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Once Upon a Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone

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There's no doubt that maverick Italian film director Sergio Leone deserves his place alongside other great western genre directors such as John Ford, Anthony Mann and Henry Hathaway......his operatic visual style, fast paced scripts filled with gallows humour, and filthy unshaven hero's (all filmed on shoestring budgets) breathed new life into the western film genre. This latest book on Leone and his work by British author, academic and Leone biographer, Christopher Frayling, is a sumptuous and comprehensive detailed tome that every Leone fan should have on their book shelf. ( Frayling has also written the superb "Sergio Leone: Something To Do With Death" and "Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone" )

Frayling draws upon a remarkable volume of interviews that he has conducted over the past three decades to paint a picture of a visionary director who reignited interest in the western genre at a time when US studios considered cowboys only fit for low budget TV shows. As most any Leone fan could recite in his sleep, Sergio was the son of "Vincenzo Leone", one of Italy's cinematic pioneers, and in his late teens he began working as an assistant director on both European and US productions (predominantly sword and sandal films), but he then gravitated to script writing and directed his first feature film in 1959. Further influenced by the visually dynamic films of legendary Japanese director "Akira Kurosawa", Leone eventually transplanted "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro" to western settings, recruited "Rawhide" star Clint Eastwood as the nomadic uber-gunfighter, and launched a new breed of western film that was dirtier, more violent, the main characters were anti-hero's and nearly everyone got their comeuppance at the film's conclusion.

Frayling includes in-depth interviews with key actors involved in Leone's films ( Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee van Cleef, Claudia Cardinale etc ), as well as composer Ennio Morricone, writing collaborator and director Bernardo Bertolucci, US director Martin Scorsese and others. It's not hard to see how Leone's directorial & visual style has influenced many current action directors including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriquez, John Woo and others. Additionally, this marvellous book is filled with wonderful shots from Leone's films, lobby cards, posters and storyboard art....all in all, an enthralling and entertaining volume on one of the cinema's truly remarkable directors.

Sergio Leone has long been associated with the much-maligned Spaghetti Western genre, a movie category that he did not create but one that he perfected. But his work easily transcends simple Italian Westerns. By mixing extreme close-ups with breathtaking widescreen vistas, Leone created an unmistakable style that few, if any, directors have matched. Sadly, critical reviews of his work have been few but far between. The flag bearer has always been Christopher Frayling, an English Professor of Cultural History. It's no surprise that the foremost Leone expert is an Englishman: many of Leone's films have been extensively edited, in fact butchered, when released in America. Frayling's latest, "Once Upon A Time In Italy: The Westerns Of Sergio Leone," is quite simply an essential purchase for any Leone fan. The companion volume to an exhibit at the Autry National Center's Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, this 240-page coffe table book is packed with rare photos and full-color international movie posters that will have any Leoneist drooling. And the interviews are to die for: Leone himself, Ennio Morricone, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Claudia Cardinale, Carlo Simi, Tonini Delli Colli, Martin Scorsese and more provide a bounty of behind-the-scenes info. So it's not just a book you want to flip though time and time again, you'll want to read it cover-to-cover. Long Live Leone!

What I liked this book is the quality paper, graphic colors, high quality print, and color rendition of the retro movie posters. With intimate interviews, it also reveals the behind-the-scenes touches here and there that made this genre so different from hollywood. Included are interviews to set designers and stylists, with illustrations of sketches of sets, costumes. I was always touched by the "grunge" feel of the clothes worn by the actors, a torn shirt with holes and loose buttons, dirty boots. As one poster says: "he smokes short cigars, he has a long gun, he wears a poncho", and the interviews reveal how the "leone style" was created. Unfortunately there is no english translation of "L'avventurosa storia del cinema italiano raccontata dai suoi protagonisti" (Vol 2, 1981, Feltrinelli, F. Fofi), but this book beautifully selects the best of that time in a high-quality printed production.

British film historian Christopher Frayling comes through with another book about the great, polarizing Italian director Sergio Leone.

This book is medium on actual reading material but heavy on pictures- big, colorful, beautiful reproductions of film posters from the last 40 years. It only covers Leone's five Spaghetti Westerns (or Italian Westerns) that he directed, extensively. It briefly mentions the one he produced. Any true fan of Leone's Man with No Name trilogy will love this book.

If you are a big Sergio Leone fan, please read Frayling's masterful biography of him, "Something to Do with Death," available on Amazon.

Now, the nerd aspect: You may not want to pay for this book unless you actually understand movies. Frayling knows enough to interview people like the Director of Photography, but most Americans don't even know what that means. If you can name Leone's famous Production Designer, this is definitely the book for you.

Also, it is a joy to hear what went into "Once Upon a Time in the West," the finest Italian Western ever made and Leone's only true masterpiece.

Highly recommended for fans. DVD owners will recognise Frayling as the man who provides some history & comments on the DVDs. The book contains interviews with actors, crews and later directors who were influenced by Leone. Also lots of posters (those days they were artwork) from different countries, production sketches & photos.

Note that this book concentrates on Leone's spaghetti westerns with only brief mentions of his other movies so it is not an autobiography. FYI, his first few movies were sword and sandals stuff.

In general, this is like the bonus materials of the DVDs but in a gorgeously printed format.

A great book for anyone who loves Sergio Leone, the true master of the spaghetti western and his great characters. I liked learning about my favorite The Man With No Name and Clint Eastwood the actor who portrayed him. Plus the other great characters he created like Tuco, Eli Wallach, and Colonel Morterimer, Lee Van Cleef.
It was very interesting to see how he put his heart and soul into his movies, and how a man from Italy gave us the most realistic view of America's most remarkable time, the old west.

This book is like an encyclopedia of Leone's Italian westerns. The detail on each film is exceptionable, and Frayling writes in a style that always keeps your interest. The research that went into this book must have taken years. Thanks for filling us in with all the behind the scenes material. Excellent job!

Got my product in a timely fashion and I have no complaints. This is a gorgeous book; must-have item! - JB

Really good purchase for S.Leone estimators.Interesting pages about behind the scene and some funny screenshots from the set.

I bought this book as a gift for a man that did all the barbequing and grilling for a birthday party I threw for my daughter's birthday.

This guy is an avid collector or anything and everything connected with Sergio Leone and his great westerns. He's got the music from the films, the biographies of all the actors in the films, location info, costumes facts, etc.,etc.

When I handed him the book and he glanced down at it, he actually teared up. He is now taking it to bed and reading the book every night. He tells me that it is a fabulous book, the pictures are great, many he's never seen before. The text is complete with many indepth interviews.