C'era una volta il West

A restored version of one of Sergio Leone's true masterpieces is currently on a short run at London Cinemas. If ever there was a cause for withholding watching true classics of cinema at home, then this is a shining example. I don't buy DVDs with the exception of the odd boxset now and then, because I don't have a huge TV (I find them rather ugly and preposterous - mine is a mere 26 inches) and for one, I prefer to watch films now in a cinema. The process is important, and there's something distinctly old-fashioned nowadays having to fit one's life according to another schedule, rather than have everything on demand. The serendipity of a 500 films queued-Lovefilm subscription does help though from time to time. Mix and match.

Leone's film veers towards parody at times, but it defies convention in many ways, and he ends up delivering a masterpiece of substance. It's a feast for the eyes, not least in the choice of actors, who all deliver robust, charismatic performances; but also in the scenery and majestic sets, which bring an embryonic railroad and frontier town to life. Morricone's soundtrack doesn't have the ambiguous atmosphere of his earlier films with Leone, rather relying on effective leitmotifs and genuinely masterful harmonies to inflect proceedings with a memorable flourish.

The undoubted star of the film is the leonine presence of Henry Fonda, who portrays one of cinema's finest villains, Frank, with a hint of ageing menace. 63 at the time of making, Fonda originally turned down the role, but was persuaded after a personal visit from the director. It was a dramatic change from the gentle patrician aspect of his acting that he had become legendary for, but became the actors' personal favourite performance. Fonda's icy stare and malelovent half-smile, captured so effectively by Leone's zoom technique, captures the essence of his evil far more than any of his actions. Jason Robard's dusty bandido Cheyenne provides a comic balance to the single-minded drive of the classic man-with-no-name "Harmonica", played by Charles Bronson, who delivered by his best ever performance here. The quartet of main characters is made up by Claudia Cardinale, whose rosy presence is at the centre of the film's affections and plot.

Seeing this at the cinema brought home the sheer volume of sound at times, especially with the grind and screeching of the railroad as it pierces through the narrative at all times. From the plush interior of Morton's caboose to the Coolies working the track from beginning to the end, the clash of metal on metal is present throughout. It's an epic feast in every sense of the word.