{"id":1342,"date":"2023-08-07T07:41:19","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T07:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/?p=1342"},"modified":"2023-08-07T07:41:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T07:41:19","slug":"criticism-literature-film-drama-library-guides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/criticism-literature-film-drama-library-guides\/","title":{"rendered":"Criticism: Literature, Film &amp; Drama: \u00a0Library Guides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Once Upon a \u200bTime in \u200bthe West is \u200ba masterpiece \u200bof the spaghetti \u200bwestern genre. \u200bIt is a \u200bslow-burning, visually \u200bstunning film with \u200ba complex \u200band morally ambiguous \u200bstory. The \u200bfilm is directed \u200bby Sergio \u200bLeone, who also \u200bdirected the \u200bDollars Trilogy, and \u200bit stars \u200bHenry Fonda, Charles \u200bBronson, Jason \u200bRobards, and Claudia \u200bCardinale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u200bfilm begins with \u200ba long, \u200bsilent scene of \u200ba train \u200barriving in a \u200bsmall town \u200bin the American \u200bWest. The \u200btrain is carrying \u200ba coffin, \u200band the only \u200bpassengers are \u200ba mysterious harmonica \u200bplayer (Bronson) \u200band a young \u200bwoman named \u200bJill McBain (Cardinale). \u200bJill is \u200bthe new owner \u200bof a \u200bsaloon in the \u200btown, and \u200bshe is soon \u200bcaught up \u200bin a conflict \u200bbetween two \u200bpowerful men: Frank \u200b(Fonda), a \u200bruthless businessman, and \u200bHarmonica, a \u200bformer outlaw with \u200ba personal \u200bvendetta against Frank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200bThe film \u200bis notable for \u200bits long, \u200bslow-paced scenes and \u200bits use \u200bof symbolism. Leone \u200buses the \u200blandscape of the \u200bAmerican West \u200bto create a \u200bsense of \u200bisolation and danger. \u200bThe characters \u200bare often dwarfed \u200bby the \u200bvastness of the \u200bdesert, and \u200bthey are constantly \u200bunder threat \u200bfrom the elements \u200band from \u200beach other. The \u200bfilm also \u200bmakes use of \u200brecurring motifs, \u200bsuch as the \u200bsound of \u200bthe harmonica, the \u200btrain, and \u200bthe coffin. These \u200bmotifs help \u200bto create a \u200bsense of \u200bmystery and suspense, \u200band they \u200balso serve to \u200blink the \u200bdifferent characters and \u200bstorylines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u200bcharacters in Once \u200bUpon a \u200bTime in the \u200bWest are \u200bcomplex and morally \u200bambiguous. Frank \u200bis a villain, \u200bbut he \u200bis also charismatic \u200band intelligent. \u200bHarmonica is a \u200bmysterious figure \u200bwith a dark \u200bpast. Jill \u200bis a strong \u200band independent \u200bwoman who is \u200bdetermined to \u200bsurvive in a \u200bharsh world. \u200bThe film does \u200bnot offer \u200beasy answers, and \u200bit leaves \u200bthe viewer to \u200bdecide who \u200bis right and \u200bwho is \u200bwrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once Upon \u200ba Time \u200bin the West \u200bis a \u200bvisually stunning film \u200bwith a \u200bcomplex and morally \u200bambiguous story. \u200bIt is a \u200bclassic of \u200bthe spaghetti western \u200bgenre, and \u200bit is a \u200bmust-see for \u200bfans of westerns \u200bor of \u200bgood cinema in \u200bgeneral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Here \u200bare some additional \u200bthoughts on \u200bthe film:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The \u200bfilm&#8217;s use \u200bof symbolism is \u200bmasterful. The \u200bharmonica, the train, \u200band the \u200bcoffin all have \u200bmultiple meanings, \u200band they help \u200bto create \u200ba rich and \u200bcomplex narrative.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bThe film&#8217;s characters \u200bare well-developed \u200band believable. Frank, \u200bHarmonica, and \u200bJill are all \u200bcomplex individuals \u200bwith their own \u200bmotivations and \u200bgoals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The film&#8217;s \u200bpacing is \u200bslow, but it \u200bis never \u200bboring. Leone uses \u200blong, silent \u200bscenes to build \u200bsuspense and \u200bto create a \u200bsense of \u200batmosphere.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The film&#8217;s \u200bcinematography is \u200bstunning. Leone uses \u200bbeautiful landscapes \u200band striking visuals \u200bto create \u200ba sense of \u200bthe American \u200bWest.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The film&#8217;s \u200bscore is \u200biconic. Ennio Morricone&#8217;s \u200bmusic perfectly \u200bcomplements the film&#8217;s \u200bvisuals and \u200bhelps to create \u200ba sense \u200bof mood and \u200batmosphere.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Overall, \u200bOnce Upon a \u200bTime in \u200bthe West is \u200ba masterpiece \u200bof the spaghetti \u200bwestern genre. \u200bIt is a \u200bslow-burning, visually \u200bstunning film with \u200ba complex \u200band morally ambiguous \u200bstory. The \u200bfilm is a \u200bmust-see for \u200bfans of westerns \u200bor of \u200bgood cinema in general.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once Upon a \u200bTime in \u200bthe West is \u200ba masterpiece \u200bof the spaghetti \u200bwestern genre. \u200bIt is a \u200bslow-burning, visually \u200bstunning film with \u200ba complex \u200band morally ambiguous \u200bstory. The \u200bfilm is directed \u200bby Sergio \u200bLeone, who also \u200bdirected the \u200bDollars Trilogy, and \u200bit stars \u200bHenry Fonda, Charles \u200bBronson, Jason \u200bRobards, and Claudia \u200bCardinale. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":1353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[502],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1342"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1354,"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1342\/revisions\/1354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kettencorp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}