Quartile rating: 8.5/10 · 1 rating
As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.
Leone's magnum opus is a near-flawless deconstruction of the Western myth. The plot is operatic and deliberately paced, with layered motivations and a mythic inevitability that elevates it well above the genre norm. The acting is exceptional — Fonda's cold-blooded villain is one of cinema's great casting subversions, and Bronson, Cardinale, and Robards all bring enormous presence. Cinematography under Tonino Delli Colli is stunning — expansive landscapes, extreme close-ups of eyes and hands, and compositions of breathtaking precision make this one of the most visually distinctive Westerns ever made. Novelty is sky-high: Leone synthesizes myth, opera, and revisionism into something utterly singular, anchored by Morricone's iconic score composed before filming. The ending, while emotionally resonant and thematically satisfying in its circularity, is the one element that feels slightly more conventional in its showdown resolution — a strong conclusion but the least exceptional dimension in a film of otherwise towering ambition.