Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nov 22, 2025 4/4

Leone's operatic oater remains notable for a number of achievements.

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Noah Gittell Washington City Paper Jun 8, 2024

Sergio Leone’s 1968 spaghetti western might be set in the 19th century, but it captured the violence of the ’60s, yet the grandly cinematic film that still somehow embraces humanity.

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John Nguyen Nerd Reactor May 21, 2024 4.5/5

The epic spaghetti Western features an excellent score from Ennio Morricone, sweeping cinematography, and a gritty cast with rugged features that are great for Leone’s close-up and long takes.

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Sean Burns Crooked Marquee May 26, 2023

Leone’s gloriously inflated epic isn’t just any old Western. It’s all of them.

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Zita Short InSession Film Feb 2, 2023

It is rare to find a Western that is so immersive, even when the characters aren’t as complex as they could be.

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Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Mar 20, 2022 4/4

Self-aware in every respect, from his dynamic framing to the prolonged showdowns, Leone's meticulous style may distance some viewers from making an emotional connection to his work, but striking dramatic chords is hardly his principal intention.

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Sarah Brinks Battleship Pretension Mar 26, 2021

The costumes were great as well. Jill McBain stands out from the crowd as a "city" girl when she first arrives - many of her dresses are elegant and beautiful - whereas someone like Cheyenne is always dusty and looks dirty and hot.

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Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Aug 27, 2020 8/10

Although the cast is impressive, with a significant part for a leading lady (something absent from Leone's other ventures), it's the primary antagonist who is most amusing.

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Ed Travis Hollywood Jesus Apr 2, 2020

I wish my words could convey just how wonderful this film is. But they can't. Sergio Leone was a poet with a camera.

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TIME Staff TIME Magazine Mar 24, 2020

Leone's newest effort, Once Upon a Time in the West, with a major cast and a lot of big studio money behind it, proves that he is simply a serious bore.

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Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Mar 24, 2020

If there had to be a final Western, Once Upon a Time in the West would be it.

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Dave Kehr Chicago Reader Mar 24, 2020

Moments of intense realism flow into passages of operatic extravagance; lowbrow burlesque exists side by side with the expression of the most refined shades of feeling.

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David Parkinson Radio Times Mar 24, 2020 5/5

An operatic masterpiece.

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Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm Jun 25, 2018 3.5/4

...an exaggerated, fairy-tale variation on the Western, big bad wolf and all.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Common Sense Media Oct 3, 2017 5/5

Leone's violent epic Western is an essential masterpiece.

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Sean Axmaker Seanax.com Oct 6, 2016

[Sergio] Leone creates a horseback epic of bad guys with a heart of gold and an iron engine that reshapes the landscape as its tracks are laid through the wilderness.

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Michael Mirasol Movie Mezzanine Aug 7, 2014 A

Once Upon a Time in the West is the mythic Western; an ode to the end of its era.

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Glenn Dunks Trespass Sep 8, 2013

Gunslingers, one-road towns, horse and buggies... Once Upon a Time in the West has them all, and spread across a sprawling near three hour running time that is as punishing on the ol' rickety knees as it is rewarding to the eyes.

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Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic Jun 18, 2013

There is something touching and maniacal about the two-and-three-quarter- hour result.

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Aug 22, 2012 A-

Leone shows his skills with superb mastery over the medium.

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