Sergio Leone's film Once Upon a Time in the Westset
out to be the ultimate Western—a celebration of the power of classic
Hollywood cinema, a meditation on the making of America and a lament for
the decline of one of the most cherished film genres in the form of a
"dance of death." With this film, Leone said a fond farewell to the
noisy and flamboyant world of the Italian Western, which he had created
with A Fistful of Dollars and sequels , and aimed for something
much more ambitious—an exploration of the relationship between myth
("Once Upon a Time..."), history ("...in the West") and his own
autobiography as an avid film-goer. This would be a horse opera in which
the arias aren't sung, they are stared. Once Upon a Time has
since inspired several generations of filmmakers worldwide. Its
combination of "film about film" with an angry historical epic, told
with great style, has resonated for half a century, and its reputation
has steadily grown. This book, by the world-renowned authority on Sergio
Leone, Christopher Frayling, includes revealing personal interviews
with all the key players involved in the movie (in front of the camera
and behind it) a wealth of never-before-published documents, designs and
photographs, and the latest research into the making of a masterpiece,
shot by shot. It is introduced with a foreword by Quentin Tarantino.
This year is the 50th anniversary of Once Upon a Time in the West and this richly illustrated book is a suitably spectacular birthday tribute.
Christopher Frayling
is a world-renowned authority on the films of Sergio Leone. He has
written Leone’s biography, curated a major world-touring exhibition on
his work, published the classic study of the spaghetti western
phenomenon and provided commentaries to Leone DVDs and television
documentaries. Now he turns his attention to the making of Leone’s
masterpiece. Frayling is an award-winning broadcaster and writer on
film, design and popular culture. He was Rector of London’s Royal
College of Art from 1996 to 2009, and was also Chairman of the Arts
Council of England and a Governor of the British Film Institute. He was
Professor of Cultural History at the RCA for over 30 years and is now
Professor Emeritus. Christopher was knighted in the year 2000 for
“services to art and design education”. As Sergio Leone once said to
him, “it took an Englishman to take my films seriously...” Featured
image, of Leone's fourth shoot-out, the climactic duel between
Harmonica (Charles Bronson) and Frank (Henry Fonda), behind the
Sweetwater ranch-house, is reproduced from 'Once Upon a Time in the
West: Shooting a Masterpiece.'PRAISE AND REVIEWSDVD Choice Barry Forshaw Frayling
is unquestionably the world's leading authority on the definitive
director of Spaghetti Westerns, and its hardly cause for argument to say
the book turns out like an absolute treat - and, yes,
definitive...Frayling's text is both authoritative and accessible, with
no stone unturned... Total Film Matt Glasby A widescreen book for a widescreen classic, Frayling collates a staggering amount of material. Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan The
movies may not be getting bigger than ever, but the books on them most
definitely are, starting with Christopher Frayling’s pleasantly massive
“Once Upon a Time in the West: Shooting a Masterpiece.” Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan Frayling,
the world's leading Leone expert, has amassed photographs, posters,
production sketches and more, and Leone fan Quentin Tarantino has
written the introduction to this impressive volume. The Telegraph Editorial Behind the scenes of the greatest Western ever made. Trebuchet Magazine Rhett Fisher Frayling’s
own masterpiece... a book for the ages about making a movie for the
ages. This is the coffe table book you will actually want to pick up and
read. The Observer Alexander Larman This
sumptuously produced book is both a fine tribute to Sergio Leone's 1968
masterpiece and an insightful look at how a piece of cinema can gather
an almost mythic reputation in the half-century since it was
produced...[The text is] scrupulously researched and consistently
surprising. BBC Radio London Jason Solomons A beautiful, handsome tome as beautiful in pictures as it is in prose. BBC Radio 3 'Free Thinking' Matthew Sweet A massive and gorgeous book about Sergio Leone's landmark Spaghetti Western. Home Cinema Choice Anton Van Beek For
a film that turned 50 this year, its hard to imagine a better birthday
gift than this superb book...it all adds up to a remarkably thorough
exploration of both the production and the man who masterminded
it...This is the definitive account of the making and legacy of Leone's
epic. Highly recommended. Washington Post Kenneth Dickerman “Once
Upon a Time in the West: Shooting a Masterpiece” [...] will tell you
just about everything you want to know about the Italian director Sergio
Leone’s classic spaghetti western. SEALED. RETURNS ACCEPTED AS LONG AS ITEM IS STILL SEALED. FREE
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