Once Upon a Time in the West

...and at least decide for themselves if they think the 4k is an improvement over the 2011 blu-ray. To me, it's not even close. The positives I see with the new transfer obliterate the negatives I see with the transfer. I can't imagine watching OUATITW any other way now that we have this beautiful, if not perfect, 4k.I watch this film fairly often and the improvements the new 4k transfer brings are quite stunning...even if there are trade-offs (the grain won't be as prominent as you have grown used to from seeing it all these past years), but the new color grading is glorious! Even as a huge fan of this film, the scenes in the trading post/tavern have always been my least favorite part of the film.....it was all so dark and flat, and some of the cuts in the scene were inconsistent in appearance. When I watch the film, I have my usual thoughts running through my head about different scenes/portions of the film...and those thoughts at the trading post were always "these dark, flat trading post scenes will be over soon"! LOL! Not anymore! Don't believe me? See for yourself...there is now so much more depth, clarity and color inside the dark, smoky trading post...and everywhere else in the film as well!This is my new favorite 4k of 2024 for sure, and based solely on how much of an improvement I found over the blu-ray, and even with the grain reduction, it's a contender for my list of all-time favorite 4k restorations...not because it's perfect, but because it is so much BETTER than what was available. There is room for improvement, and when and if that improvement arrives I'll purchase it day one....for now, this is the finest presentation of Once Upon a Time in the West available.

A lot of people worked on the restoration of this version - They did a great job - The dynamic range and color palate was greatly improved, more in line with the Cina photographers' vision - Amazing clarity considering the age of the film and the restoration involved - Skin tones are amazing even in the darker scenes, once again beautiful restoration - They added a 5.1 soundtrack sounds really good for what they had to work with - They also restored the mono Soundtrack ( have not listened to that yet) - The Music is Gorgeous and is very clear with a lot more volume ( The blu Ray version had a real problem with volume I could never turn it up loud enough ) Thankfully that problem has been solved LOVE THE MUSIC!! This is the best this film has ever looked, and ever will look -Amazing to see this Masterpiece looking so great. Buy it!!!

I didn’t grow up liking western until I got older and my dad loved them growing up . This one of the film he really enjoyed so this will be my first time watch what better way than 4k with pic quality n audio enchanted. I like Charles Bronson

Note: This review contains spoilers; please do not read if you do not wish to find out important plot points before viewing the film.This movie has so much---stunning scenery, a great cast, tight writing, economic plot, and haunting music---and it takes its time to unfold its tale of stark vengeance and redemption. This is unmistakably and indelibly a Sergio Leone vision. One could imagine that Clint Eastwood was first offered the role of Harmonica, the avenger, and then it went to Charles Bronson. However it worked out, Bronson was superb as the Everyman hero/possible avenging angel character; he projected a subtle sorrow in his piercing eyes, even his body language, that made him perfect for the role.The plot is multilayered, revolving around a lovely widow (Claudia Cardinale) of a shrewd man named Brett McBain, who is brutally murdered along with his children by the railroad's hired guns while she is enroute to join them at their home in Sweetwater. Her property is what is coveted and it becomes Harmonica's bait to settle an old score with the chief hired gun, Frank, who is shockingly revealed to be played by wholesome Henry Fonda. His clear blue eyes, so apparently innocent-looking, become frightening in their lack of human emotions. Frank kills without remorse whatever it befalls him to kill as casually as flicking a leaf off his sleeve. Human life is meaningless to him, even more so than to his tubercular cancer-ridden boss Morton. At least he has a motive (greed) to explain his hubris; Frank evidently needs no such excuse and kills because it's what he was born to do.Another character is brought into the tense mix, a bountied outlaw named Cheyenne, appealingly played by Jason Robards. He is also a killer, but one with a sense of humor and a kind streak, as well as a soft spot in his heart for pretty women. When both he and Harmonica are hired by Jill McBain to get revenge on her husband's killers, they form a strange alliance against Frank and the railroad, which Cheyenne sees as a threat to his way of outlaw life. Over time, he becomes friendly with the widow Jill, who in turn is oddly drawn to Harmonica. When Cheyenne realizes this, he utters his famous line: "There's something inside a man like that... something about death." Everything hinges on McBain's property, which is substantial, and his plans to build a railroad station. He had everything legally in place to build the station but if it isn't finished by the time the railroad reaches Sweetwater, his heir forfeits the right to build it and even to keep the land. Harmonica uncovers the motive for McBain's murder and will prevent his dream from failing.Frank, who is usually so icily carefree about death and those who stalk him, grows more obsessed with finding out who Harmonica is, since every time he asks him, the enigmatic drifter keeps answering by naming off men that Frank has killed. Everything comes apart for Morton and Frank as the killer begins to slowly but relentlessly unravel, with vague flashbacks rising as to who Harmonica might be. These, however, keep his past shrouded sufficiently so that Frank cannot quite close this maddening chapter in his life by just gunning down Harmonica and being done with him.At last, Frank is mortally wounded in the climatic gun duel by Harmonica, who strangely is less fazed by what should also be a mortal wound, leading to the speculation that Harmonica is someone other than who he appears to be. Placing his harmonica to Frank's dying lips where his weakening breath wheezes out a few ragged discordant notes, Harmonica watches as his motive is finally realized by Frank. He had sadistically stood a man upon his younger brother's shoulders with a noose around his victim's neck, then shoved a harmonica into the boy's lips. Easing back to watch for the moment when the younger man's legs would finally give out and his brother would hang, Frank is smiling with cold pleasure at his handiwork. It is at that point that the older brother cursed his killer and kicked the boy out from under him, thus alleviating the responsibility placed on Harmonica to keep him alive.But this sequence, though gratifying from a vengeance point, does not answer the question about Harmonica's mysterious knowledge about Frank's victims or his apparent ability to shake off a serious wound with little effect. That combined with Harmonica's penchant to be in the right place at the right time, to stand outside of events while at times controlling them, gives his character a dimension that disconnects him from temporal events. He becomes at those moments like a mysterious angel of death.Every actor was wonderful in his role, from Claudia Cardinale to Jason Robards, but the two principals were outstanding. Fonda, renowned for playing good guys, turned his reputation as an actor completely around with his flawless portrayal of the vicious and heartless killer, Frank. His foil, played to understated perfection by Charles Bronson, was the reluctant vigilante, the man consumed with revenge for his brother's murder, and yet not merely that. Bronson projected from Harmonica a deep and inexplicable sadness that permeated his words, appearance and actions.This was not Leone's choice for a movie. He had abandoned the spaghetti Western concept after the Clint Eastwood films, but was persuaded to take on this project. It did not fare well at the box office, which is no surprise considering its length of almost three hours. A great pity, as it is sometimes overlooked by fans of the spaghetti Western genre for both its lack of commercial success, and for committing the unforgivable sin of not having Eastwood in the lead. It is a great film and works on many levels; in some ways, it is the distillation and the perfection of the SW genre even as it closed it out for good.

