Once Upon a Time in the West (soundtrack)
Once Upon a Time in the West | |
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Soundtrack album by | |
Released | 1972 |
Genre | Contemporary classical |
Length | 38:23 |
Label | RCA |
Producer | Ennio Morricone |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Once Upon a Time in the West is a soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone, from the 1968 western film of the same name directed by Sergio Leone, released in 1972. The film score sold about 10 million copies worldwide.[2][3][4][5]
The soundtrack features leitmotifs that relate to each of the main characters of the film (each with their own theme music), as well as to the spirit of the American West.[6] The theme music for the Claudia Cardinale character has wordless vocals by Italian singer Edda Dell'Orso.
It was Leone's desire to have the music available and played during filming. Leone had Morricone compose the score before shooting started and would play the music in the background for the actors on set.[6]
In 2018, for the 50th anniversary of the film, the Italian records company "Beat Records" released a limited 500 copies edition.
Track listing
Original release
- "Once Upon a Time in the West" – 3:46
- "As a Judgment" – 3:08
- "Farewell to Cheyenne" – 2:40
- "The Transgression" – 4:43
- "The First Tavern" – 1:41
- "The Second Tavern" - 1:34
- "Man with a Harmonica" – 3:31
- "A Dimly Lit Room" – 5:09
- "Bad Orchestra" – 2:25
- "The Man" – 1:03
- "Jill's America" – 2:48
- "Death Rattle" – 1:45
- "Finale" – 4:13
Expanded edition
An expanded and remastered album was released in Italy, November 2005.
- "Once Upon a Time in the West" - 3:43
- "The Man" - 1:03
- "The Grand Massacre" - 2:40
- "Arrival at the Station" - 0:55
- "Bad Orchestra" - 2:25
- "Jill's America" - 2:47
- "Harmonica" - 2:27
- "The First Tavern" - 1:39
- "A Bed Too Large" - 1:32
- "Jill" - 1:47
- "Frank" - 1:52
- "Cheyenne" - 1:16
- "The Second Tavern" - 1:33
- "The Third Tavern" - 1:19
- "Epilogue" - 1:14
- "On the Roof of the Train" - 1:19
- "Man with a Harmonica" - 3:30
- "A Dimly Lit Room" - 5:08
- "The Transgression" - 4:41
- "Return to the Train" - 0:40
- "Morton" - 1:36
- "As a Judgment" - 3:08
- "Final Duel" - 3:35
- "Death Rattle" - 1:44
- "Birth of a City" - 4:25
- "Farewell to Cheyenne" - 2:38
- "Finale" - 4:08
In popular culture
- Canadian disco band Black Light Orchestra released disco versions of "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Man with a Harmonica" in 1977.
- "Once Upon a Time in the West" was the theme music of 1992 film Vizconde Massacre: God Help Us! and its 1994 sequel, The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II May The Lord Be With Us.
- "As A Judgment" was used in the Bruce Lee film Way of the Dragon (1972) as the theme for professional fighter Colt (portrayed by Chuck Norris).
- "Man with a Harmonica" appeared in the film The 'Burbs.
- "Man with a Harmonica" was used as the entrance music for professional wrestler Terry Funk in the NWA in 1989 and as the entrance music for K-1 Kickboxing champion Remy Bonjasky.
- Sections from "Man with a Harmonica" were used in a bonus track, titled "Red Mist", from the soundtrack of the 2015 The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film.
- Samples of "Man with a Harmonica" were often used in early 1990s dance music singles, notably The Orb's "Little Fluffy Clouds" and Beats International's "Dub Be Good to Me".
- English rock band Muse often played "Man with a Harmonica" when performing live, as an intro to "Knights of Cydonia" (e.g. at the V2008 Festival).
- The repeated harmonica riff is used by Bruce Springsteen in "Outlaw Pete", the opening track to 2009 album Working on a Dream.
- English electronic music group Apollo 440 released a remix of "Man with a Harmonica"[7], which played in the series The Sopranos over the end credits of the episode "Whoever Did This".[8]
- The theme[clarification needed] was recorded by English goth rock band Fields of the Nephilim as an intro to their debut album Dawnrazor (1987).
- Indie rock band Hard-Fi use the theme[clarification needed] as the entrance music for their concerts.
- "Man with a Harmonica" was re-orchestrated by Hans Zimmer under the track titled "Parlay" and can be heard in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and its sequel At World's End.
- Two different remixes of the theme[clarification needed] were used in the series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its spinoffs: first in the episode "Recipe for Murder", second in the CSI: Miami episode "All In".
- The first few seconds of "Jill" from the expanded score was used in the beginning of the Phantom Thread trailer, a 2017 film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson which featured Daniel Day-Lewis in his final performance before his retirement.
References
- ^ Allmusic Review
- ^ "Future Legend Records". Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ "De Weekkrant" (PDF). Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ "Cult Cinema, 2005". Archived from the original on 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
- ^ Reviews. "chokingonpopcorn, October 23rd, 2003". Chokingonpopcorn.com. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ a b Kehr, Dave (2011). "Once Upon a Time in the West". When movies mattered : reviews from a transformative decade. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-42941-0.
- ^ The remix "Man with a Harmonica" by Apollo 440
- ^ Credits music of "Whoever Did This" episode in The Sopranos series