Lessons On Movies.com
  Free Handout + MP3 + 8 Online Quizzes on Once Upon A Time In The West

  GAMES:

  • Fill-in-the-blank
  • Matching
  • Hangman
  • Flash cards
  • Sentence jumble
  • Missing words
  • No letters
  • Crossword puzzle

Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount Pictures. It stars Henry Fonda, unusually cast as the villain, and Charles Bronson as his enemy. Bronson was offered the role after Clint Eastwood turned it down. The screenplay was written by Leone and Sergio Donati, and composer Ennio Morricone provided the film score. The original version, a big success in Europe, was 166 minutes long when it was first released in December 1968. The version for the US release in May 1969 was edited down to 145 minutes and was greeted with mostly negative critical response. It was a financial flop in the U.S.

Though less popular in the US than the earlier "Dollars Trilogy," Once Upon a Time in the West has gained a huge cult following around the world, particularly among filmmakers and moviegoers. In the 1970s, it was re-evaluated by many critics, many of whom called it a masterpiece. Directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese have spoken about the influence the film had on them and the way they made their movies. It is now considered one of the greatest films ever made and numerous critics consider it to be the finest ever Westerns. Time magazine listed it as one of the 100 greatest films of the 20th century. It also ranks highly on dozens more movie polls.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_the_West

  TRAILER AND POSTER

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST POSTER

1. SIX WORDS: Look at the poster and write down six words (more if you like) that you think of as you look at it. Share the words with your partner(s). Why did you choose them?

2. STORY: Talk about what you think the story of the movie is – the start, beginning, end, etc. Change partners and share stories.

3. CREDITS: Look at the credits on the poster (the actors, director, producer…) and talk about them with your partner(s).

4. MUST-SEE: Talk with your partner(s) about whether the poster and movie title are good and make you want to see the movie.

5. STARRING YOU: Imagine you are one of the stars of the movie. Talk about your role with your movie star partner(s).

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST TRAILER

1. RETELL: Watch the trailer and retell what you saw to your partner(s).

2. CHUNKS: Watch 10-to-15 second chunks of the trailer and retell what you saw to your partner(s).

3. QUIZ: Watch the trailer and write down some quiz questions for your partner(s). Watch a second time to find the answers to the questions.

4. VOCABULARY: Make a note of words in the trailer that you see or hear. Talk about them with your partner(s).

5. GOOD / BAD: Watch the trailer and write down why you think the film might be good or bad. Share your ideas with your partner(s).

  MATCHING

SYNONYM MATCH

1.	epic	a.	disaster
2	cast	b.	part
3.	role	c.	enormous
4.	released	d.	chosen
5.	flop	e.	impact
6.	huge	f.	rates
7.	masterpiece	g.	very long
8.	influence	h.	deem
9.	consider	i.	brought out
10.	ranks	j.	work of art

PHRASE MATCH

1.	a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti	a.	it a masterpiece
2	It stars Henry Fonda, unusually cast	b.	down to 145 minutes
3.	The screenplay was	c.	cult following
4.	in May 1969 was edited	d.	flop in the U.S.
5.	It was a financial	e.	more movie polls
6.	a huge	f.	as the villain
7.	… many of whom called	g.	western
8.	the influence the film	h.	ever made
9.	considered one of the greatest films	i.	written by Leone
10.	It also ranks highly on dozens	j.	had on them

  LISTENING / READING GAP FILL

Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount Pictures. It stars Henry Fonda, (1) ______________________ villain, and Charles Bronson as his enemy. Bronson (2) _________________ Clint Eastwood (3) ______________________. The screenplay was written by Leone and Sergio Donati, and composer Ennio Morricone provided the film score. (4) _____________________, a big success in Europe, was 166 minutes long when it was first released in December 1968. The (5) ______________________ release in May 1969 was edited down to 145 minutes and was greeted with (6) ______________________ response. It was a financial flop in the U.S.

Though less popular in the US than the earlier "Dollars Trilogy," Once Upon a Time in the West has (7) _____________________ following around the world, particularly among filmmakers and moviegoers. In the 1970s, (8) ______________________ many critics, many of whom (9) ______________________. Directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese have spoken about (10) ______________________ had on them and the way they made their movies. It is now considered one of the greatest films ever made and (11) ______________________ it to be the finest ever Westerns. Time magazine listed it as one of the 100 greatest films of the 20th century. (12) ______________________ dozens more movie polls.

  CORRECT THE SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	a 1968 Italian epic eptisatgh western film
2.	It stars Henry Fonda, unusually cast as the llvaini
3.	The pnyeleascr was written by Leone
4.	The glnaioir version
5.	teidde down to 145 minutes
6.	It was a caaiifnln flop in the U.S.
Paragraph 2
7.	gained a huge cult flioogwnl around the world
8.	among filmmakers and seoimvegro
9.	… many of whom called it a eisetmperac
10.	spoken about the uenilncfe the film had on them
11.	ueormsnu critics
12.	It also ranks highly on odensz more movie polls

