Once Upon a Time in the West 4K UHD (1 Viewer)

[OliverK]

It's on sale for $9.99 on VUDU

Don't taunt me like that

 

[OliverK]

As long as Paramount didn't use L'Immagine Ritrovata for the colour grade.

My first thoughts were that I did not have to fear the yellow stain of L'Immagine Ritrovata for this one

Paramount can do colors and they can do textures but not in every movie so the wait for the UHD is a bit less relaxed than if it was for example a Sony release.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

My first thoughts were that I did not have to fear the yellow stain of L'Immagine Ritrovata for this one

Paramount can do colors and they can do textures but not in every movie so the wait for the UHD is a bit less relaxed than if it was for example a Sony release.

Agree with you my friend.

 

[Kyle_D]

This has been overdue for a re-watch in my household, but Paramount “grain management” + 2-perf makes me very, very nervous.

 

[William T. Garver]

I’ve been tempted to buy it in digital 4K on Vudu, but I may hold off if a physical release is coming. Since OUATITW is my favorite Western, I’ll want the disc, and it may include a digital code.

 

[Chuck_Kahn]

Ever since 1984, when the film was re-edited to reinstate the missing 20 minutes left off the original 1969 theatrical release, the opening and closing logos on this film were of the then-current "Blue Mountain" logo and had been present on home media ever since.

Therefore, I wonder if this new master will include the original 1968 Paramount opening and closing logos?
Opening:
Closing:

~Ben

If Babylon can get the old timey Paramount logo then everything should be entitled to their original logo. Can Universal put back the Paramount VistaVision logo on the restored One Eyed Jacks while we’re at it?

 

[akatanaka]

The original version, anyone…?

I own a copy of the original uncut theatrical version of OUATITW in Super 8mm magnetic sound which I purchased in the early 1970s.

There are only two differences in content between the current HD Blu-ray version and the Super 8 version. One is quite significant IMO.

The first is the extension of the opening scene, in which you see the aftermath of the shootout between Harmonica and the three gunmen, showing that Bronson is the sole survivor, which amounts to less than a minute of additional footage.

My version ends with the shootout and Harmonica and the gunmen falling to the ground, cutting to the close up of the shotgun barrel firing that marks the beginning of the farm sequence.

I guess the addition of seeing Harmonica get up after the shootout makes it clear why we see him subsequently alive and well at the way station… not needed IMO, and is at odds with the narrative style of the rest of the picture. (Maybe this added clarification was necessary - I witnessed more than one cinema mixup the order of the reels during OUATITW’s theatrical run in the 1960s and 1970s…)

The second, and more serious change, involves the altering of the musical soundtrack at the film’s conclusion during the final credits.

In the original version, composer Ennio Morricone’s beautiful and extended version of the main theme entitled, “Finale” is played in its entirety to the film’s conclusion, as we watch Harmonica ride off into the distance with Cheyenne’s body...

In the BD, however, the moving, elegiac Finale music is prematurely faded out and replaced with a different piece entitled, “Cheyenne”, destroying the mood with its jaunty, quirky style, and ends the movie on that note (literally!).

The original ending, with Morricone’s Finale intact, was very moving, and was a fitting coda to the film’s overall theme concerning the death of the Old West making way for our modern society with its industrial culture, as exemplified by the developing railway.

By changing the final music on the BD, the touching and powerful message of the film was greatly diluted.

OUATITW’s final moments always brought tears to my eyes; with the current version, not so anymore…

I guess it’s too much to ask to have both endings on the new 4K from Paramount. Something a boutique label like Arrow, or Powerhouse Indicator would consider doing with their fundamental respect for the film buff…

I read that the BD changes to OUATITW was director approved… such a shame.

If true, by altering the ending, Leone is responsible for reducing the power of his own Western masterpiece.

Nowadays, if I want to watch the Blu-ray version of OUATITW, I queue up the recording of Morricone’s Finale and substitute it at the right moment in the film, to see the ending with original music intact!

If you’ve only seen the Blu-ray of this great film, and have never seen the original ending and how it enhances the film’s emotional impact, I highly recommend that you try the above musical substitution.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

If Babylon can get the old timey Paramount logo then everything should be entitled to their original logo. Can Universal put back the Paramount VistaVision logo on the restored One Eyed Jacks while we’re at it?

Yes indeed, that's why I kept the Laser disc! Dump that Universal logo!

 

[Sultanofcinema]

The original version, anyone…?

I own a copy of the original uncut theatrical version of OUATITW in Super 8mm magnetic sound which I purchased in the early 1970s.

There are only two differences in content between the current HD Blu-ray version and the Super 8 version. One is quite significant IMO.

The first is the extension of the opening scene, in which you see the aftermath of the shootout between Harmonica and the three gunmen, showing that Bronson is the sole survivor, which amounts to less than a minute of additional footage.

My version ends with the shootout and Harmonica and the gunmen falling to the ground, cutting to the close up of the shotgun barrel firing that marks the beginning of the farm sequence.

I guess the addition of seeing Harmonica get up after the shootout makes it clear why we see him subsequently alive and well at the way station… not needed IMO, and is at odds with the narrative style of the rest of the picture. (Maybe this added clarification was necessary - I witnessed more than one cinema mixup the order of the reels during OUATITW’s theatrical run in the 1960s and 1970s…)

The second, and more serious change, involves the altering of the musical soundtrack at the film’s conclusion during the final credits.

