64-Once Upon a Time in the West - Director:Sergio Leone. Cast: Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards and Charles Bronson.


"Sergio was a real go-getter, a very meticulous artist who paid attention to everything he did, right down to the smallest details,For the images, he asked for things that were truly effective: full light for long shots because he wanted the details to be visible on screens of all sizes, and close-ups with the individual hairs of the characters’ beards visible. It was impossible in Spain — he wanted deep, long shadows, the deepest and longest we could get, and the [sun went] down late. On the set, we prepared in the morning, and then we just died waiting for the right light. I did everything I could to accommodate him within the limits of what was possible. And then there were the details! He wanted to shoot the actors’ eyes in every scene. I told him we could shoot 100 meters of eyes — looking here, looking there — and then use them whenever he wanted. But he wasn’t having any of that. And that’s how it went for the entire shoot. But his three-hour films pass quickly [when you watch them]. A three-hour film made today is a chore to sit through."
-Tonino Delli Colli (cinematographer)-


"He gave back to the actors from USA the confidence that a Western can be a great movie."
-Bernardo Bertolucci-


"I can't see America any other way than with a European's eyes, obviously; it fascinates me and terrifies me at the same time"
-Sergio Leone-


"Sergio Leone asked me to do a film and sent me a script I just couldn't believe it.And I met him, had lunch with him.And I hadn't seen his early films so I didn't know Sergio Leone's reputation.And he realized that I hadn't seen it,so he arranged for a screening,and I saw about 3 1/2 hours of his early pictures with Clint Eastwood.And one of them involved an actor friend of mine( Eli Wallach).And I called him,and he said,"Don't miss it,just go.To hell with the script,just go.You'll fall in love with him.He's marvelous." So I accepted.And in the months before I went,I kept thinking,now...this heavy son of a bitch...how am I going to...?I finally went to an optometrist and had contact lenses made to make my baby blues(eyes) brown.And I grew a mustache,with a little divot that looked a little bit like the guy who shot Lincoln.I'm trying to look like a son of a bitch....And I arrived at the studio in Rome,and Sergio takes one look at me me and says,"-OFF".He was buying the baby blues.He wanted and I didn't know why."
-Henry Fonda-

"Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera pans up to the gunman's face and... it's Henry Fonda!!!"
-Sergio Leone-


"The real stars, though, are Leone's camera, going eye-to-eye with his actors or tracking through the labyrinth of his invented West, and Ennio Morricone's score—arguably the richest in movie history"
-Richard Schickel-