  PUNCTUATE & PUT CAPITALS IN THE TEXT

once upon a time in the west is a 1968 italian epic spaghetti western film directed by sergio leone for paramount pictures it stars henry fonda unusually cast as the villain and charles bronson as his enemy bronson was offered the role after clint eastwood turned it down the screenplay was written by leone and sergio donati and composer ennio morricone provided the film score the original version a big success in europe was 166 minutes long when it was first released in december 1968 the version for the us release in may 1969 was edited down to 145 minutes and was greeted with mostly negative critical response it was a financial flop in the us

though less popular in the us than the earlier "dollars trilogy" once upon a time in the west has gained a huge cult following around the world particularly among filmmakers and moviegoers in the 1970s it was re-evaluated by many critics many of whom called it a masterpiece directors such as quentin tarantino and martin scorsese have spoken about the influence the film had on them and the way they made their movies it is now considered one of the greatest films ever made and numerous critics consider it to be the finest ever westerns time magazine listed it as one of the 100 greatest films of the 20th century it also ranks highly on dozens more movie polls

  INSERT THE VOWELS

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Th__gh l_ss p_p_l_r _n th_ _S th_n th_ __rl__r "D_ll_rs Tr_l_gy," _nc__p_n _ T_m__n th_ W_st h_s g__n_d _ h_g_ c_lt f_ll_w_ng _r__nd th_ w_rld, p_rt_c_l_rly _m_ng f_lmm_k_rs _nd m_v__g__rs. _n th_ 1970s, _t w_s r_-_v_l__t_d by m_ny cr_t_cs, m_ny _f wh_m c_ll_d _t _ m_st_rp__c_. D_r_ct_rs s_ch _s Q__nt_n T_r_nt_n_ _nd M_rt_n Sc_rs_s_ h_v_ sp_k_n _b__t th_ _nfl__nc_ th_ f_lm h_d _n th_m _nd th_ w_y th_y m_d_ th__r m_v__s. _t _s n_w c_ns_d_r_d _n_ _f th_ gr__t_st f_lms _v_r m_d_ _nd n_m_r__s cr_t_cs c_ns_d_r _t t_ b_ th_ f_n_st _v_r W_st_rns. T_m_ m_g_z_n_ l_st_d _t _s _n_ _f th_ 100 gr__t_st f_lms _f th_ 20th c_nt_ry. _t _ls_ r_nks h_ghly _n d_z_ns m_r_ m_v__ p_lls.

  MARK THE SPACES

OnceUponaTimeintheWestisa1968Italianepicspaghettiwesternfilm
directedbySergioLeoneforParamountPictures.ItstarsHenryFonda,u
nusuallycastasthevillain,andCharlesBronsonashisenemy.Bronsonw
asofferedtheroleafterClintEastwoodturneditdown.Thescreenplaywa
swrittenbyLeoneandSergioDonati,andcomposerEnnioMorriconepro
videdthefilmscore.Theoriginalversion,abigsuccessinEurope,was166
minuteslongwhenitwasfirstreleasedinDecember1968.Theversionfo
rtheUSreleaseinMay1969wasediteddownto145minutesandwasgree
tedwithmostlynegativecriticalresponse.ItwasafinancialflopintheU.S
.ThoughlesspopularintheUSthantheearlier"DollarsTrilogy,"OnceUp
onaTimeintheWesthasgainedahugecultfollowingaroundtheworld,pa
rticularlyamongfilmmakersandmoviegoers.Inthe1970s,itwasre-
evaluatedbymanycritics,manyofwhomcalleditamasterpiece.Directo
rssuchasQuentinTarantinoandMartinScorsesehavespokenaboutthei
nfluencethefilmhadonthemandthewaytheymadetheirmovies.Itisno
wconsideredoneofthegreatestfilmsevermadeandnumerouscriticsco
nsiderittobethefinesteverWesterns.Timemagazinelisteditasoneofth
e100greatestfilmsofthe20thcentury.Italsorankshighlyondozensmo
removiepolls.

  DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	__________________________________________________________________
2.	__________________________________________________________________
3.	__________________________________________________________________
4.	__________________________________________________________________
5.	__________________________________________________________________
6.	__________________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	__________________________________________________________________
2.	__________________________________________________________________
3.	__________________________________________________________________
4.	__________________________________________________________________
5.	__________________________________________________________________
6.	__________________________________________________________________

  ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Once Upon A Time In The West in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	Student 1 __________	Student 2 __________	Student 3 __________
Q1.
Q2.
Q3.
Q4.
Q5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

  WRITING

Write your own movie review. Show your partner your letter. Correct each other's work.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

  HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET INFO: Search the Internet and find more information about "Once Upon A Time In The West". Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about "Once Upon A Time In The West". What are (did) critics and moviegoers saying (say) about it? How good were the actors' performances? What was good and bad about the movie? Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

4. "ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST" POSTER: Make a poster about "Once Upon A Time In The West". Make sure you put tag lines, audience and critics' reviews, why people should see it, etc.  Show it to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your posters.

5. MY PREQUEL / SEQUEL: Make your own prequel or sequel for  "Once Upon A Time In The West". Make sure there is a good mix of things to do. Find some good online activities. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback.

6. CHARACTER STORY: Choose one of the characters from the movie. Imagine you are that character. Write your story about what you did in the movie. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback.

7. ONLINE SHARING: Use your blog, wiki, Facebook page, Twitter stream, or any other social media tool to get opinions on "Once Upon A Time In The West". Share your findings with the class.

  ANSWERS

SYNONYM MATCH

1.	epic	a.	very long
2	cast	b.	chosen
3.	role	c.	part
4.	released	d.	brought out
5.	flop	e.	disaster
6.	huge	f.	enormous
7.	masterpiece	g.	work of art
8.	influence	h.	impact
9.	consider	i.	deem
10.	ranks	j.	rates

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Please check for yourself by looking at the movie review article at the top of the page.
(It's good for your English ;-)