BUCKET LIST UPDATE No. 175: Watch “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968)

I love a good Western, but I have to admit that there are a lot of classic Western movies that I’ve never seen, especially those that came out before 1980. Films that I would put in this category would include “Once Upon a Time in the West,” which came out in 1968.

I’ve heard about this movie for years, but had never seen it, which is why I put it on my “bucket list” a couple of years ago. On Saturday night, thanks to NetFlix, I watched this movie from start to finish and officially scratched it off my “bucket list.”

I put this movie on my “bucket list” after seeing it on several “best-of” lists. Last year, IGN ranked “Once Upon a Time in the West” No. 1 on its list of “Top 25 Westerns of All Time,” and AMC ranked it No. 20 on its list of “Greatest Westerns.”

In 1999, Entertainment Weekly ranked “Once Upon a Time in the West” No. 13 on a list called “Just Too Beloved to Ignore,” which was sort of an honorable mention list to its list of “100 Greatest Movies of All Time.” It was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2009.

For those of you unfamiliar with this great movie, it was directed by Sergio Leone and was released in theaters on Dec. 21, 1968. The cast included Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Claudia Cardinale and Gabriele Ferzetti. By today’s standards, this movie is rated PG-13 and is about two hours and 45 minutes long.

The film is set in a fictional frontier town called Flagstone and involves a fight over land that looks to be at an important stop on a railroad that’s being constructed through the area. The original owner is gunned down by hired outlaws just before his new wife steps off the train from New Orleans. She arrives to find herself not only a wide, but alone against a gang of hired killers.

Her knight in shining armors turns out to be a quirky gunslinger who’s bent on revenge. Armed with a deadly pistol and his trademark harmonica, he sets about defending the widow, making sure she doesn’t get ripped off and keeping his eyes open for the man who killed his brother years ago. Before it’s all said and done, the widow makes it out OK, and the good guys come out on top.

I thought this movie was great, and I’d have no problem watching it again. Also, aside from the gunplay, it was relatively clean, especially compared to more modern movies. This was also my first real exposure to young Charles Bronson. I knew he had a tough guy reputation, but now I know why. If you’ve never seen this movie, I highly recommend it.

In the end, how many of you have seen “Once Upon a Time in the West”? What did you think about it? What other classic Western movies would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.