Offscreen Notes
New Sergio Leone Book
Offscreen contributor Roberto Donati has had a book on Sergio Leone recently published, alas only in Italian for non-Italian readers, by Falsopiano publishers. Donati’s book Sergio Leone: L’America, la nostalgia e il mito (Sergio Leone: America, nostalgia, and myth) is split between an intelligent close textual analysis of three films which he identifies as being part of a ‘trilogy of time,’ Once Upon a Time in the West, Duck You Sucker, and Once Upon a Time in America, and new interviews with fourteen people who worked with Leone, including key collaborators such as composers/musicians Ennio Morricone, Alessandro Alessandroni (the whistler!), Franco De Gemini (the harmonica man), writers Sergio Donati, Luciano Vincenzoni, Franco Ferrini, film critics Sir Christopher Frayling, author of several important books on Leone and the spaghetti western, including Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans, From Karl May to Sergio Leone, Luca Beatrice, author of the excellent Italian book Al Cuore, Ramon, al cuore, Western all’italiana, Antonio Monda, Carlos Aguilar, and actress Claudia Cardinale. The first 121 pages consist of Donati’s critical analysis of the works, followed by about 100 pages of interviews, ending with some wonderful pencil drawings on Leone and his works (which are worth the price of admission alone) by Luca Zampetti. I hope that out there somewhere is an enterprising publisher that would take on an English translation of this important book (Harvey from FAB Press, are you listening!). If you would like a sampling of what to expect in terms of the book’s critical approach, I suggest you read the following essay by Donati on Leone published on Offscreen, entitled “Once Upon a Time….Introduction to the Theme of Nostalgia in the Films of Sergio Leone”.
