Once Upon a Time in the West [4K UHD]

For most people, you'll either love Sergio Leone's "Spaghetti Westerns" or dismiss them outright. There's not a lot of middle ground between the two positions. Critics initially panned and derided these films but over the decades they have become much loved and respected by critics and fans alike with many claiming these westerns are among the best of the entire genre. After filming his famous Clint Eastwood driven "Dollar Trilogy" Leone would go on to make this serious magnum opus. A continuing fusion of his particular style of Italian grand opera and his long-standing homage and reinvention of the American western. This iconic film has most all the themes of the genre. Leone borrows from John Ford's "The Searchers", "My Darling Clementine" as well as films like Ray's Johnny Guitar and many others. The operatic style is typical and is right off the bat shown in the opening gun fight scene. A scene which most film makers would have last a minute or two billows up to a 12+ minute movie within a movie. Humor, pathos, tension, irony, violence all packed in to this one scene to introduce Harmonica, one of the main characters of the movie. It's pure Leone. Or the fantastic introduction of Jill, the one main female character. She gets off the train and in one of the great single unbroken shots in all of cinema walks across the platform through the train station and out the other side to a stunning crane carried camera shot of the thriving western town of Flagstone all done to the beautiful, heart-breaking Jill's theme composed by long time Leone collaborator Ennio Morricone. Every time I watch this scene it sends shivers up and down my spine. Again, pure Leone. If you are a fan of modern frenetic paced CGI ladened films then Leone will probably not be for you. But if you love cinema as a pure art form then give this grand opus western a try. This 4K UHD release from Paramount is somewhat controversial to say the least with reviews both here and across the web. And while I agree with most purists' comments on the video presentations' problems it will still be a top-notch in home cinema experience for the vast majority of viewers. There is no doubt that there is some DNR present along with a noticeable lower bitrate that creates a "smoother" picture than is intended by Leone. The gritty, grainy feel to this film is missing here. It is not quite that fatal as I think most viewers including this one will enjoy the excellent color timing and wonderful 3D pop with the Dolby Vision HDR and its now greatly illuminated interiors, glistening sweaty faces and overall detail. The sound is clear and does great service to the wonderful score and the dialog is easy to hear. Most all the special features are ported over from previous disc releases and are quite interesting. This release is highly recommended despite the slightly compromised video remastering and is still a glorious home viewing experience of an absolutely essential western classic.

I've seen this movie many times, on formats from VHS to laser disc to blu ray. In the early 2000s l saw it projected following an Ennio Morricone concert in London. Watching this 4K is like watching and hearing it for the first time. It looks and sounds beautiful. The transfer is stunning and the soundtrack is simply breathtaking. What a gorgeous transfer of this classic. Highly recommended.

Once Upon a Time in the West is a Sergio Leone masterpiece! This was his last spaghetti western picture and features screen legends Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson. I'm not going to go into details on the plot, but it was an interesting story framed with great imagery or the old west in America as seen by Monuments Park and areas of Spain that are supposed to look like America! I want to pay more attention to the 4K restoration and soundtrack. The 4K restoration was professionally and beautifully done by the Paramount’s archive team, L'immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation, with special help from Martin Scorsese! They didn't disappoint! Colors are detailed and bright, with great attention to detail and image sharpness. The soundtrack was superb with wide sound stage and detail as well. The Special Features are included on the Blu-ray and shed a great detail of light about the production of this epic film! A must have and for sale on Amazon Price for less than $13.00!

One of the greatest westerns of all time. Tie between The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Both Sergio Leone directed. Everyone will have their own favorites. But this is a must-watch for anyone who loves westerns. Stunning actors and musical score by Ennio. Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, and Charles Bronson!

The DVD arrived when promised and it was in very good condition. I thought it was one of Henry Fonda's best roles. Most of his roles he's a good person and it was refreshing to see him being such a mean, vicious killer. He played the part so well.

...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.

Fun entertainment everyone can enjoy.

This is a great movie. Probably my favorite Western of all time. That being said the quality of the 4K transfer is fabulous! The wonderful thing is they haven't erased all the grain but they've contained it a bit. It still looks like film so it hasn't been over processed in my opinion. The quality of the transfer is super clean. Wherever they did the telecine transfer, it's absolutely top drawer. Absolutely nothing to complain about. I watch this on a 77 in LG G4 and I get to see things that I'd never seen before. The level of detail is splendid. I'm watching this on a Panasonic dp820 with most of the corrections shut off as I let the television handle the image processing. I found this generally works better than running both of processors which sometimes makes images look so digital.

Sensational transfer to 4k. Sérgio Leone's westerns masterpiece is a must watch! Epic and powerful storytelling.

This classic Western movie has never looked better, and the audio was as good as it gets. This IS the only way to watch this movie at home; it's as good as it was during its first showings at the local well-equipped cinema. Beautifully restored both visually and with the audio.

El mejor clásico del oeste. Una obra maestra y lo mejor en 4 k.

A great westeren.

Best Western movie of all time.