This movie is not as well-known as others, like "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" or "For a Few Dollars More", but it is an epic that is worth a watch. In America, it was butchered down to a 2 hour film but this Special Collector's edition (3-hour version) is the one to watch. It's well-worth your time if you're even a casual fan of Westerns. It's one of my favorite films and one I like to buy or loan to others in the hopes they will love it as much as I do.

Excelente transferencia, creo que los colores pudo ser mejorado pero en mi opinión no le quita nada es excelente

and the score by Ennio Morricone makes it into a great movie.

One of the best movies ever

Fast delivery

Dieses Upgrade auf 4k ist voll gelungen da gibt es nichts zu beanstanden.Ob Bild oder Ton .Diese 4k ist zum Weiterempfehlen wer diesen Film liebt.

Like most i suspect i was eagerly awaiting a 4K release of this western masterpiece and one of the all time greats. at that. I really don't know how to say it but sadly it's not the best 4K transfer that i have seen. I found the whole experience of watching it very dark looking in terms of picture Quality. The Blu-ray release outshines this release by far in my humble opinion I fear i will continue to watch the Blu-ray on any future screenings to come. Admit it's not really all that bad but when you have seen the Blu-ray release for so long and you now come to this pristine 4K release it just disappoints. The sound as you would expect is first rate however all the special features are located over on the accompanying Blu-ray disc just leaving you with a bare bones 4K disc of the film. I'm still giving it five stars for the packaging the art cards and reproduction posters that you receive with this special edition release which are impressive. My parcel arrived by just being thumped through the letterbox not even bothering to knock that set alarm bells ringing for me thankfully this time it arrived undamaged. Back to the 4K Cheyenne and harmonica have not been given their due for me personally anyway it's a tough call and one we will all need to make our own minds up on when viewing this release.

音楽、脚本、撮影、キャスト、演出、全てが完璧。作中のストーリーに合わせて、ウエスタン(西部開拓)の終焉と言うにふさわしい作品。この作品以降もトゥームストーン、許されざる者、3時10分などウエスタンでは名作が生まれているが個人的にこれを超えるウエスタンはないと思う。特にアメリカのヒーローたるヘンリー・フォンダ扮するフランクの悪役としての演技は圧巻の一言。しかしただの卑劣漢ではなく彼もまた独自の魅力を持つ人物として描かれているのも素晴らしい。当時はまだ役者として若手の部類に入るチャールズ・ブロンソンも単なる復讐者ではなく抜け目ない食えない人物、そんな彼らと因縁など内にもかかわらず独特な雰囲気とお人好しを魅せるジェイソン・ロバーズもお節介さと冷徹な面を併せ持つ魅力的な人物だ。そんな男たちに引けを取らぬ名女優クラウディア・カルディナーレも西部劇にありがちなか弱いヒロインでわなく、逞しく生きる強い女性として描かれる。そして西部開拓を語る上で外さない鉄道を物語のテイストとして上手く取り入れているのも素晴らしい、かなり映画を見ている通向けの映画なので、単純なアクションのみを期待している人には絶対合わないとは思う。

Versione restaurata bellissima. Colori eccezionali. Anche il suono è molto migliorato rispetto il DVD. Aspetto la versione italiana in blu ray