C'era Una Volta Il West (aka Once Upon A Time In The West) (1968)

A young woman (Claudia Cardinale) arrives from New Orleans to her new home in a small town in the West. But upon her arrival, she discovers her new husband (Frank Wolff) and her stepchildren have all been murdered in cold blood. Directed by Sergio Leone from a story conceived by Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento. An incredibly crafted homage to the American western film, Leone's film stands on its own as one of the greatest western ever made. The pace is leisurely, the dialog minimal and to the point and the film is filled with an almost nostalgic melancholy. The cinematography of Tonino Delli Colli (THE NAME OF THE ROSE) is simply stunning (and unbelievably not Oscar nominated) and the superb underscore by Ennio Morricone is a thing of beauty. As the film's cold blooded gunslinger, one of my least favorite actors, Henry Fonda, turns in a terrific cast against type performance. The film's initial U.S. release was cut by 20 minutes but it has since given way to the full 176 minute original cut. With Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Gabriele Ferzetti, Keenan Wynn, Lionel Stander, Woody Strode, Jack Elam and Paolo Stoppa.