Scene Pick: ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ – Frank vs Harmonica

Scene Pick: ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ – Frank vs Harmonica

Released in 1968, Once Upon a Time in the West is a western film directed by Italian director Sergio Leone. It is considered widely as one of the best western films ever made.Frank vs Harmonica

Frank (Henry Fonda) is a dreaded gangster  hired by a tycoon to scare an owner family away from a piece of land which has the only source of water in the area and thus immensely profitable when a railroad will pass through the land.

In Frank’s way stand three main characters: Jill (Claudia Cardinale), who has inherited the precious piece of land; Cheyenne (Jason Robards), a bandit who has been framed by Frank’s gang for the murder of the land’s owner; and “Harmonica” (Charles Bronson), a mysterious stranger who has landed in the area with some apparently dangerous intention and who plays with a characteristic repetitive note on his harmonica.

This scene is near the film’s end and shows the final encounter between Frank and Harmonica. The expressions – uncertainty in Frank’s eyes vs the sentient look and meaningful smile on Harmonica’s face – speak for the immense power of characters’ conflict. And of course, the mountain in perspective with background music that plays in your head long after the scene is over.

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