DVD era. Yet, where studios like Warner Brothers-Discovery make you beg for those already-made extras and then import them at 360p, Paramount seems to have at least re-scanned or upscaled them in some way, making them seem much newer than they are.
Claudia Cardinale on the set of Sergio Leonne’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
There are two caveats to this release. First, the foldout poster attached to the sleeve is remarkably sturdy, but it still has the stuck-open-paperback feel, which some will hate. Second, for some reason, there is no “resume” feature, which even my dirt cheap Paramount-produced Blu-ray for Cop Land (1997) has. An oversight I’m sure, but I would hope this most basic feature of physical media makes it on to later releases in the Paramount Presents line. With this many extras, you’re going to be missing it, unless you play the whole disk in a 12-hour session.
But, there are worse ways to spend a Saturday than exploring the makings of one of the great films. Not only can I recommend this 4K release of Once Upon a Time in the West from Paramount Presents, but I can also say that I’ve been looking at which films from the Paramount Presents line I’ll buy for myself next time a paycheck hits my bank account. They’re a great alternative to the steelbook experience.
Once Upon a Time in the West Special Features:
- *NEW* Commentary by the Hosts of the Spaghetti Western Podcast
- *NEW* A Look Back with Leonard Maltin
- Commentary with contributions from directors John Carpenter, John Milius & Alex Cox, film historians Sir Christopher Frayling & Dr. Sheldon Hall, and cast and crew
- An Opera of Violence
- The Wages of Sin
- Something to Do with Death
- “Railroad: Revolutionising the West”
- “Locations Then & Now” (Gallery)
- Production Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray and digital March 14th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Paramount Pictures Once Upon a Time in the West webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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