The art of Sergio Leone's Once upon a time in the West

"Few directors are characterized by both extraordinary film craft and the ironic reputation for lowbrow films. Despite his many achievements as a child of the Italian Cinecitta studios, however, Sergio Leone has been judged severely by writers who find his films lacking in ideas and moralists who find his films unduly cynical. Nevertheless, Leone's greatest cinematic achievement, Once Upon a Time in the West, served to refute these criticisms while exposing the director's unique romanticism and artistic ambition. As Leone's fourth successful American western film, Once Upon a Time in the West earned him acclaim for liberating the western genre, restoring it to a place of antique American simplicity."

"This critical study serves to sharpen an appreciation for Leone and his most famous American western. It assesses the film's relationship with the westerns that preceded it, particularly those of John Ford; the central characters, with special attention to Jill, Leone's first female protagonist; Leone's visual style, which represents a unique fusion of Hollywood classicism and modernism, and reveals the influences of Italian Surrealism and the French New Wave; and the filem's rhythm, romanticism, and musical character, espousing the theory that Leone's approach to film is, above all, musical."--Jacket.