Sergio Leone: Something to Do With Death (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The American cinema as it was then was composed of a gallery of actors' faces unparalleled either before or after (at least as I see..." (more)
Key Phrases: Sergio Leone, New York, Clint Eastwood (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Sergio Leone is identified with spaghetti WesternsDviolent, visually imaginative Sixties and Seventies films that exploded the clich s of the Hollywood Western. Leone brought stardom to TV actor Clint Eastwood, who was cast as an antihero alien to Westerns and who admitted that Leone "really doesn't know anything about the West." Instead, the director's West existed as a sort of fever dream, and his tales, the author notes, were "fairy-tales for grown-ups." In the first detailed study of this original director, Frayling (Spaghetti Westerns) explores Leone's years of apprenticeship on American films shot in Italy, such as Ben Hur and sword-and-sandal epics like Colossus of Rhodes, which refined Leone's distinctive visual storytelling style. His imagination, however, was fired by the classic Westerns of John Ford. Frayling discusses the director's offbeat humor and considers the charges of misogyny and excessive violence without defending him. These features were evident in Leone's last film, Once Upon a Time in America (1984), an all-star gangster saga that confounded critics and admirers. This informative look at an underappreciated director should spark reappraisals of his work. Recommended for all film collections.DStephen Rees, Levittown Regional Lib., PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Sergio Leone said he was "obsessed about detail, as everyone knows," so he might have enjoyed this massive biography. Frayling details the late director's life and career, starting with the quirky story lines and prescient casting of the spaghetti Westerns that first brought Leone to public attention and saved Clint Eastwood's career. Nowhere is Frayling's detailing more evident than in the description of the project that became Once Upon a Time in America. The script was based on a possibly autobiographical book by a taciturn recluse who may have been a retired gangster. Leone immersed himself in the story's milieu, which licenses Frayling's ample explanation of the surprising ethnic diversity Leone discovered in the gangsters of the mean streets of the Lower East Side in the 1920s and 1930s. The finished film's viewers will concur that, despite its rather preposterous climax, it looks great and positively drips atmosphere, as so many of Leone's films did. More active than introspective, despite its length, the book drips atmosphere, too. Leone fans and others will find it flavorful and informative. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 570 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571164382
• ISBN-13: 978-0571164387
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #656,560 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful biography, February 6, 2003

By	Michael L. White "impossiblefunky" (Westland, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There aren't too many directors who could inspire me to read a 576-page tome about their career. In fact, apart from a handful of auteurs to whom I'm still trying to speak and the dozen or so who have opened their hearts to Cashiers du Cinemart, there aren't too many directors I'd even like to read about. Yet, of all directors-past and present-it's only Sergio Leone's name that I've been scanning for when I troll the "directors biographies" section at Borders Bookstore. Sure, sure, maybe it'd be fun to read a nicely done work on Fritz Lang or Kenji Misumi but it's Leone who presents me with the biggest challenges.
This Italian mastermind helmed a handful of films, nearly all of which would rank among my favorites. More than creating some damn fine work, Leone's style influenced untold filmmakers. His films were operas powered by the music of Ennio Morricone. His dialogue's sparseness made it all the more powerful. Leone didn't shy away from embracing the language of cinema and creating his own dialect.

Remarkably, though Leone's filmography can be tallied on both hands, the breadth of rumours and conflicting stories are enough to easily fill Frayling's tome. Luckily, Fraying isn't above questioning the veracity of his subject. While never denying Leone respect, Frayling doesn't shirk his journalistic duty to present as many facets of the fiery, passive-aggressive auteur as possible.

Something to Do with Death takes its sweet time to get moving (I had to skip the second chapter and skim a few others before getting to the real "meat" of the book) but, once it gets going, there's little that can deter the reader from delving into the life of a truly enigmatic talent. (ISBN: 0571164382)

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leone is God, and this is the Bible, April 16, 2003

By	John David Felter (New York (Ripper)) - See all my reviews

I worship Sergio leone. I've been a huge fan of his films since my childhood in the late Seventies. I've always wanted/needed a weighty, fact-filled bio-reference to illuminate his here-to-fore mysterious life/career. This is that book. More detailed than the expensive, picture-packed Italian book on Leone, S.T.D.W.D. will stand for a long time as the essential Leone tome. Literate, balanced, and exhaustive, this book is a triumph in every respect.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All You Need to Know About Spaghetti, June 2, 2000

By	Bevan Lee (Darlinghurst, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not only a fascinating insight into the spaghetti western and its master practitioner, but also an examination of where this form stands in the context of Italian cinema as a whole. Having finished reading, I re-viewed all of Leone's films. They are totally different viewing experiences in light of the knowledge gleaned from this book. A truly al dente reading experience.