We recently enjoyed a DVD called "The Spaghetti West" from Netflix, described on their website as:

"This fascinating documentary from the Independent Film Channel traces the history of the spaghetti Western, a genre that got its name because most of the movies were produced by Italian film studios. Relying on clips from memorable oaters such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars -- as well as interviews with key actors, directors and fans -- this presentation celebrates the cult films whose influence continues to endure."

So then we wanted to see some of these masterpieces. We've seen the Clint Eastwood ones - For a Few Dollars More, etc. several times so we tried Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.

"This Sergio Leone classic, a tribute to Hollywood Westerns, stars Henry Fonda as Frank, a gunslinger hired by the powerful owner of a railroad conglomerate to kill anyone who derails the project. But Frank contends with the wrong person when he murders Brett (Frank Wolff), a landowner; after his death, Brett's wife (Claudia Cardinale) demands revenge, hiring two renegades (Charles Bronson and Jason Robards) to go after Frank."

Most of it was filmed in Spain, with a few scenes in Monument Valley Utah to give it an American flavor. It wasn't as corny or dated as I'd expected it to be, and we really liked the soundtrack and story line, plus seeing Henry Fonda as a bad guy, and a young Charles Bronson. When they say it is a tribute to other westerns, that means just about everything refers to some incident from a previous western. Well, since I've forgotten most of those movies - Gunfight at the OK Corral, High Noon, Liberty Valance, I wasn't sitting there thinking how cheesy it was to re-use the ideas, I just enjoyed the scenery and the story.

One of my favorite parts was a reference to the train going to Yuma that was going to carry a prisoner to the jail there - I had forgotten that the recent movie "3:10 to Yuma" with Russell Crowe was a remake of a movie by that same name from the 1950s.