Full Speed Ahead: Once Upon a Time in the West
With an introduction by Ken Eisen, independent film distributor and co-founder of the Maine International Film Festival and Railroad Square Cinema.
A sweeping, rather operatic Western about a mysterious, harmonica-playing gunman (Charles Bronson) seeking revenge against a ruthless railroad baron (Gabriele Ferzetti) and his sadistic enforcer (Henry Fonda), while a resilient widow (Claudia Cardinale) fights to protect her land. With its haunting Ennio Morricone score, stunning cinematography, and deliberate pacing, the film unfolds as a meditation on greed, violence, and the death of the Old West. The film is a masterpiece of mythic grandeur and visual poetry and its astute deconstruction of Western archetypes.
Part of Full Speed Ahead, a statewide festival of train movies and events.
Train fact: Railroad aficionados will know immediately the film was not shot on a US railroad; it was made in Spain like Leone’s other “spaghetti Westerns.” The trains have been cosmetically Americanized, though meticulous train fans will note the distinctive “chains-and-buffers” form of coupling used in Europe. Ultimately it doesn’t matter; the movie is too good.
This film is eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund. Call the Box Office at 207.873.7000 to obtain YAAF tickets. Pay it forward! Donate to YAAF here.
WATCH TRAILER >
A sweeping, rather operatic Western about a mysterious, harmonica-playing gunman (Charles Bronson) seeking revenge against a ruthless railroad baron (Gabriele Ferzetti) and his sadistic enforcer (Henry Fonda), while a resilient widow (Claudia Cardinale) fights to protect her land. With its haunting Ennio Morricone score, stunning cinematography, and deliberate pacing, the film unfolds as a meditation on greed, violence, and the death of the Old West. The film is a masterpiece of mythic grandeur and visual poetry and its astute deconstruction of Western archetypes.
Part of Full Speed Ahead, a statewide festival of train movies and events.
Train fact: Railroad aficionados will know immediately the film was not shot on a US railroad; it was made in Spain like Leone’s other “spaghetti Westerns.” The trains have been cosmetically Americanized, though meticulous train fans will note the distinctive “chains-and-buffers” form of coupling used in Europe. Ultimately it doesn’t matter; the movie is too good.
This film is eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund. Call the Box Office at 207.873.7000 to obtain YAAF tickets. Pay it forward! Donate to YAAF here.
WATCH TRAILER >