In the original version, composer Ennio Morricone’s beautiful and extended version of the main theme entitled, “Finale” is played in its entirety to the film’s conclusion, as we watch Harmonica ride off into the distance with Cheyenne’s body...

In the BD, however, the moving, elegiac Finale music is prematurely faded out and replaced with a different piece entitled, “Cheyenne”, destroying the mood with its jaunty, quirky style, and ends the movie on that note (literally!).

The original ending, with Morricone’s Finale intact, was very moving, and was a fitting coda to the film’s overall theme concerning the death of the Old West making way for our modern society with its industrial culture, as exemplified by the developing railway.

By changing the final music on the BD, the touching and powerful message of the film was greatly diluted.

OUATITW’s final moments always brought tears to my eyes; with the current version, not so anymore…

I guess it’s too much to ask to have both endings on the new 4K from Paramount. Something a boutique label like Arrow, or Powerhouse Indicator would consider doing with their fundamental respect for the film buff…

I read that the BD changes to OUATITW was director approved… such a shame.

If true, by altering the ending, Leone is responsible for reducing the power of his own Western masterpiece.

Nowadays, if I want to watch the Blu-ray version of OUATITW, I queue up the recording of Morricone’s Finale and substitute it at the right moment in the film, to see the ending with original music intact!

If you’ve only seen the Blu-ray of this great film, and have never seen the original ending and how it enhances the film’s emotional impact, I highly recommend that you try the above musical substitution.

OK akatanaka,
Two scenes were also shot and deleted from Once Upon A Time In the West. Cheyenne goes back to the train and engages in a shootout with Frank's men and ends up getting wounded which is why we see him shot in the side at the finale with Jill. People in 1969 actually interpreted that as being shot from the pistol that goes off in Henry Fonda's hand when he spins around after being shot by Harmonica. Harmonica is ambushed and badly beaten in his hotel room by Frank's men.

 

[Dick]

I own a copy of the original uncut theatrical version of OUATITW in Super 8mm magnetic sound which I purchased in the early 1970s.

I also owned a copy of that Super 8 feature- nine 400' reels, with the correct running time of 165m. It looked wonderful except that it was pan and scan. It was one of a half-dozen full-length features I bought from Market Films, the Super 8mm home movie arm of Paramount. (Others were WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE GODFATHER, etc.) Ah, those were the carefree (working) days when I could drop $300.00 for a print of OUATITW. Now, I only wish I had all those films back to sell off again (very valuable these days)!

 

[Edwin-S]

This was the film that I believe killed my father's interest in going to the movies. He was a big fan of oaters, especially Jogn Wayne films.We went to it as a family. At the time I thought it was pretty boring; although, the scene with laundry wringer left a lasting impression. After this film, I don't remember him ever going to the theatre again.

A proper 4K release of this film would probably tempt me to buy a physical disc for the first time in quite awhile.

 

[Christian D66]

I still can't believe we can't see the original ending with that music.

But I did make a quick comparison between the Paramount blu ray version on their channel (no 4k yet!) to the Vudu UHD and it's substantial in the sense that the UHD is cast in a dusky orange with red/pink skin tones which I like and is also darker than the blu ray. Grain is there in both but we'll see when the 4k comes. I almost gasped when I saw Woody Strode's orange and red outfit.

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

I still only have the 2-disc DVD edition so a 4k UHD sounds like quite the upgrade!

 

[JPCinema]

The sale at VUDU of OUATIA for $9.99 has ended

 

[OliverK]

Agree with you my friend.

Let's hope that most of us will be very happy when this gets released. Unlike with many other releases of Leone movies!

 

[haineshisway]

It's all about the color, folks. The Blu-ray is not quite accurate and I want completely accurate. As to the Blu-ray being "director approved" that would be some feat as the director died in 1989. I hear orange and I worry. I don't want to hear orange, I want to hear about the blue skies and Mr. Fonda's blue eyes.

 

[haineshisway]

The sale at VUDU of OUATIA for $9.99 has ended

No it hasn't - still 9.99

 

[haineshisway]

This may be a silly question, but can I buy this UHD and run it on my iMac? I don't have a 4K TV yet, although that will change later in the year.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

This may be a silly question, but can I buy this UHD and run it on my iMac? I don't have a 4K TV yet, although that will change later in the year.

That depends.

If you are talking about a disc purchase you would need a 4k UHD-compatible external drive and OS X software that can decode and play it.

I am assuming you are talking about a digital copy. Then, yes, you could use your TV app on your iMac to purchase the digital copy and watch it. However, from what I can see, the only iMac that supports 4k playback is the 27" with Retina 5k display.

What I am unsure of is whether it supports Dolby Vision and HDR10

EDIT: Sorry, Bruce, I forgot that the iTunes version is not yet 4k though I completely expect it will be upgraded once the disc is announced and/or released.

 

[OliverK]

This may be a silly question, but can I buy this UHD and run it on my iMac? I don't have a 4K TV yet, although that will change later in the year.

I would suggest to wait as this movie is so cinematic and works less well on small screens.

When I moved from a TV to projection back when projection usually about the size of a current 85" TV it was as if I was watching movies like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and other epic / very visual movies for the first time.

If I can make another suggestion go as big as you can - within financial reason of course - as long as you are at least 2 screen diagonals away. You can of course move closer, up to something like 1.5 screen diagonals, but that would depend on the content you like to watch and if you have multiple seating positions. No problem sitting close to a UHD as long as you can sit at a bigger distance when watching a DVD or some broadcast content.